165 Ind. 662 | Ind. | 1906
This suit was brought by appellant to foreclose a mechanic’s lien. The cause was tried by the court, special findings made, and conclusions of law
The appeal directly to this court is by virtue of the provisions of §1337h Burns 1901, Acts 1901, p. 565, §8, and involves the proper construction of §7255 Burns 1901, Acts 1899, p. 569.
The special finding of facts by the trial court shows: That on the 1st day of September, 1903, appellees were the owners in fee of a certain lot in the city of Indianapolis, upon which a boiler house was situated, bordering on the north line of Anchor street, and in the basement of said boiler house, and about ten feet from the north line of said street, a sixty-horse-power steam boiler was permanently located; that on said date appellees entered into a contract with Hays Brothers to lay under ground and through said street, from the southwest corner of said lot, a seven-inch steam pipe, and to connect said pipe with said boiler; that, pursuant to said contract, Hays Brothers contracted with one Maxey to dig a trench from the southwest corner of said lot through said street to the first alley running north and south, to fill up 'said trench, restore the street to its original condition, and haul away the remaining dirt; that, pursuant to said contract, Maxey employed appellant to haul away the dirt dug out of said trench, and to haul sand to be used in refilling the same and in replacing the brick on said street; that said pipe was, afterwards laid in such trench and permanently connected with said boiler, and used to transmit steam for heating purposes, under a franchise from said city, but no part of said pipe was laid, and no part of said work was done on that part of said street bordering upon said lot, except at the southwest corner of said lot; that, pursuant to said employment, appellant hauled away the dirt dug from said trénch, and hauled sand for the purposes aforesaid, which hauling was reasonably worth $7; that within sixty days
- We have not been favored with a brief on behalf of appellees, and are not advised of the exact ground upon which the trial judge rested his denial of appellant’s alleged lien.
The generation of steam to be distributed through pipes laid in the streets under a franchise granted by the municipality, and supplied to patrons for heating purposes, is the function of a manufactory. The building equipped with machinery for the generation of steam for such use permanently located upon appellee’s lot was a manufactory within the meaning of the statute above quoted. Bates
In the case of Dudley v. Jamaica Pond, etc., Co. (1868), 100 Mass. 183, it was said by Hoar,, J.: “A gas company is strictly a manufacturing corporation, and comes within the letter as well as the spirit of the act. Instead of sending its manufacture to its customers in packages, or by other vehicles, it distributes it through pipes which are connected with and form a necessary appendage to its works.”
The work which appellant performed being directly and necessarily connected with the erection of appellees’ heating system, as already shown, it was an immaterial matter whether such work was performed upon the particular premises to which the labor lien primarily attached, or
The conclusions of law stated were erroneous, and the judgment is reversed, with directions to restate conclusions of law in appellant’s favor, and to render judgment accordingly.