Hilley v. Lunsford

At the trial in a justice’s court of an issue raised by an affidavit of illegality upon the foreclosure of a laborer’s lien, the defendant moved to dismiss the proceeding, upon the ground that under the evidence the plaintiff’s only remedy was a mechanic’s lien. The plaintiff excepts to the order of the superior court sustaining a certiorari from a judgment in his favor. Held: A mechanic who himself actually performs manual labor upon property of his employer is not limited to a mechanic’s lien under section 3354 of the Civil Code (1910), but may at his option assert a laborer’s lien under…