Laird v. Moonan’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 29 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 31 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““As respects the amount which may thus be secured, their rights are not dependent upon or limited by the amount due the contractor from the owner under the original contract, nor by the state of the accounts between them. It is sufficient that the liens are created through the owner’s contract, from which his consent is implied. To avoid the incumbrance of such liens, the owner takes the burden of securing the bond which he is authorized by the act to take. Whether the burden of taking such proceedings for his own protection should thus be cast on him, or whether subcontractors and laborers should be left to proceed against the amount due, as under the former practice, was entirely a question of legislative policy. And this is sufficient to dispose of the objection that the law unreasonably limits the exercise of the owner’s discretion as to the persons whom he shall contract with; that is to say, to such as can give bonds or are financially responsible for the contracts they may make in the prosecution of the work. It is strictly in conformity with the policy which allows a lien in any case. It does not.take away or affect the rights of the owner any further than it may be necessary for the security of those who are presumed to have added something to the owner’s property equal to the expenses incurred. Spofford v. True, 33 Me. 283 ; Taggard v. Buckmore, 42 Me. 77 . It is ordinarily understood from the nature of the case that under building contracts the work is not to be do”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Jones v. Great Southern Fireproof Hotel Co.

2. ““As such liens are incumbrances upon the owner’s title, they can only be created by his consent or authority; and it is upon this ground that such legislation is supported. The statute annexes the lien as an incident to the contract of the owner with the contractor or builder, and such contract is the evidence of the authority of the latter to charge the building and land with liabilities incurred by him in performing his contract.” “The owner consents to this power conclusively and irrevocably, so far as others than the builder are concerned, by making a contract while such is the law.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Jones v. Great Southern Fireproof Hotel Co.

3. ““As between the immediate parties to a contract, the contract price fixed therein is, of course, the measure of liability; but it could not have been intended that the owner’s contract carried with it an implied consent that the contractor should bind him to pay whatever he [the general contractor] might promise [a subcontractor] for labor or materials, or any more than the reasonable price or value.” (Emphasis added.)”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Diener v. Cubbage