Crutcher v. Block

• Decision Date: 05 September 1907
• Citation: 19 Okla. 246,91 P. 895,1907 OK 105
• Parties: S. O. CRUTCHER et ux. v. G. H. BLOCK.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

1907 OK 105

91 P. 895

19 Okla. 246

S. O. CRUTCHER et ux. v. G. H. BLOCK.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Decided: September 5, 1907

Syllabus

¶0 1. MECHANICS' LIENS.--Materialman's Lien--Government Land--Leasehold Estate. Where one causes to be erected a building on real estate in his possession, and material furnished for such purposes is not paid for, a materialman's lien may be had under the laws of Oklahoma, even though the person for whom such building was erected is not the owner of a perfect legal title. A leasehold estate (if the building is erected within the authority conveyed by such instrument) is a sufficient title of ownership to authorize such a lien; and, in default of payment, such lien may be foreclosed and the rights of the lessee in the land or to the occupancy thereof under his lease, as well as the building, may be sold to satisfy the judgment.

2. COURTS--Jurisdiction. Where a court has jurisdiction over the persons to an action, by legal service or voluntary appearance, and the cause is the kind of a cause triable in such court, it has jurisdiction of the subject of the action and power to render any rightful judgment therein.

Error from the District Court of Comanche County; before Frank E. Gillette, Trial Judge.

Affirmed.

Hudson & Keys, for plaintiffs in error.

Stevens & Myers, for defendant in error.

BURWELL, J.:

¶1 The board for leasing school, public building, and college lands of Oklahoma Territory leased to one O. P. M. Butler for townsite purposes the east half of the northeast quarter of section thirty-six, township two north, of range twelve west of the Indian Meridian, in Comanche county. Butler platted the land into lots and blocks and streets and alleys, and it is known as Butler's Addition to the City of Lawton. He subleased, as he had a right to under the law and the written condition of his lease, to S. O. Crutcher a certain lot in this addition. One L. H. Robinson, under contract with S. O. Crutcher, erected a house on this lot in question, and the plaintiff below, having furnished lumber for the erection of this building, and the same having been used in the building and not paid for, filed a material man's lien for the lumber so furnished. There is no controversy about the facts. Judgment having been rendered by the court below for the plaintiff for $ 271.05, Crutcher appeals to this court and asks a reversal: First, because the lot on which the house was erected is school land, and the legal title is in the government; second, that the residence in question is personal property, and therefore not subject to a mechanic or material man's lien; and, third, that the trial court did not have jurisdiction of the subject of the action.

¶2 The third contention is manifestly without merit. The court had acquired jurisdiction over the persons to the action, and the cause was the kind of a cause which could be tried in the district court alone. It was therefore the duty of the court to determine the merits of the controversy and grant or deny relief as the facts and law of the case might justify. Section 4817 of Wilson's Rev. & Ann. St. of Oklahoma 1903, provides that "any person who shall, under contract with the owner of any tract or piece of land, or with the trustee, agent, husband or wife of such owner, furnish material for the erection, alteration or repair of any building, etc. * * * shall have a lien upon the whole of said piece or tract of land, the building and appurtenances, in the manner herein provided, for the amount due to him for said labor, material, fixtures or machinery." And section 4819, of the same statute provides that: "Any person who shall furnish any such material or perform such labor under a subcontract with the contractor, or as an artisan or day laborer in the employ of such subcontractor, may obtain a lien upon such land from the same time, in the same manner, and to the same extent, as the original contractor for the amount due him for such material and labor; and any artisan or day laborer in the employ of such subcontractor may obtain a lien upon such land from the same time, in the same manner, and to the same extent, as the subcontractor, for the amount due him for such material and labor, by filing with the clerk of the district court of the county in which the land is situated, within sixty days after the date upon which material was last furnished or labor last performed under such subcontract, a statement, verified by affidavit, setting forth the amount due from the subcontractor to the claimant, and the items thereof as nearly as practicable, the name of the owner, the name of the contractor, the name of the claimant, and a description of the property upon which a lien is claimed," etc. Now, it is insisted that, under these provisions of the statutes of Oklahoma, a lien cannot be had unless the person for whom the building is erected is the owner of the legal title to the land on which the building is located, citing in support of this position the case of Kellogg et al. v. Littell & Smythe Mfg. Co. (Wash.) 25 P. 461; Tracy v. Rogers, 69 Ill. 662; Babbitt v. Condon, 27 N.J.L. 154, and Coddington v. Dry Dock Co., 31 N.J.L. 477. We have examined all of these cases, and, with the exception of the first case just referred to, they do not support that contention. The statute of New Jersey provides that every building shall be liable for the payment of any debt contracted or owing for labor performed or materials furnished for the construction thereof, which debt shall be a lien on such building, and on the land on...