Chap. 294.—An ACT in Relation to Mechanics’ Liens.

Approved July 11, 1870.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That all artisans,
builders, mechanics, lumber-dealers, and others performing
labor or furnishing materials for the construction, repair, or
improvement of any building or other property, shall have a
lien, as hereinafter provided, upon such property and so much
land therewith as shall be necessary for the convenient use and
enjoyment of the premises, for the work done and materials
furnished. But where the claim is for repairs only, no lien
shall attach upon the property repaired, unless said repairs
were ordered by the owner of the property or his agent.

2. A general contractor, wishing to avail himself of the
lien given him by the preceding section, shall file within thirty
days after the completion of the work, in the clerk’s office of
the county or corporation court of the county or corporation
in which the property upon which a lien is sought to be se-
cured is situated, and in the clerk’s office of the chancery
court of the city of Richmond, where the-property is in said
city, a true account of the work done or materials furnished,
sworn to by said claimant or his agent, with a statement at-
tached, signifying his intention to claim the benefit of said
lien, and setting forth a brief description of the property upon
which he claims the lien. It shall be the duty of the clerk in
whose office such account and statement shall be filed, as
hereinbefore provided, to record the same in a book kept for
that purpose, and from the time .of such filing, all persons
shall eemed to have notice thereof.

. 8, Any sub-contractor or workman, and any person con-
tracting to furnish materials about a building or other im-
provement for a general contractor, or other person than the
owner, may give notice in writing to the owner of such build-
ing or other improvement, stating the probable value of the
labor.to be performed or materials to be furnished, and if such
sub-contractor, workman, or supplier of materials shall after-
wards perform such labor or furnish such materials, and shall,
within ten days after such building or other improvement is
completed, furnish the owner thereot with a correct accoant
of the amount due to said party by the contractor and re-
maining unpaid, the said owner shall be liable for the amount
of such claim: provided, the same does not exceed the amount
named by the said claimant in the notice hereinbefore re-
quired ; and in that event, the owner of the building or other
improvement shall be liable to the claimant for the amount
named in the said notice, and no more.

4, If the account furnished to the owner of any building or
other improvement as provided in the last section, by the sub-
contractor, workman, or supplier of materials, is approved by
the general contractor, or if, after ten days’ notice to the gene-
ral contractor of the filing of said accoant with the owner, he
shall fail to file with the said owner any objection to said
account, in either case the said owner may pay the amount of
said account to the sub-contractor, workman, or supplier of
materials, and shall then be entitled to a credit for the amount
so paid upon whatever may be due by him to the general con-
tractor. If the-general contractor dispute or deny the cor-
rectness of the account presented to the owner by the sub-
contractor, workman, or supplier of materials, at any time
before the same is paid, the owner, or either of the other par-
ties, may have the amount of such disputed account summa-
rily adjudicated and settled by arbitrators selected—one by
the general contractor and one by the claimant; and upon the
failure or refusal of either of the said parties to select an arbi-
trator, then the matter in controversy shall be settled by
action at law; and upon the payment by the owner or his
agent of the amount ascertained to be due by the award of
said arbitrators, or by action at law, he shall be released from all
liability to the said sub-contractor, workman, or supplier of ma-
terials, and entitled to a credit against the general contractor
for the amount so paid—the cost of arbitration to be borne and
paid-as said arbitrators shall adjudge and award in each case.

). No lien created by this act shall bind any building, or the
land on which it is erected, or other property affected thereby,
for a longer time than six months after the same is secured,
unless suit be brought within that time to enforce said lien:
provided, however, that where, in any case, credit has been
given by the contractor, and the credit payments have not
fallen due when the lien is secured, said lien shall continue
binding and in full force for six months after the last credit
payment becomes due, not to exceed two years from the com-
pletion of the work.

6. The lien secured upon any building or other improve-
ment, by a general contractor, shall, at any time, enure to the
benefit of any sub-contractor, workman, or other person per-
forming labor or supplying material upon or about such build-
ing or other improvement, to whom said general contractor
shall be indebted therefor: provided, said sub-contractor,
workman, or other person, shall furnish notice to the owner of
his claim against the general contractor before the amount of
such lien is actually paid off and discharged.

7. If the person who shall cause such building to be erected
or repaired, owns less than a fee simple estate in such land,
then only his interest therein shall be subject to said liens.
The liens created by this act shall be preferred to every other
lien or incumbrance which shall have attached upon said pro-
perty subsequent to the time at which the work was com-
menced or the material furnished, and no incumbrance upon
the land created after the making of the contract for the erec-
tion of a building upon such land, shall operate upon the build-
ing erected until the lien in favor of the persons doing the
work or furnishing materials shall have been satisfied.

8. The liens created by this act may be enforced by motion,
upon reasonable notice, in the county or corporation court of
the county or corporation in which the lien is recorded, whether
the defendant reside in such county or corporation or not.
And the owner of the’property, or any other person interested
therein, may, upon like notice to the lien-holder, move said court
to dismiss and release said lien. In either case, the court having
all the parties in interest before it, shall adjudge the right of
the case in all respects, and enforce the same by its decree.

9. In addition to the proceedings authorized by the last pre-
ceding section, any person holding the lien aforesaid, may com-
mence & suit in equity, as in other cases of liens, against the
owner of and all other persons interested as lien-holders or
otherwise in such building and the land on which it is erected,
and obtain such final decree therein for the sale thereof as jus-
tice and equity may require. The holder of such lien filed as
aforesaid, on payment thereof, shall enter satisfaction of the
same on record at the request of any one interested in the
property charged with the lien within ten days after such re-
quest, on the payment of the cost of such entry; and on fail-
ure to enter such satisfaction, shall forfeit and pay the party
aggrieved the sum of fifty dollars, and all damages which he
may have sustained by reason of such failure or neglect.

10. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to take
away or affect in any manner any action which any such con-
tractor, laborer, sub-contractor, or other persons performing
labor or furnishing materials for such building, would other-
wise have against his employer.

11. This act shall be in force from its passage. _