51 N.J.L. 329 | N.J. | 1889
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The defendant in error contracted, in writing, with Messrs. Robinson & McDowell to do all the work and furnish all the materials in the erection of a dwelling house, and the contract thus made was filed in accordance
By its terms, the first section of the Mechanics’ Lien law makes every building, and the lot or curtilage upon which it is erected, liable for the payment of any debt contracted with and owing to any person for labor performed or materials furnished in the erection and construction of the building, but the lien thus generally given is restricted by the second section, in cases where the building shall be erected by contract, in writing, and such contract shall be filed in the office of the county clerk, to the contractor alone. The effect of this restriction is to release the owner from the necessity, annoyance and trouble, for his own protection, of supervising the payment of all labor and materials, by confining his liability to the person with whom he expressly contracts.
The design of the third section of the act is to afford workmen and materialmen a remedy where they can have no lien. It, in short, contemplates that when the contractor shall be indebted to any one of them, and, upon demand, shall refuse to pay that which he owes, notice of the amount due, and the contractor’s refusal to pay it, may be given to the owner, and
The plaintiff in error did not furnish materials to Robinson <& McDowell, and was not their creditor. He had no right to demand payment from them. His debtors are Culver & Miller, and he must look to them. The statute does not afford him a remedy. The judgment below will be affirmed.
For affirmance — The Chancellor, Chief Justice, Dixon, Garrison, Knapp, Mague, Reed, Scudder, Van Syckel, Brown, Clement, Cole. 12.
For reversal — None.