Majority — Woods J.
Syllabus
A person hired by the owners of a mine in Utah to oversee the miners, and generally to control and direct its working and development, did, in the performance of liis duties, some manual labor. .'Held, that for the wages due to him he is entitled to the lien conferred by sect. 1221 of the Compiled Laws of that Territory.delivered the opinion of the court.
Cullins-brought suit against the Flagstaff Silver Mining Company of Utah, in a district court of the Territory of Utah, to recover wages alleged to be'due to him from the company for services rendered,’ and to subject its property to a lien therefor which he claimed attached by virtue of the statute of the Territory. • The statute declared as follows: —
“Any person or persons who shall perform any work or labor .upon any mine or .furnish any materials therefor in pursuance of any’contract made with the owner or owners of such mine or of any interest therein, shall be entitled to a miner’s lien for the payment thereof upon all the interest, right, arid property in such mine by the person or. persons contracting for such labor or materials at the time of. making such .contract. k Said lien may be enforced in the same manner and with the same effect as a mechanic’s lien, as provided by the laws of Utah.” Compiled Laws of Utah, sect, mi. ■
: The answer of the company denied that anything save a small balance was due, and that the statute gave him a lien on its property therefor. .
The case was submitted to the court upon the issues of fact as well as of law.
The court found that the .company, a corporation organized under the -laws of Great Britain, was, at the time the services were -rendered, the owner, of - and engaged in working a mine
From this judgment an appeal was taken to the Supreme-.Court of the Territory, by which it was affirmed.
. The company prosecutes this writ of error, and alleges that, .the courts below erred in declaring the judgment' in favor ;of■ Cullins to be a lien on the mine. The precise question • presented is, whether his services for the company were such .“work and labor” as under the statute entitled him to a lien therefor upon the mine.
• Statutes giving liens to laborers and mechanics for- their work and labor are to be liberally construed. Davis v. Alvord, . 91 U. S. 545 . The finding of the District Court makes clear the character of the services rendered by the defendant in error. He was not the general agent of the mining business of 'the plaintiff in error. That office was filled by Patrick. He was not a contractor. His services were not of a professional character, such as those, of a mining engineer. He was the over- ■ seer and foreman of the body of miners who performed manual labor upon the mine. Tie planned and personally superintended and directed-the work, with a view tó develop the mine •and make it a successful venture. • His duties wer§ similar to •
We have examined all the cases cited by the plaintiff in error. None of them seem to be inconsistent with the views we have expressed. They decide that an architect and superintendent of a building; that a person employed to cook for men • engaged in. constructing a reservoir; that a contractor for tbe building .of a railroad or the erection of a house; that the assistant chief engineer of a railroad company; that agents employed to disburse money and pay off the hands who are building a house, — are not, .under laws similar to the statute of Utah, entitled to a lien for their services. Foushee v. Grigsby, 12 Ky. 75 ; McCormack v. Los Angelos Water Co., 40 Cal. 185 ; Aikin v. Wasson, 24 N. Y. 482 ; Blakey v. Blakey, 27 Mo. 39 ; Caldwell v. Bower, 17 id. 564; Brockway v. Innes, 39 Mich. 47 ; Peck v. Miller, id. 594.
The case,which comes nearer supporting the contention of the plaintiff in error than - any other is Smallhouse v. Kentucky, & c. Co., 2 Mon. T. 443. But in that case tbe court says, that “from the nature of the plaintiff’s employment, as avérred by himself, it does not appear that he was an architect or •laborer, or that he labored directly in the construction of the buildings, but rather that he was employed by the corporation at a fixed salary to manage and superintend its affairs at the
Views similar to those we have expressed were declared by Williams, C. J., in Willamette Falls Transportation & Milling Co. v. Remick (1 Oreg. 169), and by the Supreme Court of Nevada in Capron v. Sirout, 11 Nev. 304 .
It is somewhat’ difficult to draw the line between the kind of work and labor which is entitled to a lien, and that which is mere professional or supervisory employment, not fairly to be included in those terms. Some courts have held, under laws similar to those of Utab, that an architect who furnishes plans and superintends the erection of a building acquires a lien .thereon as for work and labor. Stryker v. Cassidy, 76 N. Y. 50 ; Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Co. v. Rowand, 26 N. J. Eq. 389 : Jones v. Shawhan, 4 Watts & S. (Pa.) 257; Bank of Pennsylvania v. Gries, 35 Pa. St. 423 ; Knight v. Morris, 13 Minn. 473 .
. It is not necessary in this case to go so far as these decisions would warrant. But we are clearly of opinion that, upon the facts found by the District Court, the defendant in error, under the statute of Utah, was entitled to a lien upon the mine to which his services were applied. The judgment of the Supreme Court of’Utah must, therefore, be
Affirmed.