CHAPTER 263.
OF MECHANICS LIEN
AN ACT to further amend Chapter 145, Volume 16, Laws of Delaware, entitled "An act in relation to Mechanics' Liens."
Be enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
SECTION 1. That Chapter 145, Volume 16, Laws of Delaware, entitled "An act in relation to Mechanics' Liens," as amended by Chapter 679, Volume 18, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by adding the following:
"SECTION 9. That it shall and may be lawful for any person or persons, having performed any work or labor to any amount less than one hundred dollars in or for the erection, alteration or repair of any house, building, bridge, or structure, in pursuance of any contract, expressed or implied, with the owner or reputed owner of such house, building, bridge, or structure, or with any contractor who shall have Contracted for the erection, alteration or repair of any house, building, bridge, or structure, or any part thereof; to obtain a lien upon such building, house, bridge, or structure, and upon the ground upon which the same may be situated or erected, subject however to the following restrictions, limitations and qualifications, that is to say: that no person or persons having done or performed any work or labor in or about the erection, alteration or repair of any house, building, bridge, or structure shall be allowed to file any statement of his claim as hereinafter provided until after the expiration of twenty days from the time of the last work or labor done or performed by him, but in order to avail himself of the benefits of this section he shall file his claim within ten days after the expiration of the twenty days aforesaid, and any person or persons entitled to the benefits of this section shall file his claim under oath, within the time above when claim specified, with any justice of the peace of the county is to be filed, wherein such house, building, bridge, or structure shall be Contents of situated. The said statement shall set forth the names of statement, the party claimant, the owner or reputed owner of the building, house, bridge, or structure, and also of the contractor and the kind of work or labor done, and whether the contract was with the owner or his agent, or with the contractor, the sum claimed to be due, the time when said work was commenced and finished, the location of such house, building, bridge, or structure, and the ground upon which the same is situated, and a description sufficient to identify the same. "Immediately upon the filing of any such claim the justice of the peace with whom the same is filed shall issue a summons, as in other civil cases, to the owner and contractor or owner, as the case may be, and directed to any constable of the county; provided that the time for the defendants' appearance shall not be more than three days from the date of the summons, and not more than two adjournments shall be had, and then only from day to day. If the defendant or defendants shall fail to appear at the time appointed, or after a hearing the justice shall be satisfied of the correctness of the claim, he shall give judgment as in other cases, and upon the payment of cost and a demand for a transcript shall furnish the same, which may be entered in the Superior Court of the county in which the said house, building or structure is situated, and when so entered, if within two days from the date of the transcript, shall become a lien on such house, building, bridge, or structure, and upon the ground upon which the same is erected, and shall relate back to the day when such work or labor was commenced, and shall take priority accordingly. Any and all transcripts taken and entered in the Superior Court under this section shall contain a description of the property upon which it is to become a lien, and shall conform to the description set forth in the plaintiffs statement. All costs and charges shall cost and follow the judgment and shall be the same as are now authorized by law in civil cases before justices of the peace; provided, however, that it shall be the duty of every contractor, when so required, to give ample security to the owner of any house, building, or structure being altered, erected or repaired by him to save such owner harmless from the provisions of this act.
Passed at Dover, April 10, 1891.