Samuel S. Stone v. Joseph A. Rosenfield et al provides an excellant overview of the basis for a mechanics lien. 141 Conn 188 (1954).
If any person shall have a claim for more than ten dollars for materials furnished or services rendered in the construction, raising, removal or repairs of any building or any of its appurtenances… such building, with the land on which it stands, shall be subject to the payment of such claim.” The purpose of the statute is to give a contractor security for labor and material. The statute must be construed in such a way as to render the lien it provides for some value. New Haven Orphan Asylum v. James A. Haggerty Co., 108 Conn. 232, 238, 142 A. 847
The installation of fixtures in a building gives rise to a lien under the statute only if the fixtures become a part of the realty, that is, only if they are permanent fixtures. Stockwell v. Campbell, 39 Conn. 362, 364; see Rose v. Persse & Brooks Paper Works, 29 Conn. 256, 267; Abbadessa v. Puglisi, 101 Conn. 1, 3, 124 A. 838. (the key word is permanent).
“[I]t is essential to constitute a fixture that an article should not only be annexed to the freehold, but that it should clearly appear from an inspection of the property itself, taking into consideration the character of the annexation, the nature and the adaptation of the article annexed to the uses and purposes to which that part of the building was appropriated at the time the annexation was made, and the relation of the party making it to the property in question, that a permanent accession to the freehold was intended to be made by the annexation of the article.” Capen v. Peckham, 35 Conn. 88, 94; Lesser v. Bridgeport-City Trust Co., 124 Conn. 59, 63, 198 A. 252. (The court looks to the intent at the time that the article is attached to the property). (There must be an intent that there be a permanent attachment to the property).
In the case of Stone v. Rosenfield, there was an issue of electrical work being performed on a building. The plaintiff did some work for running a laundry business and for lighting purposes. Unfortunately for the plaintiff, the court found that this type of work did not result in any structural changes so it could obtain no lien.
If you have any questions about a mechanic’s lien in Connecticut, please feel free to contact
Attorney Robert M. Singer
2572 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518
203-248-8278 rsingerct@yahoo.com
Serving New Haven County and all of Connecticut