McCaull-Webster Elevator Co. v. Adams

167 N.W. 330, 39 N.D. 259, 1918 N.D. LEXIS 26
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 9, 1918
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 167 N.W. 330 (McCaull-Webster Elevator Co. v. Adams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCaull-Webster Elevator Co. v. Adams, 167 N.W. 330, 39 N.D. 259, 1918 N.D. LEXIS 26 (N.D. 1918).

Opinions

Grace, J.

This appeal is one taken from the judgment rendered in the action.

The material facts are briefly as follows: About September 1, 1912, the plaintiff was engaged in the lumber business at Regent, Hettinger county, North Dakota. The defendant was the owner of the west half of the northeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 28, township 135, range 96, in Hettinger county, North Dakota. On or about September 1st, plaintiff and defendant entered [263]*263into a contract whereby the plaintiff agreed to furnish to the defendant fence posts and fence wire to be used for fencing the premises above described. Between September 3 and 5, 1912, plaintiff delivered to the defendant said posts and wire of the value of $189.14. Within ninety days after furnishing the said posts and wire, and on December 3, 1912, the plaintiff made and filed its claim of mechanic’s lien for said posts and wire upon the above-described premises. The plaintiff before filing such lien made a legal demand in writing for the payment of the account. Statutory notice of intention to foreclose the lien was duly served on the defendant, after which the action was commenced to foreclose such lien.

The complaint was in the ordinary and usual form for the foreclosure of a mechanic’s lien. The defendant interposed a general denial. It was proved upon the trial of the case that the defendant did not use the material in building the fence provided for by the agreement, nor for the improvement of the premises aforesaid. The plaintiff did not consent to, and had no knowledge of, the diversion of such material. The plaintiff sold and furnished the defendant the material, not relying on the personal credit of the defendant, but relying upon the credit of the real estate. The material which was sold the defendant was used to build a fence upon a tract of land, not belonging to the defendant, but belonging to the defendant’s Avife,

That part of the judgment which is appealed from is as follows: “It is further ordered that, certain' mechanic’s lien filed and claimed by the plaintiff against the defendant and the folloAving real estate, to Avit: Northeast quarter of section 28, toAvnship 135, north of range 96, be, and the same hereby is, declared to be null and void, and of no force and effect, and that the same be canceled of record.”

The appellant makes five assignments of error, all of which may be considered together. They are as follows: The court erred in its second conclusion of law. The court erred in concluding as a matter of law that the mechanic’s lien is null and void. The court erred in holding and adjudging the mechanic’s lien as null and void. The court erred in ordering and adjudging that the mechanic’s lien be canceled of record. The court erred in awarding the defendant any relief whatever.

The defendant claims that part of the judgment appealed from [264]*264should be affirmed for two reasons: First, the findings of fact failed to show that the plaintiff filed with the clerk a verified account as required by statute. Second, that the findings show that the material was not actually used as an improvement on the premises. The disposition of these two questions will dispose of this case.

Section 6814, Comp Laws 1913, describes what persons are entitled to a mechanic’s lien, and for what purposes. The section is too long to set out at length, and suffice it to say that such section in substance provides that any person who shall furnish any labor upon, or furnish any materials, machinery, or fixtures for the construction or repair of any work of internal, or for the erection, alteration, or repair of any building or other structure upon lands or in making any other improvements thereon, including fences, etc., upon compliance with the requirements of law, shall have for his labor done or materials, fixtures, or machinery furnished a lien upon such building, erection, or improvement, and upon the land belonging to such owner on which the same is situated, or to improve which said work was done or the thing furnished, to secure the payment for such labor, machinery, material, or fixtures, etc. The section under consideration contains certain requirements with which the lienor must comply in order to procure a mechanic’s lien. The lien- or is required to keep an itemized account of the material or labor separate and apart from all other items of account against the purchaser. He must make a written demand in accordance with law for. the payment of such account, prior to. the filing of the lien. There are several other provisions of the section under consideration which have no bearing on this case.

The respondent claims the appellant not having brought up the.testimony in the case to this court, and the appellant depending entirely upon the face of the record for reversal, that if the findings of fact do not show the plaintiff is not entitled to a foreclosure of the lien, his appeal must fail.

Adverting to respondent’s first contention, that the findings of fact fail to show that the appellant filed with the clerk a verified account as required by statute, we are of the opinion that such contention is without substantial merit. We are of the opinion that the findings of fact made by the court show the filing of the mechanic’s lien. The court’s finding of fact upon this is as follows: “That within ninety days after [265]*265furnishing the last item of material the plaintiff made and filed in the-office of the clerk of this court its mechanic’s lien, claiming a mechanic’s lien against the above-described premises.” The respondent claims that this is a mere conclusion of law, and not a statement of fact. We do not agree with this contention. It is true that, in the filing of a mechanic’s lien, there must be an itemized statement of the account attached to the claim of lien, and there must also be a verification of the claim of the lien. A compliance with these requirements would have to-exist before the lien could be filed. If there was no compliance with, these requirements there would be no lien or proper claim of lien. Hence,, when the court found as a fact that the plaintiff made and filed in the office of the clerk of court a mechanic’s lien, it found that all the requirements of a mechanic’s lien had been complied with, otherwise it would not have found it to be a mechanic’s lien. It was not necessary for the court in its findings of fact to-set out and show that each of the steps and requirements of law leading up to the acquiring and perfection of a mechanic’s lien were complied with. This would be a cumbersome and unnecessary manner of stating the facts. When the court, found that the plaintiff had made and filed its mechanic’s lien it must have done so with full knowledge before it that all of the requirements of law in regard to perfecting a mechanic’s lien had been complied with. And the statement that the plaintiff had made and filed its mechanic’s lien is therefore a statement of fact, and not a conclusion of law. The court found as a fact that the plaintiff had made and filed its mechanic’s, lien. The plaintiff either made and filed a mechanic’s lien or it did not do so. The court found that it did, and its doing so disposes of this question.

The second contention of the respondent is that the material not being used for an improvement on the premises for which it was purchased to be used, there can be no lien upon such premises, that is, upon the land where such fence was to have been constructed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
167 N.W. 330, 39 N.D. 259, 1918 N.D. LEXIS 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccaull-webster-elevator-co-v-adams-nd-1918.