Herrington v. Luce

491 S.W.2d 478, 1973 Tex. App. LEXIS 2353
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 15, 1973
Docket679
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 491 S.W.2d 478 (Herrington v. Luce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Herrington v. Luce, 491 S.W.2d 478, 1973 Tex. App. LEXIS 2353 (Tex. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

MOORE, Justice.

Plaintiffs, Tommy L. Luce and wife, Carolyn Luce, sued defendant, Roy Dancer, to remove a cloud on the title to their homestead created by a mechanic’s and ma-terialman’s lien contract between plaintiffs as owners and Roy Dancer as contractor. In answer to the suit Dancer admitted the execution of the mechanic’s lien contract, but denied the validity thereof, alleging that the same was executed by him merely as an accommodation to plaintiffs to assist them in borrowing money from the bank. Dancer also filed a cross action against plaintiffs for $2,843.48 for labor and materials furnished plaintiffs alleging that the only contract he had with plaintiffs was an oral contract whereby plaintiffs were to pay him and his employees for their labor and reimburse him for the materials supplied by him. In an alternative plea he prayed that in the event the court found the mechanic’s lien contract to be valid, the lien be foreclosed. Harry Herrington, doing business as Palestine Ready-Mix Concrete Company, appellant herein and intervenor below, intervened in the suit alleging that he supplied concrete for the foundation of the house at the request of Dancer in the amount of $970.15 and he sought to establish a derivative material-man’s lien by virtue of the provisions of Article 5460, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.Civ.St. He prayed for judgment against plaintiffs (owners) for $970.15 and for a foreclosure of the mechanic’s and materialman’s lien and in the alternative for judgment against Dancer.

The trial court, sitting without a jury, entered judgment cancelling the mechanic’s and materialman’s lien contract and removing the cloud cast upon plaintiffs’ title by reason of said mechanic’s and material-man’s lien contract. The judgment also decreed that defendant, Roy Dancer, take nothing by his cross action; that interve-nor, Harry Herrington, have judgment against defendant, Roy Dancer, for $970.-00; and that intervenor Herrington take nothing against plaintiffs (owners). Only appellant, Harry Herrington, appealed from the judgment.

At the request of the appellant the trial court made the following material findings: (1) that the land on which the house was to be constructed was the homestead of appellees; (2) that they executed a promissory note to Dancer in the amount of $3,114.00 which included the sum of $614 unearned interest; (3) that on May 20, 1971, before any materials were furnished or any labor performed appellant executed to Dancer a mechanic’s and materialman’s lien contract wherein Dancer agreed to furnish all labor and materials for the construction of the house within 90 days; (4) that no other contract was entered into between appellees and Dancer; (5) that the mechanic’s lien contract was not substantially performed by Dancer; (6) that he defaulted in the performance of his contract and abandoned the job prior to August 28, 1971; (7) that on June 10, 1971, appellant furnished concrete which was used in the construction of the house at the request of Dancer and the market value thereof was $970.00; (8) that appellees (owners) never contracted for the concrete or led appellant to believe they would pay for same; (9) that on October 6, 1971, appellant notified appel-lees by United States Mail of his claim against Dancer; and (10) that on November 3, 1971, appellant filed an itemized verified account with the County Clerk of Anderson County, Texas, which was recorded in the mechanic’s lien records of said county. In the conclusions of law, the trial court found (1) that because the contractor, Dancer, failed to substantially perform the contract and failed in his pleadings to pray for judgment against the owners for any amount which might be due him under the terms of the mechanic’s lien contract, *480 no lien can be fixed on appellees’ homestead; (2) that appellant was not entitled to recover any amount against the appel-lees and was not entitled to a lien on their homestead and that appellant (intervenor) was entitled to judgment against Dancer for $970.00 for the concrete furnished at his request.

The record reveals that prior to abandoning the job Dancer furnished labor and materials in excess of the sum of $2,500.00. It is without dispute that appellees have never paid Dancer or anyone else any amount on the contract. It is likewise undisputed that appellees were required to expend the sum of $1,226.65 to complete the house and that this expenditure constitutes the total amount expended by them on the house.

The mechanic’s lien contract contains this provision:

“It is further agreed that a failure to complete said improvements, or failure to complete the same according to contract, shall not defeat said indebtedness and lien, but in such case the indebtedness and lien upon said premises and improvements shall exist in favor of said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, for said contract price, less such an amount as would be reasonably necessary to complete said improvements according to the said plans and specifications.”

Appellant seeks a reversal by two points of error. He contends that as a subcontractor, the mechanic’s and materialman’s lien between Dancer and appellees inured to his benefit by virtue of Article 5460, and that even though Dancer failed to complete the contract, a lien nevertheless existed under the above quoted provisions of the contract for the contract price less the amount necessary to complete the contract. Therefore, he contends that the court erred in refusing to grant him judgment for $970.15 and in refusing to enforce payment by foreclosure of the lien. Appellees, while arguing that no lien existed because the house was never completed, say that even so, appellant was not entitled to a lien because he failed to comply with the “notice” provisions of Articles 5452 and 5453 et seq.

It is without dispute that appellant did not comply with Articles 5452 and 5453 et seq. Therefore, assuming arguendo that a valid lien existed in favor of the contractor, Dancer, the controlling question is whether appellant, as a derivative lien claimant under the mechanic’s and materi-alman’s lien contract, is entitled to a lien on appellees’ homestead under Article 5460, supra, even though he failed to comply with the provisions of Articles 5452, 5453 et seq. We have concluded that he is not.

Article 16, Section 50 of the Texas Constitution, Vernon’s Ann.St., provides in part:

“Sec. 50. The homestead of a family shall be, and is hereby protected by forced sale, for the payment of all debts except * * * for work and material used in constructing improvements thereon, and in the last case only when the work and material are contracted for in writing * *

Article 5460, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.Statutes, provides that liens may be fixed upon a homestead for improvements by a contract in writing. The last sentence of the statute provides as follows:

“When such contract has been made and entered into by the husband and wife and the contractor or builder, and the same has been recorded, as heretofore provided, then the same shall inure to the benefit of any and all persons who shall furnish material or labor thereon for such contractor or builder.” (Emphasis supplied.)

While the Constitution provides a method whereby an original contractor may fix *481 a lien on a homestead, nothing is said therein with respect to a derivative lien.

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Bluebook (online)
491 S.W.2d 478, 1973 Tex. App. LEXIS 2353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/herrington-v-luce-texapp-1973.