Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 31.djvu/1438

 1386 FIFTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 854. 1901. thereon is given, or when an owner of lands contracts with a builder for the sale of lots and the erection of buildings thereon, and agrees to advance moneys toward the erection of such buildings, the lien hereinbefore authorized shall have priority to all advances made after the Bling of said notices of lien, and the lien shall attach to the right, title, and interest of the owner in said building and land to the extent of all advances which shall have become due after the Bling of such notice of ‘ such lien, and shall also attach to and be a lien on the right, title, and interest of the person so agreeing to purchase said land at the time of the Bling of said notices of lien. When a building shall be erected or repaired by a lessee or tenant for life or years, or a person having an · equitable estate or interest in such building or land on_which it stands, the lien created by this act shall only extend to and cover the interest or estate of such lessee, tenant, or equitable owner. bgiiegl Bgglxfd mtg; Sec. 1246. How LIEN ENFORCED.-··—·Th8 proceeding to enforce the mms Or." lien hereby given shall be a bill in equity, which sha 1 contain a brief statement of the contract on which the claim is founded, the amount due thereon, the time when the notice was Bled with the clerk, and a . copy thereof served on the owner or his agent, if so served, and the time when the building or the work thereon was completed, with a description of the premises and other material facts; and shall pray that the premises be sold and the proceeds of sale applied to the satis- —P**"j°*·°*°· faction of the lien. If such suit be brought by any person entitled, other than the principal contractor, the latter shall be made a party defendant, as well as all other persons who may have Bled notices of liens, as aforesaid. All or any number of persons having liens on the same property may join in one suit, their respective claims being distinctly stated in separate paragraphs; and if several suits are brought by different claimants and are pending at the same time, the court may order them to be consolidated. Decm of $***8- Sec. 1247. DEGREE or sALE.—If the right of the complainant, or of any of the parties to the suit, to the lien herein rovided for shall be established, the court shall decree a sale of the {and and premises or the estate and interest therein of the person who, as owner, contracted for the erection, repair, improvement of, or addition to the building, as aforesaid. ‘ m§;§é°{;§‘},§,*}},‘§c,(§;f€‘ Sec. 1248. SUBCONTRACTOR PREFERRED TO CONTRACTOR.-If the original contractor and the persons contracting or employed under him shall both have Bled notices of liens, as aforesaid, the latter shall first be satisBed out of the- proceeds of sale before the original contractor, but not in excess of the amount due him, and the balance, if any, of said amount shall be paid to him. D*Smb¤**°¤· SEc. 1249. DISTRIBUTION.——If one, or some only, of the persons employed under the original contractor shall have served notice on the owner, as aforesaid, before payments made by him to the original contractor, said party or parties shall be entitled to priority of satisfaction out of said proceeds to the amount of such payments; but, subject to this provision, if the proceeds of sale, after paying thereout the costs of the suit, shall be insufficient to satisfy the liens of said parties employed under the original contractor the said proceeds shall be distributed ratably among them to the extent of the payments accruing - to the original contractor subsequently to the service of notice on the owner by said parties, as aforesaid. — S°"°¤*‘b“ildi“gS· Sec. 1250. SEVERAL BU"1LD1NGs.—In case of labor done or materials furnished for the erection or repair of two or more buildings joined ` together and owned by the same person or persons, it shall not be necessary to determine the amount of work done or materials furnished for each separate building, but only the aggregate-amount upon all the buildings so joined, and the decree may be for the sale of all