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101 Cal. 545

Sutton v. Stephan

California Supreme Court

Decided March 7, 1894

California Supreme Court · decided 1894-03-07

The facts are stated in the opinion. The action of claim and delivery is proper under section 3051 of the Civil Code, even when there has been a conversion or other wrongful act amounting to a conversion on the part of the defendant. (Rogers v. Huie, 2 Cal. 571; 56 Am. Dec. 363.) If a lien be claimed by defendant the same can be adjusted in an action of claim and delivery, and thus put an end to litigation.

Applies CA CIV § 2905

Relies on Maynard v. . Anderson

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1894-03-07

How this case has been cited

Cited by 11 later decisions — most recently February 1959

11 state decisions

401894190019101920193019401950decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Seakls, C.—

¶1This is an action in claim and delivery. Defendant justified his right to retain possession of the property demanded (a horse, buggy, harness, etc.) as the keeper of a livery and feed stable, with whom the property had been left by plaintiff to be fed and cared-for, and claimed as due him on account of such feed and care the sum of three hundred and fifty-nine dollars and seventy-five cents, for which sum he claimed a lien upon the property in his possession.

¶2The cause was tried by the court, and written findings filed in favor of defendant, upon which judgment was entered for costs of suit.

¶3The appeal is from the final judgment, and the cause comes up on the judgment-roll, without any statement or bill of exceptions.

¶4The record as presented contains a motion to strike out portions of defendant’s answer, and what purports to be an order of the court denying such motion.

¶5These proceedings constitute no part of the judgment-roll, and not being embodied in any statement or bill of exceptions cannot be considered.

¶6The only question in the case which we can consider arises upon the findings of the court to the effect that on the twenty-second day of November, 1892, plaintiff demanded possession of the horse and buggy; that defendant refused to deliver them; that thereupon plaintiff demanded of defendant a full and itemized account of all claims and charges for which the said defendant *548claimed to hold said goods and chattels, and to state the amount of his lien, and that defendant neglected and refused to render any account to plaintiff, or state the amount of his lien, or to surrender the property to plaintiff.

¶7The contention of appellant is that these refusals on the part of the defendant entitled him to recover possession of the property.

¶8There are various methods by which equitable and statutory liens may be waived. Thus, where one having a lien does not disclose it when the owner demands the property, but claims to be himself the owner, he is estopped from setting up a lien in defense of an action to recover possession by the owner. (Maynard v. Anderson, 54 N. Y. 641.)

¶9Retention upon any ground inconsistent with a lien usually amounts to a waiver. (Jones on Liens, sec. 1019.) Other cases might be specified in which the lien would be lost. But in the present instance, it would seem to have been the duty of plaintiff to have redeemed from the lien in accordance with the provisions of section 2905 of the Civil Code, or he might have brought an action to redeem from the lien. ,

¶10The action in claim and delivery is only proper where the plaintiff has a right to the immediate possession of the personal property. This he cannot have in a case where another has a lien thereon dependent upon possession, and is in actual possession.

¶11In New York, and perhaps in some other states, persons keeping any animals at livery or pasture are given a lien only upon giving to the owner in writing notice that a lien will be claimed, and the amount of the charges for which such lien is claimed.

¶12Where such statutes prevail a compliance with their provisions is of course necessary to the validity of the lien. Our law contains no such provisions, and while it would be eminently proper to amend our code so as to require parties claiming specific liens upon personal property dependent upon possession, to give upon rea*549sonable demand a specification of the amount or sum claimed to be due and for which the lien is claimed, under penalty of a waiver of the lien for refusal, it cannot be said that such is the law in this state;

¶13The judgment appealed from should be affirmed.

¶14Belcher, 0., and Haynes, C., concurred..

¶15For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion, the judgment appealed from is affirmed.

¶16Paterson, J., Harrison, J., Garotjtte, J.

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