Fresno Loan & Savings Bank v. Husted
Fresno Loan & Savings Bank v. Husted
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff, being the owner of certain lots in the city of Fresno, entered into a contract of sale thereof with defendant Mary Husted, on March 6, 1891, for the consideration of $2,000; payments to be $40 upon signing the contracts, and $40 monthly until fully paid. It nowhere appears in the transcript whether these or any payments were made, nor whether said Husted was in default in the payments. She entered into possession under the contract, however, and purchased materials of the admitted value of $277.14, and with them erected a dwelling on these lots, which she occupied. For some reason not explained, defendant Husted, about November, 1894, caused the building to be removed to the lots of defendant Flannagan. The removal took place on Sunday. Within thirty days thereafter plaintiff caused to be filed and recorded a materialman’s lien upon the Flannagan lots, alleging that it furnished lumber and other building material to be used in the construction of the building in question; that the lots sought to be charged with the lien are lots belonging to defendant Flannagan ; that defendant Husted, about November. 1894, entered into a contract with plaintiff, under which said materials were furnished; that she agreed to pay therefor their reasonable market value; that said materials were used in constructing said building upon the lots of said Flannagan with his knowledge and consent; that said contract has been fully performed, and said building or structure finished, etc. This action was brought to enforce the lien upon defendant Flan
The court found against all the allegations of plaintiff’s complaint except it found that defendant Flannagan owned the lots to which the building was removed, but it found also that “it was not built or located thereon permanently, but was merely, by an arrangement between the defendants Flannagan and Husted, temporarily placed and allowed temporarily to remain upon the said lots, with the understanding that it might be removed at any time by the defendant Mary Husted.” This finding as to the understanding between the defendants is warranted by the evidence. The court finds, as alleged in the lien and complaint, that the building was placed on the Flannagan lots about November 25, 1894, and that plaintiff filed its claim of lien in due form within thirty days thereafter; but the court finds “that the statements and affirmations of said lien were false in fact; that the plaintiff then had no claim or demand justly due or enforceable -against said defendants, or either of them, with or without offsets, and the said materials were not furnished by the persons stated in said claim of lien or at all.” The evidence sustains this finding. It seems to me the case lies in a nutshell, and that there is no demand upon us to follow plaintiff’s counsel in his excursion through the reported cases of this character, and into the wide domain of general law to which his learned brief invites us.
The undisputed facts upon which the case rests are: That defendant Husted went into possession of certain lots, then owned by plaintiff, under a contract of purchase; that she built and paid for the house in -controversey on these lots (whether the house was attached to the soil, and became a part of the freehold, is very doubtful from the evidence; indeed, the evidence would warrant a finding that it was not so attached, but the fact, in my view, is unimportant); that she removed the house, and no permission was given her by plaintiff to do so, and no right was given her by the terms of her contract to remove the house; that, in placing the house upon Flannagan’s lots, it was only as a temporary resting place; that Flannagan knew nothing about defendant Husted previously, nor of her contract with plaintiff,
The facts necessary to be alleged in the claim of lien, and that were alleged—to wit, that plaintiff “has furnished lumber and other building material to be used in the construction of that building or structure,” etc.; and that “Mrs. Mary F. Husted is the name of the person who,” etc., “as agent of such owner at Fresno, in the state of California, entered into a contract with this claimant under and by which said materials were furnished, and the following is a statement of the terms, time given, and conditions of said contract,” etc.; and “that said contract has been fully performed on the part of claimant ’ ’—are all found to be untrue, and it is only by some presumption of law that the allegations of the claim can be said to be true in any sense. They were not true in fact, and the court properly so found. Their truth, and the truth that a contract for furnishing the materials was made by defendant Husted with plaintiff, all rests, by implication, upon the original contract of sale of the plaintiff’s lots to defendant Husted. To put it in plain phrase: It is claimed that, because defendant Husted made a contract to purchase plaintiff’s lots, therefore, when she built a house thereon at her own expense, it was to be implied that the plaintiff furnished the material; that she was then acting as the agent of Flannagan, who owned the lots to which the house was long afterward removed, but who
By section 1183 of the Code of Civil Procedure, material-men are given a lien for materials used in the construction of any building “upon the property upon which they have bestowed labor, or furnished materials, for the value of such labor done and materials furnished, whether at the instance of the owner or of any other person acting by his authority.” The lien here given is upon the property upon which labor is bestowed (in this case the house in question). By section 1185 of the same code it is provided that “the land upon which any building .... is constructed, together with a convenient space about the same, .... is also subject to the lien, if, at the .commencement of the work, or of the furnishing of the materials for the same, the land belonged to the person who caused said building .... to be constructed.” By section 1192 of the same code it is provided that “every building .... mentioned in section 1183 of this code, .... constructed upon any lands with the knowledge and consent of the owner, .... shall be held to have been constructed at the instance of such owner, .... and the interest owned or claimed shall be subject to any lien filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, unless such owner .... shall within three d&ys after he shall have obtained knowledge of the construction .... give notice that he will not be responsible by posting notice in writing,” etc.
The building had been completed for some time before removal (how long does not appear), and was occupied at the time of removal, and the furniture remained in it during removal. "When it was constructed, there was no intention to remove it to the Flannagan lots. I cannot conceive how plaintiff can have a lien on Flannagan’s lots for materials it never furnished nor paid for, nor authorized to be furnished, nor agreed to be responsible for, which materials were used in the construction and completion of a house
Appellant claims that, under any circumstances, defendant Flannagan. is liable for money had and received. In an appropriate action sustained by competent proof, if it exists, possibly he may be so liable. Flannagan makes no claim to the house. It is not alleged or shown that he has wrongfully converted it. So far as we know, it may have been since removed from his lots by defendant Husted. No demand has been made upon him for a return of the house to its former situs, nor for its possession, nor for its value. He has not been shown to have had any such knowledge, as to the removal of the house to his lots, as would make him a cotrespasser in the removal. The pleadings in the case
,We concur: Belcher, C.; Haynes, C.
For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion the judgment of the court and its order overruling plaintiff’s motion for a new trial are affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- FRESNO LOAN & SAVINGS BANK v. HUSTED
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Mechanic’s Lien—House on Another’s Lot.—A Went into Possession of certain lots, then owned by B, under a contract of purchase, built and paid for a house thereon, and afterward removed the house on to the land of 0, as a temporary resting place, without B’s permission, and after default in the payments on the lots. Held, that it cannot be implied that B furnished the material with which the house was built, nor that A acted at the time of constructing the house as the agent of C, so as to subject C’s lot to a lien under sections 1183, 1185, 1192, Code of Civil Procedure.1 Mechanic’s Lien—House on Another’s Land—Notice.—C was not required to post written notice upon this building within three days after it was moyed on his lots, under section 1192, supra, in order to escape liability, as the house, by agreement, was to- remain on the lots in question but a few days, and was therefore personal property while it rested there.