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PETER LYONS v. NELS WESTERDAHL

Minnesota Supreme Court1915-01-29No. Nos. 18,956—(183)
128 Minn. 288

Summary

Holding. The judgment is partially affirmed and partially modified and remanded. The court affirmed the lien in favor of Bruer Bros. Lumber Co., disallowed the portion of Ireland-Simmons Co.'s claim for electric lighting fixtures, and eliminated Western Heating Co.'s lien entirely due to knowing overstatement of the claim.

This case involves a dispute over mechanic's liens filed against Minneapolis real property. The trial court established liens in favor of three defendants—Bruer Bros. Lumber Co., Ireland-Simmons Co., and Western Heating Co.—and determined these liens were superior to a mortgage held by the opposing party. The mortgage holder appealed, challenging both the validity of the liens and their priority.

The appellate court addressed three distinct issues. First, it upheld the verification procedures used by the lien claimants, finding that when a pleading directly and positively states that an attached bill of items is true and correct, and the pleading itself is verified by oath, this satisfies statutory verification requirements for the bill. Second, the court disallowed a portion of the Ireland-Simmons Co. claim, ruling that electric lighting fixtures installed in the building did not become part of the real property and therefore could not support a mechanic's lien, following precedent regarding similar fixtures. Third, the court found that Western Heating Co. had violated statutory prohibitions against overstating lien claims by demanding approximately 20 percent more than was justly due, despite knowing the contract remained incomplete.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether verification of a bill of items attached to a pleading satisfies statutory requirements when the pleading itself is verified and states the attached bill is true
  • Whether electric lighting fixtures installed in a building become part of the real property subject to mechanic's liens
  • Whether a lien claimant who knowingly demands more than justly due in the lien statement is barred from obtaining any lien

Procedural posture

The mortgage holder appealed from a trial court judgment establishing mechanic's liens and determining them superior to the mortgage.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Taylor, C.

This is an action to foreclose the mechanic’s liens filed against a house and lot in the city of Minneapolis. The trial court made findings of fact and conclusions of law, and rendered judgment pursuant thereto, establishing liens upon the property as follows: In favor of defendant Bruer Bros. Lumber Co. for the sum of $1,707.54; in favor of defendant Ireland-Simmons Co. for the sum of $377.02 ;• and in favor of defendant Western Heating Co. for the sum of $669.02. It was also adjudged that these liens were paramount and superior to a mortgage held by defendant Westerdahl. Defendant Westerdahl appealed from the judgment.

1. The liens, so far as valid and subsisting, are paramount to the mortgage.

The statute provides: “Each lienholder shall attach to and file with his complaint or answer a bill of the items of his claim, verified by the oath of some person having knowledge thereof, and shall file such further and more particular account, as the court may at any time direct. Upon his failure to file such original or further bill, his pleading shall be stricken out and his claim disallowed.” G. S. 1913, § 7031.

None of the above lien claimants made a separate verification of the bill of items attached to their respective .answers; but each answer was verified, and stated in substance that a true and correct statement of the items of labor and material furnished, and of the value thereof, was thereto attached, marked Exhibit A, and made a part thereof. At the trial appellant moved to strike out the several answers on the ground that the bill of items was not verified as required by the above Statute, and assigns the denial of such motions as error.

The statute requires that the correctness of the bill of items shall be supported by the oath of some person having knowledge thereof. The pleading-may or may not be verified, but the bill of items must be verified. If a party verifies his pleading by an affidavit that the averments therein are true of his own knowledge, and the pleading states directly and positively that the attached bill of items is true and correct, we think that this constitutes a sufficient verification of such bill of items. Under this rule the answers in question are not open to the objection urged. Appellant, also urges that one of the verifications was defective in failing to state that the affiant knew the contents of the pleading which he vérified. The verification states that he had read the pleading and that it was true of his own knowledge, and we think this shows sufficiently that he knew its contents. As the above are the only objections urged against the claim of Bruer Bros. Lumber Co., the judgment in favor of that company is affirmed.

2. The claim of the Ireland-Simmons Co. includes the sum of $120 ■for electric lighting" fixtures. These fixtures appear to be such as are Ordinarily kept in stock for sale by dealers in such articles; it does not appear that they were designed, constructed, or prepared for tbla ■particular building. Neither is there any evidence tending to show the intent with which the parties caused them to be placed in the building.- The naked fact appears that they were installed therein, nothing more. It was decided in Capehart v. Foster, 61 Minn. 132, 63 N. W. 257, 52 Am. St. 582, that gas lighting fixtures did•not become a part of the realty under such circumstances, and the same rule must be applied to electric lighting fixtures. It follows that theTreland-Simmons Co. are not entitled to a lien upon the realty for the value of such fixtures.

3. The Western Heating Co. had the contract to install the heating plant and do the plumbing in the building and to furnish the material therefor. A partial payment was to be made when what is termed the “roughing in” was finished. This payment was not made, and thereupon the heating company quit work and refused to complete the contract. Thereafter they filed a lien for the full amount to which they would have been entitled had they fully completed their contract. At the trial they conceded that the unperformed portion of the contract exceeded $150 in value; and that the amount claimed in the lien statement exceeded the amount due them by that sum. The statute provides:

“In no case shall a lien exist for a greater amount than the sum claimed in the lien statement, nor for any amount whatever, if it be made to appear that the claimant has knowingly demanded in such statement more that is justly due.” G. S. 1913, § 7085.

The legislature intended to prevent the padding of such claims, and this statute must be given effect according to its terms. It provides that a lien claimant, who, in his lien statement, knowingly demands more than is justly due, shall have no lien whatever. In the present ease the lien statement demanded fully 20 per cent more than was justly due. The heating company knew that they were making a claim for all the material and all the labor that would be required to complete the contract in full. They also knew that they had not completed the contract, and necessarily knew that they were attempting to acquire a lien for material not furnished and for labor not performed. The admitted facts are such that the statute divests them of the right to a lien and the judgment must be modified accordingly.

Other.courts apply the same rule under statutes less drastic than our own and to facts more excusable than those here presented. Stubbs v. C. C. S. & S. W. Ry. Co. 65 Iowa, 513, 22 N. W. 654; Gibbs v. Hanchette, 90 Mich. 657, 51 N. W. 691; Brennan v. Miller, 97 Mich. 182, 56 N. W. 354; Bohn Mnfg. Co. v. Keenan, 15 S. D. 377, 89 N. W. 1000; Reeve v. Elmendorf, 38 N. J. Law, 125.

The canse is remanded with directions to modify the judgment to conform to the views hereinbefore expressed.