The Winnebago

Citations

• 205 U.S. 354
• 27 S. Ct. 509
• 51 L. Ed. 836
• 1907 U.S. LEXIS 1403

Syllabus

<p>A state law will not be held unconstitutional in a suit coming from a state court at the instance of one whose constitutional rights are not invaded, because as against a class making no complaint it might be held unconstitutional.</p> <p>Whether a state lien statute, otherwise constitutional, applies to vessels not to be used in the waters of the State; on whose credit the supplies were furnished; whether the lien was properly filed as to time and place; and what the effect thereof is as to bona fide purchasers without notice, are not Federal questions, but the judgment of the state court is final and conclusive on this court.</p> <p>Whether a state lien statute is unconstitutional as permitting the seizure and sale of a vessel and the distribution of the proceeds in conflict with the exclusive jurisdiction in admiralty of the Federal courts will not be determined in a suit from the state courts where no holder of a maritime lien is present contesting the unconstitutionality of the statute.'</p> <p>A contract to build a vessel is not a maritime contract enforceable only in admiralty, but the remedy is within the jurisdiction of the state court, and this rule applies to items furnished the vessel after she has been launched, but which are really part of her original construction.</p> <p>142 Michigan, 84, affirmed.</p>