Evening star., 1932-04-17
Proposed Uniform Law
For Mechanics Liens
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

Every citizen who puts up a house,
or any other building, for that matter,
will be relieved of one heavy burden if
the uniform mechanics lien act worked
/ out by an advisory committee of the
| Department of Commerce is adopted by
the States A revised draft of such a
uniform act has just been completed by
the committee appointed by President
! Hoover while Secretary of Commerce
in 1925. This will be passed upon by
the National Conference of Commits
! sionerS on Uniform State Laws and the
American Bar Association at their an
nual meetings this Fall
| Building owners, it is claimed. will be
! given greater security against loss when
| they are paying their accounts for new
| building construction, if this statute Sc
cures general approval from the States.
| AS 1t is today owing to the fact that
there are almost as many different lien
laws as there are States in the Union.
circumstances often arise under which
an owner might pay contractor in full
on the contract and then have to pay
liens for substantial additional amounts.
* Il x
| The model statute now drawn up the
experts believe, will go far toward get
ting rid of difficulties that have grown
out of the present lack of uniformity in
| State laws on this subject 1t will, in
| fact, provide an equitable balance of
benefits and responsibilities.
Non-unifornity in State lien laws, of
course, concerns chiefly persons doing
business in more than one State or who
| furnish or use materials or services
| from States other than that in which
the building is being erected. 1t is be-
lieved that the new act will do away
with many difficulties in payments
made to or by contractors, subcontrac-
| tors, suppliers of material and others
engaged in construction operations.
Hence 1t will tend to improve condi-
tions in the building industry
y n
In general terms the proposed law
limits liens against property to the
contract price. Such liens, however,
| become effective from the time building
| operations actually begin. The proposed
! law makes provision also for notices
to owners of unpaid accounts by lien
| claimants and contractors, and it regu-
| lates the payments by the owner him
self 1t does lot of other things, in
Guiding prescribing penalties for the
| misapplication of funds and indicating
the order of priority in which liens may
| Apply W any pIpptFIy,
The measure follows, for the most
part, principles that have been tried in
certain States and that appear to pro-
vide suitable protection without i'm
posing too heavy burdens on any one
! group.
Many groups in the construction In
duStry have expressed their approval
of the draft. 1t was drawn up by q
| committee composed of the principal
| interested groups, including the Ma
tional Association of Builders EX-
changes, the National Conference Of
| Commissioners on uniform State laws.
the United States League of Local
Building and Loan Associations, the
| Heating and Piping Contractors Ma
| tional Association, the Associated Cen
eral Contractors, the American Insti-
tute Of Architects, the American Engi-
neerlng Council, the American Fedora
| ton of Labor. the National Builders
Supply Association, the National Asso-
citation of Credit Men, the National Re-
| tail Lumber Dealers Association and
the casualty interests.
The committee now announces that
all branches OF the construction indus
try, as well as other commercial inter-
ests which have stakes in building,
have been consulted, and that the pro-
posed law appears to meet with general
approval. 1t Is believed that its adop-
tion by all the States will do much TO
improve present conditions and help
make possible steady and healthy ad-
vance in construction of all kinds.
(Copyright, le3a)