Under both sections 3115 and 3116, the period of limitations on recording a claim of lien varies depending on whether a notice of completion 68 or a notice of cessation 69 has been recorded. If a notice of completion or notice of cessation is recorded, the original contractor has sixty days and other claimants thirty days from the date of recording of [*748] either type of notice to record their claims of lien. 70 This is in contrast to the ninety days from completion of the work of improvement that all claimants, including the original contractor, have to record a lien if neither a notice of completion nor notice of cessation is filed. 71
A notice of completion must be recorded within ten days after the completion of a work of improvement. 72 A notice of completion is invalid if recorded before actual completion of the work of improvement, 73 or if its form does not comply with the requirements of the statute. 74 In the case of an invalid notice of completion, the claimant's lien recording is controlled by the ninety-day period of limitations defined by sections 3115(a) or 3116(a) and not the shorter period defined by sections 3115(b) or 3116(b). 75 Thus, the definition of completion provided by section 3086 - the primary focus of this analysis - is applicable to subsections a and b of both sections 3115 and 3116