Kelley v. Dunne

• Citation: 112 R.I. 775,316 A.2d 341
• Decision Date: 11 March 1974
• Docket Number: No. 1975-A,1975-A
• Parties: Robert P. KELLEY d/b/a Kelley Plumbing & Heating v. Joseph P. DUNNE et al. ppeal.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Rhode Island

Page 341

316 A.2d 341

112 R.I. 775

Robert P. KELLEY d/b/a Kelley Plumbing & Heating v. Joseph P. DUNNE et al.

No. 1975-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

March 11, 1974.

[112 R.I. 780] Dolbashian, Chappell & Chace, N. Jameson Chace, Portsmouth, for petitioner.

Moore, Virgadamo, Boyle & Lynch, Jeremiah C. Lynch, Jr., Newport, for respondents.

OPINION

JOSLIN, Justice.

The petitioner, a plumbing and heating contractor, supplied labor and materials for a residence being constructed for the respondents by a general contractor under a written contract. During construction the general contractor abandoned the contract, allegedly owing the petitioner $1,532 for work done and materials furnished. In order to secure the payment of that obligation the petitioner initiated proceedings under the Mechanics' Lien Law, G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) ch. 28 of title 34, and, after taking the prerequisite preliminary steps, filed this petition in which he seeks to enforce a lien against the respondents' land and improvements for the amount allegedly owed. The case was tried to a trial justice sitting without a jury, and is now here on the respondents' appeal from a judgment for the petitioner.

The petition recites the preliminary steps taken to perfect the lien, describes the land and the improvements upon which it is claimed, and sets out the nature of and the basis for the claim in a statement consisting of five handwritten pages attached to the petition as an exhibit. That statement describes the work done, itemizes the materials furnished, tells when the labor was performed and when the materials were supplied, and then sets out the charges therefor in the following manner:

The respondents do not question the trial justice's finding that petitioner is owed $988 for materials and $544 for labor, and they concede that petitioner fully complied with all pertinent provisions of the Mechanics' Lien Law excepting only that portion of § 34-28-13 which provides that a petition to enforce a lien must '* * * set forth the particulars of the account or demand for which the petitioner claims a lien including the date or dates upon which work was done or materials furnished * * *.'

As a basis for their contention that petitioner has not sufficiently particularized, respondents argue that an account must set forth the particulars with the specificity demanded of an action on a book account at common law, ¹ and that this petition does not meet that requirement. The deficiency, they assert, is twofold: first, the petition inaccurately lists the dates upon which the work was done and the materials were furnished, and second, it lumps rather than itemizes the charges for the work and materials.

It is undoubtedly true-as respondents contend and as the cases they cite hold-that a lienor's recital in his account should at least include the work done and when performed, the materials used and when supplied, and a full statement of the account. But, as these cases also make clear, such a computation is not jurisdictional, and a lienor's failure to set forth the particulars of his claim with the requisite degree of specificity will not, at least in the first instance, either be fatal to his claim or require a dismissal of his petition.

Instead, a lienor's failure to particularize should suggest to an owner in doubt as to the nature or kind of work done, the materials furnished, the time of performance, the prices charged, or any other details necessary to assist him in deciding whether to pay or resist payment, that he ask for further particulars. Those particulars must then be supplied by the lienor who, under our law, may amend his account or demand, so long as it clarifies, but does not enlarge, his claim. Graybar Elec. Co. v. Providence Journal Co., 92 R.I. 120, 125-126, 166 A.2d 885, 887-888 (1961); Art Metal Constr. Co. v. Knight, 56 R.I. 228, 248, 185 A. 136, 145 (1936); Cook, Borden & Co. v. R.Z.L. Realty Corp., 50 R.I 375, 377-378, 147 A. 891, 893 (1929); Murphy v. Guisti, 26 R.I. 306, 58 A. 952 (1904); Murphy v. Guisti, 22 R.I. 588, 48 A. 944 (1901); Spencer v. Doherty, 17 R.I. 89, 20 A. 232 (1890).

This procedure is consistent with the philosophy underlying the Mechanics' Lien Law. Even though that law is in derogation of the common law and therefore calls for strict compliance with its requirements, Art Metal Constr. Co. v. Knight, supra, 56 R.I. at 246, 185 A. at 144, it nonetheless should be construed to carry out its purpose of '* * * afford(ing) a liberal remedy to all who have contributed labor or material towards adding to the value of the property to which the lien attaches.' Field & Slocomb v. Consolidated Mineral Water Co., 25 R.I. 319, 320, 55 A. 757, 758 (1903). It '* * * was designed to prevent unjust enrichment of one person at the expense of another.' Art Metal Constr. Co. v. Knight, supra, 56 R.I. at 246, 185 A. at 145.

When we apply these principles to the facts in this case we find that respondents may be correct in their assertion that the account attached to the petition is deficient because it contains some inaccuracies as to dates and it lumps petitioner's labor and material charges. But if res...