Eatherly Construction Co. v. DeBoer Construction, Inc.

543 S.W.2d 333, 1976 Tenn. LEXIS 477
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 11, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 543 S.W.2d 333 (Eatherly Construction Co. v. DeBoer Construction, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eatherly Construction Co. v. DeBoer Construction, Inc., 543 S.W.2d 333, 1976 Tenn. LEXIS 477 (Tenn. 1976).

Opinions

[334]*334OPINION

PER CURIAM.

After a comprehensive review and analysis of the record in this case, we have concluded that the Court of Appeals correctly decided the issues presented on appeal. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.

The opinion of the Court of Appeals will be for publication as an appendix to this opinion. Mr. Justice Brock dissents and files a separate opinion.

APPENDIX

OPINION

DROWOTA, Judge.

Eatherly Construction Company, plaintiff-appellant, is appealing an order of the Chancery Court of Davidson County granting summary judgment and dismissing the defendants-appellees, Jack P. DeBoer Associates, Inc., First Wisconsin Mortgage Company and John J. Poehlman, Trustee (hereinafter referred to as appellees).

Eatherly Construction Company contracted with DeBoer Construction, Inc. (a defendant below, but not a party to this appeal) to perform grading, excavating, and related work on improvements being built upon a multi-family housing project known as Country Place, owned by appellees. The gravamen of plaintiff-appellant’s complaint is that the defendants owe it a sum of $27,443.17 for labor and materials furnished for improvements on the above project. Eatherly Construction Company last performed work under the above contract on January 29,1973. A notice of lien was filed by plaintiff-appellant on September 24, 1973. On December 20, 1973, a complaint was filed to enforce the asserted lien. A writ of attachment was issued and levied on the property on December 21, 1973. On June 25, 1974, construction on the project was 98% complete. The plaintiff-appellant filed a second notice of lien on the property on July 3,1974. The project was completed and turned over to its owner on August 13, 1974. Plaintiff-appellant amended his complaint of December 20, 1973, on August 26, 1974, so as to allege completion of the project on June 25,1974, and the filing of a notice of lien on July 3, 1974.

The appellees filed a motion for summary judgment on December 3, 1974. The Chancery Court granted this motion as a matter of law on March 3, 1975.

The plaintiff-appellant assigns the following as error:

The Court erred in granting the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and in holding that it was necessary for complainant, following the amendment to the complaint, to again attach the same property when the property was properly before the Court pursuant to the previous attachment.

The sole issue before us is whether the initial attachment was effective as to the amended complaint. T.C.A. § 64r-1115, which governs this case, states:

Every journeyman or other person, contracted with or employed to work on the buildings, fixtures, machinery, or improvements, or to furnish materials for the same . . . shall have this lien for his work or material; provided that within ninety (90) days after the demolition and/or building or improvement is completed, or the contract of such laborer, mechanic, furnisher, or other person shall expire, or he be discharged, he shall notify, in writing, the owner of the property on which the building is being erected or improvement is being made . that said lien is claimed; and said lien shall continue for the period of ninety (90) days from the date of said notice in favor of such subcontractor, journeyman, furnisher, mechanic, or laborer, and until the final termination of any suit for enforcement brought within that period.

The enforcement of a mechanic’s and materialman’s lien is a statutory right, and strict compliance with T.C.A. § 64-1115 is required. McDonnell v. Amo, 162 Tenn. 36, 34 S.W.2d 212 (1930); Jordan v. Deitz, 201 Tenn. 77, 296 S.W.2d 866 (1956); Bird Bros. v. Southern Surety Co., 139 Tenn. 11, [335]*335200 S.W. 978 (1917). Notice of the claimed lien must be given to the proper owner of the property within the ninety day period specified by the statute. If the plaintiff fails to comply with the requirement, his lien is void. Conger Lumber & Supply Co. v. White, 17 Tenn.App. 206, 66 S.W.2d 999 (1933). Further, the institution of the suit upon the claimed lien must be within the ninety day period following the date of notice. If a suit is not instituted and a writ of attachment is not issued and levied within this period then plaintiff’s lien is void. Knoxville Structural Steel v. Jones, 46 Tenn.App. 518, 330 S.W.2d 559 (1959).

Eatherly Construction Company argues that its writ of attachment of December 21, 1973, was valid and that its amended complaint of August 26, 1974, did not give rise to a new cause of action. This being so, the plaintiff-appellant claims the antecedent attachment was not dissolved but rather was incorporated into the amended complaint thus precluding the need for a second attachment.

This argument is rejected on two grounds: (1) the writ of attachment issued and levied on December 21, 1973, was not valid and (2) the appellant’s argument is contrary to the time limitations of T.C.A. § 64-1115.

Plaintiff-appellant had no cause of action upon which it could base its writ of attachment of December 21, 1973. T.C.A. § 64-1115 requires that notice be given to the owner of the property subject to the lien within 90 days of claimant’s completion of work on that property. Eatherly Construction Company last performed work on the multi-family housing project on January 29, 1973. Eatherly Construction Company filed a notice of lien on September 24, 1973. Because the plaintiff did not comply with the notice requirements of the statute, his lien was void and he had no cause of action. Conger Lumber & Supply Co. v. White, supra; Bird Bros. v. Southern Surety Co., supra. An ancillary attachment is a mere incident to the suit in which it is issued. If it is not based on a cause of action, it, the ancillary attachment, is necessarily void. Maxwell v. Lea, 53 Tenn. 247 (1871).

T.C.A. § 64-1126 requires that a lien be enforced by attachment. Further, T.C.A. § 64-1115 requires that that attachment be issued and levied within ninety days of the date of notice. Knoxville Structural Steel v. Jones, 46 Tenn.App. 518, 330 S.W.2d 559 (1959). The attachment of December 21, 1973, which plaintiff-appellant seeks to incorporate into his amended complaint filed August 26, 1974, is void.

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Eatherly Construction Co. v. DeBoer Construction, Inc.
543 S.W.2d 333 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
543 S.W.2d 333, 1976 Tenn. LEXIS 477, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eatherly-construction-co-v-deboer-construction-inc-tenn-1976.