Court Opinion

ID: 7822654
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 17:59:51.574889+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:46.496425
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. I dissent because I think this opinion allows a financial institution to take unfair advantage of laborers and materialmen. As I understand the facts, construction had already commenced before the loan was made. Furthermore the mortgagor had actual knowledge that materials had been supplied to the site and labor had been performed. Foreclosure commenced against the owner within 120 days. Arkansas Stat. Ann. § 51-618 (Repl. 1971) states other interested parties may be joined but it does not require them to be made parties to the action. The appellant did not choose to make them parties. The result of the opinion is to disallow the priority given appellant under - the law and move a financial institution into priority even though it had knowledge of commencement of construction on the property prior to making the loan. At the very least we should send the case back for trial on the merits as though appellee had been joined from the beginning.