St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-28
MECHANICS, LIEN LAW

Our new mechanics lien law is so
young it has hardly begun to walk as
yet, but it seems as though the coming
legislature might spend part of its ses-
sion to good purpose If it should ampu-
tate one of its limbs. The law had a
good deal of trouble ever since we I'M
dertook to amend the old statute on
this subject. In a growing country
like ours, where there is so much
building and where it is so hard to get
reliable information about the personal
responsibility of many contractors and
builders, satisfactory lien law Is very
much to be desired. Every man who
builds or expects to build home
stead is interested. The old law had
been in force for great many years
had been fought over by the best law
yers in the state, and its meaning had
been settled by long line Of decisions
of the court of last resort. The LUCAS
law of 1887 threw everything into the
greatest confusion until it was pro-
nounced unconstitutional. The law of
1889 was drawn with great elaborate
ness and a wealth of detail which is
really quite without precedent in this
state. 1t reads with the greatest clear
ness, and there is evident the most
serious effort after completeness and
eXactness. 1t has been in operation.
however, only a little over year, and
its cOnstitutionality is SO gravely ques-
toned that we understand most careful
lawyers file their liens under both the
old and the new laws, lest it should
prove that the old one has never been
repealed.
A very curious complication has arisen
under efforts to apply it, which shows
how difficult it is TO anticipate after
what manner attempted legislative re-
forms will really work. Under the old
law each lien was forclosed separately.
and each lien holder bought in the
property sold, subject to such prior
liens as were on it as would successive
mortgages in the event of the torecloS-
ure of their mortgages. The new law,
after the spirit of our recent statutes,
aims to do away with all priority among
the lien claimants, forecloses all liens
against any one piece of property in one
equitable action, in which all persons
interested are made parties, and directs
that the proceeds of the sale shall be
divided pro rata among the lienors. This
is all very beautiful in theory, and
breathes the highest spirit of fairness.
But, in point of fact, everybody knows
that in this state the sale which takes
place under foreclosure is not zeal
sale. 1t is only fiction. The fee
owner has the right to redeem at any
time within twelve months after it has
been made, and no real purchaser ever
appears at the auction. The creditor
bids in the property for enough to pro-
tect himself, and awaits his year. At
the end of this he may get the property.
but is more likely to get his money with
the years interest. But, under the new
lien law, somebody has got to make an
actual cash purchase, and of course this
person must be one of the lien claimants.
He has, moreover, to make his bid large
CROUCH to cover all the liens filed. and
in actual money pay off his fellow
lienors. He then has to wait a year,
not only for the collection of his debt
for which he filed his lien, but also for
the return of the large amount of cash
which he has had to advance for the
protection of his interests. He cannot
purchase the property at less than the
aggregate amount of the liens without
reducing the security for his own claim
in the same relative proportion. Some
one of the lienors has, then, in practice,
for his own protection, to pay off his
fellows and take what amounts to
an assignment of their claims against
the property. to be held for year. At
the end of this time he may be repaid
with per cent interest, OF he may be-
come the owner of the property, which,
in the meanwhile, has been at the ten
der mercies of the debtor.
There is good deal of hardship in
such law. We do not venture to
suggest how it should be amended, but
we think this and good many other
points about which we may speak are de-
serving of the legislatures early atten-
ton. The constitutionality of whatever
mechanics lien law we have should
surely be put beyond question.