Alexander v. Church
| Decision Date | 16 April 1886 |
| Parties | ALEXANDER v. CHURCH. |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
Appeal from judgment of common pleas, New Haven county.
C. H. Fowler and D. W. Tattle, for defendant.
E. P. Arvine and E. C. Dow, for plaintiff.
PARK, C. J. Very little need be said in this case to vindicate the judgment of the court below. The defendant demurred to the complaint in that court, but it was adjudged sufficient; and this action of the court is made the ground for the claim of error in this court.
The principal allegations of the complaint are the following: First. That the plaintiff had an inchoate mechanic's lien on the premises of the defendant for materials furnished and labor performed as a subcontractor in the construction of a building on the premises. Second. That the premises were amply sufficient in value to secure the plaintiff's claim. Third. That the plaintiff had taken some of the steps provided by the statute towards the perfecting of his lien. Fourth. That he was induced not to perfect the lien by the false and fraudulent declarations of the defendant that she had paid the contractor in full for the building, and did not owe him anything on account of it; such payment having been in part by accepting orders drawn by him in favor of other parties, and in part by the payment of money; both of them before the plaintiff had given notice of his lien. Fifth. That these declarations were made with the intent to deceive the" plaintiff, and induce him to forego the perfecting of his lien. Sixth. That the representations had the desired effect in deceiving the plaintiff, and in causing him to desist from the perfecting of his lien. Seventh. That in consequence of these false and fraudulent representations the plaintiff lost his security upon the property, which he had in an inchoate condition when the representations were made, and lost the debt which was justly due him for labor performed and materials furnished in the construction of the building.
These are the principal allegations of the complaint; and they seem to us amply sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the defendant.
Cooley, Torts, 474, says: "Fraud consists in deception practiced in order to induce another to part with property or surrender some legal right, and which accomplishes the end desired." According to this definition it is manifest that here are all the elements of actionable fraud. False representations were made by the defendant with the intention to deceive the plaintiff, and thereby prevent his acquiring a lien upon her property, which he had...
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