Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 31.djvu/1437

 rnrrr-sixrn commas s. Sess. 11. ca. 854. 1901. 1385 of liens and shall be limited to the amount to become due to the original contractor and be satisfied, in whole or in part, out of said amount only; and if said original contractor, by reason of any breach of the contract on his part, shall be entitled to recover less than the amount agreed upon in is contract, the liens of said parties so employed by him shal be enforceable only for said reduced amount, and if said original contractor shall be entitled to recover nothing said liens shall not be enforceable at all. Sec. 1241. Norrcn ·ro owNE1z.—The said subcontractor or other per- m§§g·§f§m‘§,,;;“"‘*°*` * >‘ son employed by the contractor as aforesaid, besides filing a-notice I with the clerk of the supreme court as aforesaid, shall serve the same upon the owner of the property upon which the lien is claimed, by leaving a copy thereof with said owner or his agent, if said owner or agent be a resident of the District, or if neither can be found, by post- _ ing the same on the remises; and on his failure to do so, or until he ‘““““° °°“°°“*"· shall do so, the said owner may make payments to his contractor according to the terms of his contract, and to the extent of such pay- ments the lien of the principal contractor shall be discharged and the amount for which the property shall be chargeable in favor of the parties so employed by him reduced. Sec. 1242. OWNER’S DUtrY.—After notice shall be filed by said party €rAg;€g€gg§¤e.m¤w¤{ employed under the original contractor and a copy thereof served upon cr _¤abcc¤¤a8iSSg`i9S the owner or his agent as aforesaid, the owner shall be bound to retain °1‘“m· °°°· out of any subsequent payments becoming due to the contractor a sufficient amount to satisfy any indebtedness due from said contractor to the said subcontractor, or other person so employed by him, secured by lien as aforesaid, otherwise the said party shall be entitled to enforce his lien to the extent of the amount so accruing to the principal contractor. . Sec. 1243. SUBCONTRACTOR ENTITLED TO KNOW TERMS or con- u§;1btg¤,g$;$¢gf ¢¤¤; TRACT.—·ADy subcontractor or other person employed by the contractor contract. mus ° as aforesaid shall be entitled to demand of the owner or his authorized agent a statement of the terms under which the work contracted for is being done and the amou11t due or to become due to the contractor executing the same, and if the owner or his agent shall fail or refuse to give the said information, or willfully state falsely the terms of the contract or the amounts due or unpaid thereunder, the said property shall be liable to the lien of the said party demanding said information, in the same manner as if no yments had been made to the coiétractor before notice served on th); owner as aforesaig. - E0. 1244. ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—If the owner, for the ur ose of Ad"**¤°° ’*Y¤*;”_**j avoiding the provisions hereof, and defeating the lien of the sIf1bcon— gfgdgexftsugcontr it tractor or other person employed by the contractor, as aforesaid, shall make payments to the contractor in advance of the time agreed upon therefor in the contract, and the amount still due or to become due to the contractor shall be insufficient to satisfy the liens of the subcontractors or others so employed by the contractor, the property shall remain subject'to said liens in the same manner as if such payments had not been made. · Sec. 1245. Pmonrrr or L1EN.——The lien hereby given shall be pre- P¤i·>¤¤>’ <>f¤€¤- ferred to all judgments, mortgages, deeds of trusts, liens, and incumbrances which attach upon the building or ground affected by said lien subsequently to the commencement of the work upon the building, as well as to conveyances executed, but not recorded, before that time, to which recording is necessary, as to third persons; except that nothing herein shall affect the priority of a mortgage or deed of trust given to secure the purchase money for the land, if the same be recorded within ten days from the date of the acknowledgment thereof. When a mortgage or deed of trust of real estate securing advances thereafter to be ma e for the purpose of erecting buildings and improvements