Opinion ID: 1209425
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: land description

Text: In considering appellant's claim that the lien is invalid and unenforceable because there was no adequate description of the property contained in the lien statement, we are bound to consider this contention in light of the earlier expressed philosophy of this Court, which has always been that we are reluctant to hold a lien invalid because of a loose description. We will be liberal in upholding such liens in the event no third-party interest has arisen. Mawson-Peterson Lumber Co. v. Sprinkle, 59 Wyo. 334, 140 P.2d 588, 147 A.L.R. 1089 (1943). We held in Engle v. First National Bank of Chugwater, supra, where the lien statement described an entire ranch rather than the one-acre tract upon which a house was placed, it would not vitiate the lien where there is no allegation that the parties were deceived or prejudiced as the result of said description. Generally, when there is no question of innocent parties' rights being affected by a deficient or loose description, the courts have been most liberal in upholding the validity of lien statements. An excellent illustration of this appears in the cases cited in Annot., 52 A.L.R.2d 12, 48-53 (1957). Significantly, appellant does not assert a claim of prejudice, does not contend that it was misled, and does not claim that it does not know the identity of the lands upon which this lien has been asserted. The burden was upon the appellant, Horseshoe Estates, to establish that it had been so misled. Kirby Building Systems, Inc. v. Independence Partnership No. One, Wyo., 634 P.2d 342 (1981). Absent any such claim of prejudice or being misled in any manner by the description which appeared in the lien statement, we must hold that it was sufficient.