lien
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 48 U.S. 612 - Peck v. Jenness · 1849Most cited · 473 citing opinions
At common law there can be no lien without possession. It is there defined, a right in one man to retain that which is in his possession belonging to another, till certain demands of him, the person in possession, are satisfied. In maritime law, liens exist independently of possession, either actual or constructive. In courts of equity, the term lien is used as synonymous with a charge or encumbrance upon a thing, where there is neither jus in re, nor ad rem, nor possession of the thing.
How the Supreme Court has restated “lien”
Each Supreme Court definition of “lien,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “lien”
Court decisions citing the 4 opinions that defined “lien” — 785 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 4 definitions, chronological · 1839–1943
- ORIGINAL
it is of the very nature and essence of a lien, that no matter into whose hands the property goes, it passes cum onere; if this were not the case it would cease to be a lien.
passes cum onere
It is only by virtue of local law that this lien exists. It is a qualification of property which can only be derived from the sovereignty within whose jurisdiction the property to be affected by it is situated. That sovereignty can confer it or take it away, or modify it when conferred.
state law origin
It is of the very nature and essence of a lien, that no matter into whose hands the property goes, it passes cum onere.