Important or Memorable Cases Attorney in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico
Creative Lawyering
Creative Lawyering
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well i’ve handled a number of cases and
i can bring creativity to each case now
one example is radco versus diamond
walnut this is one of my first cases
after i left the big firms and opened up
my own shop radco manufactured urethane
foam and they sold it for construction
sites to a subcontractor named midstate
midstate applied it to diamond walnut’s
roofs then they didn’t pay radco so my
client calls me and how do i get a
mechanical and i said well did you do
your 20 day notice so you have to do a
notice to the owner that you’re
providing materials if you want to get a
lien against that owner’s property
they didn’t do a 20-day notice the time
had expired you have to do it within 20
days of the delivery of the product to
the site
so i said well can you go and drive
there and pick up these 55-gallon drums
drive them around the block and then
drop off again you’re releasing
possession and boom here’s your 20-day
notice well no they’re all locked up
they’re all locked up in a warehouse
so that’s just great so i thought about
my conversation with him he said
mid-state
could not pay their bills when due they
were basically insolvent when they
purchased that product on credit
i remembered something about my reading
of the ucc uniform commercial code
and if someone buys a good on credit
and is insolvent at the time
that you can demand return of those
goods and you get constructive
possession of the goods
so i demanded the return
and then i now had constructive
possession and then i served a 20-day
notice and i released constructor
possession although the 55-gallon drums
never left the warehouse so i explained
this to
diamond walnut they laughed at me i said
don’t don’t do not pay mid-state and
they did we sued we won
it was precedent setting because nobody
had ever grafted the ucc under a
mechanical lean statute
and the judge ordered diamond walnut to
pay us in full although they had already
paid mid-state who later filed
bankruptcy
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Santa Ana, CA commercial litigation attorney Dan Callahan shares the story of his memorable case: Radco v. Diamond Walnut. He recalls a particularly creative case early in his solo practice: Radco v. Diamond Walnut. Radco, a manufacturer of urethane foam, sold its product to a subcontractor named Midstate, which then applied it to Diamond Walnut’s roofs but failed to pay Radco. When Radco sought his assistance, the question was how to secure a mechanic’s lien.
He quickly realized that the standard 20-day notice to the property owner, required to place a lien, had already expired. Radco considered a workaround—moving 55-gallon drums around—but the inventory was locked in a warehouse, making that impossible.
Drawing on his knowledge of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), he recalled that if goods are purchased on credit by an insolvent buyer, the seller can demand their return and obtain constructive possession. Radco invoked this provision, effectively gaining constructive possession of the goods and then serving the required 20-day notice. Even though the drums never physically left the warehouse, this strategy satisfied the legal requirements.
He then explained the approach to Diamond Walnut, who initially laughed, but he instructed them not to pay Midstate. The case proceeded, and they won. The ruling was precedent-setting, as it had successfully grafted UCC principles onto a mechanic’s lien statute. The judge ultimately ordered Diamond Walnut to pay Radco in full, despite having already paid the insolvent subcontractor, who later declared bankruptcy.
