Howard Building Centre v. Thornton

When the Thorntons employed the contractor, Bobby Tubb, to build their house, they did not require a contractor’s bond, and as the work progressed they made no effort to see that their payments were properly used. Consequently, under our law their house is subject to Howard’s materialman’s lien unless Howard is somehow estopped to assert the lien. I do not understand how the court arrives at the theory of estoppel.

When the construction of the Thorntons’ house was begun, Tubb was already in financial difficulty. Mike Danner, Howard’s manager, had told Tubb that his credit would be cut off if…