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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 16, no. 382: July 10, 1875

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE. Vol. XVI. NEW yOEK, SATUKDAY, JULY 10, 1875. No. 382 I ^ Published Weekly by f THE REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION. \ C. W. SWEET...............PlJESIDENT AND Tbeasuber PRESTON I. SWEET...........Secretary. tf Ii. ISRAELS.........................Business Manager TERMS. ONE YEAR, in advance....$10 00. Communications should be addressed to C. TT. ©T\^1E3ET, Nos. 34.5 and 347 Broadway. LAWS 1875. Chap. 379. AN ACT to Define and Limit tlie Liens of Con¬ tractors and Others upon Real Estate in the City and County of New York, and to Provide for the Enforcement Thereof. Section 1. Every person performing labor upon, or furnishing materials to be used m, the con- I struction, alteration or repair of any building, vault, wharf, fence, or anv other structure in the : city or county of New YorJr, shall have alien ' upon the same for the work or labor done, or materials furnished by each respectively, whether done or furnished at the instance of the owner : ol the building, or other improvements, or his % ageut^but the aggregate amount of such liens S must not exceed the amount which the owner S wculd be otherwise liable to pay at the time of , f the filing of the claim prescribed by section five ' " of this Act. Sec. 2. Any person who, at the request of the ■% owner of any lot in said city or county, grades, J fills in or otherwise improves the same, or the '' sidewalk or street in front of or adjoining the same, shall have a lien upon such lot for his work done and materials furnishsd, to the ex¬ tent of the liability therefor of the owner of the ! pro]>erty at the time of. filing the claim pre- i scribed by section five of this Act. '■K, Sec. 3. The land upon which any building, ^improvement or structure) is constructed, to- L#gether with the appurtenonces, fchall be subject ' _to the lieu s, if at the time the work was com- ■.; menced, or the materials ior the same had com- 1 menced to be furnished, the land belonged to i the person who caused said building, improve- '^ ment or structure to be constructed, altered or '• ^repaired, but if such perr.on owned less than fee ' ^simple estate in such land, then only his interest ?;' therein shall be subject to such Hen. tSsc. i. The liens provided for in this act shall , .jbe preferred to any lien, mortgage or other in- " Icumbrance of which the lien holder had no no- iftice, and which was unrecorded at the time of '^he filing of the claim referred to in the next ^section. M TIME OF FUJNG liEENS. ^ m Sec. 5. Every original contractor, within sixty y Bflays after the coinpletion of his contract, and ^ ref ery person, savethe original contractor, claim- r<^ing the benefit of this Act, must, within thirty :|- days after the. completion of any btiilding, im- iprovement.or structure, or after the completion I of the alteration or repair thereof, or after the completion-ot the work or the famishing of the materials for which the lienis claimed, file with the county clerk of the county, a claim contain¬ ing the names and residence of all the claimants !l and a statemeiit'of tlie cieinand after deducting I aE just credits and offsets, with the name i.f the 1^ owner or repu'eel owner, if known, iiiid ."xlso the I name of the person by whom he was emploj ed, 1? or to whom he furnished the materials, with a t statement of the. terms,,time given and condi- ^\ tions of his coijtract, and whether all the work N or materials for which the claim is made has been actually performed or furnished, and if not, how much of it, and also a description of the property to be charged with the lien, suffi cient for identification, which claim must be verified by the oath of himself or one of several united in interest, or of some other person. The verification must be to the effect that the state¬ ments contained in the claim are true to the knowledge of the person making the same. If his contract or any part thereof is in writing, a copy of such writing must be filed with and made part of his claim. Sec. 6. In every case in which one claim is filed against two or more buildings or other improve¬ ments owned by the same person, the person fihng such claim must, at the same time, desig¬ nate the amount due to him on each of such buildings, or other improvements, otherwise the lien of such claim shall be postponed to other liens. The hen of such claimant shall not ex¬ tend beyond the amotint designated as against other creditors having liens by judgment, mort¬ gage or otherwise, upon either ot such build¬ ings or other improvements, or tipon the land upon which the same are situated. Sec. 7. The clerk shall enter the claim in a book kept by him for that purpose, called the lien docket; such entry shall contain the name and residence of the claimant, the person who incurred the debt, the amount and the date of filing, the street aud particular place where located, in such manner as to be convenient in searching for the liens by street and block. The County Clerk shall receive ten cents on filing the same. Except as provided in the fourth section, the lien shall attach, from the time of filing of the claim, to all the right, title and interest, which the owner then has in the prop- perty therein described, to the extent of the LiabUity of such owner for the claim preferred. Sec. 8. No lien, provided for in this Aot, shall bind the property therein described for a longer period than ninety days after the claim has been filed, unless an action be commenced with¬ in that time to inforce the same, and a notice of the pendency of such action filed with the clerk of the county, and an entry of the fact of such notice made on the lien docket. And where a claimant is made a party defendant to any action brought to enforce any other lien, a notice of tbe pendency of,such action musfcbe filed by him or on his behalf. But the neglect to file such notice shall not abate any action which may be pending to enforce the lien; such action may be prosecuted to judgment against the persons liable for the debt. Sec. 9. Any claimant who has filed the notice mentioned in the fifth section of this Act may enforce his claim against the property therein described, and against the persons liable tor the debt, by a civil action in a court of record held in said city. Sec. 10. The manner and form of instituting and prosecuting any such action to judgment and any appeal trom such judgment shall be the Same as in actions for the foreclosure ol mort¬ gages of real property, except as herein other¬ wise provided. Sec. 11. The person filing the claim shall be the plaintiff in such action. The plaintiff must make aU parties who have filed claims against the property, as well as those who have subse¬ quent liens by judjiment, mortgage or convey¬ ance, parties defendant. And as to all persons against whom no personal claim is made, the plaintiff may, with the summons, serve a notice stating briefly the object of the action, and that no iiersonal claim is made. But all persons who have filed claims under this Act may, by answer in such action, set forth the same, and the court m which the action is brought may decide as lo the extent, justice and priority of the claims of all parlies to the action. Sec. 12. Any number of persons claiming liens upon the same property may join in the same action, and when separate actions are com¬ menced, the court in which the first was brought may, on the application of the owner of the property or of any part thereof, consolidate them. Sec. 13. At any time after the action is com¬ menced, the owner of the property affected may, in writing, offer to pay into court any amount stated in the offer, or to execute or dehver any securities or papers which he may describe in discharge of the property. If the offer is accept¬ ed, in wilting, within ten days thereafter, the Court in which the action is pending may make an order that on deposit with the County Clerk of the amount offered, or the securities or other property described, the lien be discharged, and the money or securities deposited thereafter takes the place of the lien. In case the offer be not accepted within ten days, and the plaintiff fails to recover any more favorable judgment against the property, he shall pay all cosJs in the action incmxed by the owner from the time of the offer. Sec. 14. All persons entitled to liens on the structure or improvement, except those who contracted with the owner thereof, shall be daemed sub-contractors; and the Court in the judgment shall direct the amount due sub-con¬ tractors to be paid out of the proceeds of sales before any part of such proceeds are paid to the contractor. Sec. 15. In every case in which different liens are asserted against property, the Court in the Judgment must declare the rank of each lien or class of liens, and the proceeds of the sale of the property must be applied to each lien or class of liens in the order of its rank. Sec. 16. Whenever by the terms of his con¬ tract the owner has stipulated for the delivery of biUs, notes, or any other species of property in lieu of money, the judgment must direct that such substitute, be delivered er deposited au the Court may direct, and the property affected by the liens can only be directed to be sold in de¬ fault of the owner to deliver such substitutes within such time as may be directed. Sec. 17. Whenever on the sale of properly subject to the lien, there is a deficiency of pro¬ ceeds, judgment may be docketed for the defi¬ ciency against the persons named in the judg¬ ment as liable therefor in like manner and with like effect as in actions for the foreclosure of mortgages. Sec. 18. The lien may be discharged as follows: 1. By filing a certificate of the claimant or his successor in interest, acknowledged or proved in the same manner as the satisfactionoi a mort¬ gage, stating that the lien is discharged. 2. By the deposit with the clerk, if before suit, of a sum of money equal to the amount claimed, with interest to the time of such deposit. 3. After the commencement of an action by the deposit with the clerk of such sum as in the judgment of the Court, after due notice to the claimant, will be sufiicent to pay any judgment which may be recovered against the j)roperty. 4. In lieu of such deposit as prescribed in the last preceding subdivision of this sectioo, tho Court may require the execution and delivery to tlje clwk of the county of a bond; in such sums as