50 Mo. App. 499 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1892
— Defendants owned a number of fifty-foot lots in Westport, and conceived tbe idea of constructing thereon some two-story brick bouses — each bouse to occupy a frontage of twenty-five feet, so tbat there would then be on each lot two bouses. It seems to have been tbe original intention to construct twenty-nine of these bouses, and work was begun witb tbat in view.
Plaintiff entered into an agreement witb defendants to furnish tbe materials and do all tbe work necessary for roofing tbe several bouses. He1 was to complete tbe roofing — putting on all tbe slate and tin work — and was to receive therefor $170 for each bouse tbat defendants might erect, whether twenty-nine bouses or less. Two bouses were completed, and plaintiff supplied tbe necessary slate and tin to roof them in; a third bouse was brought nearly to completion, and on tbis plaintiff placed tbe necessary tin work preparatory for tbe slate.
Plaintiff had a judgment for the enforcement of a mechanic’s -lien against both lots 18 and 19, for the work thus done and materials furnished for the two houses on the east half of 18 and east half of 19, and defendants appealed.
The right to the enforcement of one lien for this work done on the two separate buildings on two distinct lots must come from section 6729 of the present mechanics’ lien law. That statute, in effect, provides that only one lien shall be necessary where the separate buildings shall be erected under one general contract and v/pon contiguous lots.
II. As a further objection to the enforcement of this lien it is claimed that these two buildings are not “upon contiguous lots.” This contention has for its basis the fact, that although the two houses on which the slate work was done are located on adjoining platted lots, yet as the two buildings are apparently separated by another house (also located on one of the lots), and that the owner had made separate deeds of trust on each half lot, then it is contended that this effected a division of said fifty-foot lots into twenty-five-foot lots, and that the two houses on which the work was done were thus thrown on lots that were not contiguous. We must hold this point, too, against the defendants.
III. Neither is there any merit in the further objection that the lien as filed is uncertain and meaningless. The account, it is true, mentions certain tin work done by the lienor on the three houses situated on the two lots, and these items were by the court excluded, because not specifically itemized. However, the non-lienable are easily separated from the lienable items, and, with these out, there remained a just and true account of the slate work done on two houses. The account on the slate work reads: ‘ ‘ January 20, to twenty-four squares to each of the two houses, one on lot 18 and oneonlotl9 — $192. ” Thiswasthat “true description of the Iproperty, or so near as to identify the same, upon which the lien is intended to apply,” etc., as required by section 6709 of the mechanics’ lien statute.
As against the defendants, there appearing no error in the record, the judgment is affirmed.