vendor's lien
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 84 U.S. 1 - Cordova v. Hood · 1872Most cited · 108 citing opinions
a vendor of land, though he has made an absolute conveyance by deed, and though the consideration is in the instrument expressed to be paid, has an equitable lien for the unpaid purchase-money, unless there has been an express or an implied waiver of it. And this lien will be enforced in equity against the vendee and all persons holding under him, except bona fide purchasers, without notice.
How the Supreme Court has restated “vendor's lien”
Each Supreme Court definition of “vendor's 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 “vendor's lien”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “vendor's lien” — 206 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 3 definitions, chronological · 1822–1872
- ORIGINAL
That a vendor, who has taken no other security for the purchase money, retains a lien for it on the land as against the vendee, or his heirs, seems to be well settled by the English decisions. It is equally well settled, that this lien is defeated by an alienation to a purchaser without notice.
The purchase money is treated as a lien on the land sold, where the vendor has taken no separate security.