Buncombe County Commissioners v. Tommey

Citations

• 115 U.S. 122
• 5 S. Ct. 626
• 29 L. Ed. 305
• 1885 U.S. LEXIS 1824

Syllabus

<p>The statutes of North Carolina of March 28, 1870, and March-1, 1873, the first, giving a lieu to mechanics and laborers in certain cases, and the other, regulating sales under mortgages given by corporations, do not gjveto those performing labor and furnishing materials in the construction of railroads, a lien upon the property and franchises of the corporation owning and operating such roads.</p> <p>Ordinary lien laws giving to mechanics and laborers a lien on .buildings including the lot upon which they stand, or a lien upon a lot or farm or other property for work -done thereon, or for materials furnished in the construction or repair of buildings, should not be interpreted as giving a lien upon the roadway, bridges, or other property of a railroad company, that may be essential in the operation and maintenance of its road for the public purposes for which it was established.</p> <p>The proviso of the third section of the said act of 1873 (Battle's Revisal, ch. 26, § 48), has reference to the debts and contracts of private corporations formed under the act of February 12, 1872 (Pub. Laws N. O. 1871-2, ch. 199), and- not those of railroad corporations organized, for public use, under the act of February 8, 1872.</p> <p>The authority of State v. Rives, 5 Ired. 297, is questioned by the Supreme Court of North Carolina in GooCh v. McGee, 83 N. C. 59.</p>