129 Tenn. 608 | Tenn. | 1914
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The only question necessary to be determined in this case is whether the appellants Sager and Brookover have acquired a lien asserted in their petition. The chancellor held that they had not perfected the lien claimed because no attachment was issued and levied upon the stock of drugs, and because the act of 1905 creating the lien is unconstitutional and void.
The petitioners were employees of Mrs. Stone, one the prescription clerk and the other a porter in her drug store. She is indebted to them for wages in the sum stated in the petition.
The original bill is a general creditor’s bill against Mrs. Stone and was filed March 15, 1913. March 18th a receiver was appointed and given possession of the stock of drugs in controversy. The petitioners filed their petition April 16th after the appointment of the receiver, and before the sale of stock of drugs by the receiver. The property which came into the hands of the receiver consists of a stock of goods and certain fixtures in the drug store, including a soda fountain and “appurtenances,” one roller-top desk, one iron safe, and one McCaskey cash register. There was also another cash register, a hot soda appurtenance, and perhaps some other articles. The title to the Mc-Caskey cash register was claimed by J. B. Stone. The other cash register was not paid for in full, the title to
The description of the property upon which the petitioners claim their lien as contained in their petition is “the drug business at the corner of College and McLemore avenues in Memphis, Tenn.,” and the petitioners “claim a prior and superior lien and equity under the statutes of the State over the other creditors to the proceeds derived from the sale when made of the fixtures and stock of drugs and other assets of said business which was conducted by the defendants at the comer of McLemore and College avenues.”
The petitioners deny that the complainants have any title retained to the soda fountain described in their bill, “which soda fountain was used in said business at the corner of College and McLemore avenues. ’f
The prayer of the petitioners, in part, is that petitioners have a decree for the amount of their claims and have been paid out of the assets or proceeds derived from the sale of the stock of drugs and fixtures and out of their assets of said business and that their lien “on all the assets of said business for what is found to be due them be declared, and that they have satisfaction in full for their indebtedness in preference to the general creditors of said estate. ’ ’
Without deciding whether it is necessary, in a case like this, for attachment to actually issue and be levied
While it is not necessary to decide the constitutionality of chapter 414 of the Acts of 1905, it is not improper to say that a very serious question is made upon the validity of this statute. The title of the act is “An act to amend chapter 78 of the Acts of 1897, so as to give employees and day laborers of individuals engaged in mercantile lines of business a first lien upon the merchandise for their services.” The amendment proposed in the act is to insert after the word “firm” in line 5 of section 1 of chapter 78, Acts of 1897, the following, “or of any individual engaged in mercantile lines of business,” and to insert after the words in chapter 78 sufficient general words to make the act read, when amended, so as to include individuals as well as corporations and firms.
The criticism of the act is that it violates section 17 of article 2 of our constitution, which requires all acts which repeal, revise, or amend former laws to recite in their caption or otherwise the title or substance of the law repealed, revised, or amended. It was held in Memphis Street Railway v. State, 110 Tenn., 608, 75 S. W., 730, and Burnett v. Turner, 87 Tenn., 124, 10 S. W., 194, that the reference to the chapter number of the act to be amended is not a sufficient compliance with the provision of the constitution just referred to. It
The decree of the chancellor is affirmed at the cost of the appellants.