National Lumber Co. v. F. Braun & Son, Inc.

237 A.D. 426, 261 N.Y.S. 715, 1932 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5351
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedDecember 30, 1932
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 237 A.D. 426 (National Lumber Co. v. F. Braun & Son, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Lumber Co. v. F. Braun & Son, Inc., 237 A.D. 426, 261 N.Y.S. 715, 1932 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5351 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1932).

Opinion

Rhodes, J.

The appellant Henry A. Olson, Inc., questions the determination of the learned court below in so far as it adjudged that said appellant had no valid and subsisting lien against the fund in question andjthat said alleged lienor was not entitled to share in said fund. The point involved is whether the appellant filed a proper notice of pendency of action to support its alleged lien.

There is no dispute as to the facts. The action was commenced by plaintiff herein as lienor to foreclose its Hen on moneys applicable for a pubhc improvement for the reconstruction of the New York State Armory at Hudson, N. Y. In connection with said work there was due to the appellant for material and labor from F. Braun & Co., contractor, the sum of $5,659. As such materialman it duly filed proper notice of hen on or about November 25,1930, and thereafter and about January 12,1931, commenced an action to foreclose its alleged hen, and in connection therewith filed in the office of the State Comptroller a copy of the summons in said action. An entry was made on the hen docket of the Comptroller showing the date of the receipt , of the paper, which was described on the docket as a “ Summons,” and the date of filing was entered in the column entitled “ Lis Pendens Filed.” The appellant’s alleged hen was disallowed by the learned court below upon the ground that the filing of the copy of the summons with the State Comptroller did not constitute the filing of a notice of the pendency of an action, as required by section 18 of the Lien Law.

No order was ever made continuing the said lien, and no other steps were taken in that action, and when the present action was commenced the said appellant was made a defendant.

So far as material, section 18 of the Lien Law provides that a hen for a pubhc improvement shah not continue for a longer period than three months from the time of filing the notice of such hen unless an action is commenced to foreclose such hen within that time, and a notice of the pendency of such action is filed with the Comptroller of the State * * *, or unless an order be made by a court of record, continuing such hen, and a new docket be made stating such fact. * * * This section is hereby declared to be a remedial statute and is to be construed liberally to secure the beneficial interests and purposes thereof.”

The appellant insists that the fifing of the summons with the Comptroller in the action brought by it constituted a substantial comphance with the requirements of the statute that a notice of the pendency of the action be thus filed; that no one was misled thereby; that it was treated by the Comptroller as a lis pendens and should herein be regarded as such. Manifestly the Comptroller could not change nor dispense with the requirements of the statute, nor bind other lienors by any act or waiver on his part.

[428]*428Section 120 of the Civil Practice Act provides for the filing of notice of pendency of an action where such an action is brought to recover a judgment affecting the title to, or possession of, use or enjoyment of real property.

As was said in Giant Portland Cement Co. v. State of New York (232 N. Y. 395): “ The objects of a lis pendens are well understood * * *.”

By section 2 of the Lien Law a public improvement is defined as meaning an improvement upon any real estate belonging to the State or a municipal corporation. Undoubtedly the provision of the Lien Law requiring the filing of a notice of pendency of action contemplates a notice conforming substantially to said section 120 of the Civil Practice Act. That section provides that the notice shall state the names of the parties and the object of the action, and contain a brief description of the property “ affected thereby.” While judgments in actions to enforce liens under the Lien Law as against a public improvement do not bind the real property or impose any hen thereon, it is by virtue of the improvement to such real property that the lien arises and in a sense it may be said that it is such real property that is “ affected thereby.”

The cause of action is created by statute and its provisions by which the lien comes into being or continues must be substantially complied with, otherwise there is no lien and the alleged lienor has no standing and, therefore, no rights which he can assert under such law.

Section 21 of the Lien Law provides that “A lien against the amount due or to become due a contractor from the State * * * for the construction of a public improvement may be discharged as follows:

2. By lapse of time as follows:
(a) When three months have elapsed since the filing of the notice of lien, unless, before the expiration thereof, either an order continuing said hen has been filed in the office where the notices- are filed, or a notice of the pendency of an action to enforce said lien has been filed as provided in section eighteen of this article.”

The appellant claims, however, that any question as to the insufficiency of the lien should have been raised by the pleadings, and that such objection, not having been pleaded, has been waived. In support of this proposition it cites, among others, the cases of Dwelle-Kaiser Co. v. Frid (233 App. Div. 427) and Romeo v. City of Yonkers (126 id. 402). In the Dwelle-Kaiser Co. case it was stated that there was no merit in the claim that the lis pendens there under attack was not properly filed, apparently upon the theory that there had been a substantial compliance with the statute. In [429]*429the case of Romeo v. City of Yonkers the question was raised by the pleadings, but it appears that no proof was presented before the court on the question.

In the case before us the question was raised on the trial and the appellant’s failure to comply with the requirements of the statute clearly appears. It had no right to a lien unless it had complied with the.statutory requirements. Having failed in this, it had no standing in court.

A further argument advanced by the appellant is that by the provisions of section 18 of the Lien Law, the filing of the lis pendens by the plaintiff inures to the benefit of all lienors. That part of section 18 referred to is as follows: “ If a lienor be made a party defendant in an action to enforce another lien, and the plaintiff or such defendant has filed a notice of the pendency of the action within the time prescribed in this section, the lien of such defendant is thereby continued.” The present action was not commenced and the lis pendens therein was not filed until after the expiration of three months from the filing of appellant’s notice of hen and thus, as to such hen, was not filed within the time prescribed in this section. The appellant, therefore, derives no advantage therefrom.

The decision and judgment as to the defendant Henry A. Olson, Inc., was correct.

The question raised by the appellant Harvey A. Dwight is also purely one of law, as the essential facts are undisputed. We are required to determine whether the New York State National Bank is entitled to priority of payment of the sum of $2,000 advanced by it on November 1, 1930, pursuant to an assignment made to such bank by the contractor, F. Braun & Son, Inc. Such assignment of moneys due and to grow due under the contract was made and filed in July, 1930.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Yaphank Development Co. v. Heller
150 Misc. 2d 620 (New York Supreme Court, 1991)
Dittmar Explosives, Inc. v. A. E. Ottaviano, Inc.
231 N.E.2d 756 (New York Court of Appeals, 1967)
Sol-Mar Painting & Decorating Co v. Rogers & Haggerty, Inc.
31 Misc. 2d 520 (New York Supreme Court, 1961)
Noce v. Kaufman
141 N.E.2d 529 (New York Court of Appeals, 1957)
Noce v. Kaufman
286 A.D. 531 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1955)
Siracusa v. Inch Corp.
164 Misc. 820 (City of New York Municipal Court, 1937)
O'Neill v. Seglin Construction Co.
248 A.D. 684 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1936)
Alamar v. Dunbar Construction Co.
151 Misc. 30 (New York Supreme Court, 1934)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
237 A.D. 426, 261 N.Y.S. 715, 1932 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-lumber-co-v-f-braun-son-inc-nyappdiv-1932.