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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1887 | 2 |
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98 stories matching lien
- New Washington State Law Grants Farmworkers Liens on Crops
Legislature passes protective measure ensuring laborers and landlords can secure payment against seasonal harvests.
- A Tenant's Barn, a Landlord's Lot, and a Judge's Line
Judge Robinson ruled that a contractor's lien for an unpaid Olympia livery stable could reach the building and leasehold—but not the owner's land.
- New Law Empowers Workers to Claim Liens
A significant legislative act passes, allowing laborers and material providers to secure their pay through property liens.
- The Birth of Mechanic's Liens in Washington Territory
A landmark 1854 statute established the right for laborers to place liens on buildings and land to ensure they were paid for their work.
- The Law That Vanished Overnight
When a new legislative act replaced the state's logger's lien law, it inadvertently vaporized the legal standing of workers fighting for their unpaid wages.
- Delinquent Tax Sales Nullified
A judicial decision wipes the slate clean for Hoquiam property owners, declaring tax liens expired.
- The Right to Get Paid
A landmark Washington Supreme Court ruling secures the rights of loggers to file collective liens against timber companies.
- The Logger’s Right to be Paid
A landmark Supreme Court decision upholds the right of loggers to place liens on timber they harvested, shielding laborers from corporate efforts to dodge payroll.
- Loggers Win Right to Collective Lien
A landmark state supreme court decision empowers loggers to file collective liens against companies for unpaid wages.
- Workers File Liens to Secure Unpaid Wages
Employees of two local businesses resort to legal action to ensure they are paid for their labor.
- Logging Camp Cook Sues for Back Pay
After cooking for a crew and cutting 140,000 feet of timber, a camp cook files a lien on the logs themselves to recover his unpaid wages.
- Barber Shop on the Move
A F Street barber shop is rolled away after a foreclosure lien.
- The Right to Water: A Legal Win for Landowners
A landmark court ruling frees White Bluffs landowners from paying for irrigation water they did not use, potentially signaling the end for the local water company.
- Land Office Cuts Northern Pacific Claims by One-Third
A government intervention restores a third of Northern Pacific's land claims in Washington to the public domain, sparking a bitter feud between settlers and the railroad.
- City Hall's Construction Contractor Fails to Pay Up
Creditors are circling the new city building on Third Street as liens are filed against the project.
- Homesteaders Fight Railroad Land Grab
Settlers at Opera Hall band together to challenge the railroad company's claim to the land they built their homes on.
- The Grading Debt That Never Was
A judge rules that Seattle property owners don't have to pay for street improvements that the city never actually finished.
- New Law Reshapes Local Construction Business
A legislative change forces material men to provide duplicate invoices, altering building financial practices in Tacoma.
- The $3 Million Scheme to Turn Seattle's Tide Flats into Dry Land
A private company plans to dredge the Duwamish and fill Elliott Bay's mudflats — paid not in cash but in land and liens — while St. Louis money waits to see the ground before it bets.
- The Price of a Lien: Laborers Shortchanged in Log Sale
After months of legal delays, loggers find their hard-earned wages swallowed by legal fees and court costs.
- The Endless Legal Battle for the Denny Hotel
A massive, years-long legal tangle over liens and mortgages stalls the completion of one of Seattle's most ambitious building projects.
- The Disappearing Developer
A local real estate operator vanishes, leaving behind a trail of dishonored checks, uncompleted houses, and angry creditors across Tacoma.
- The Struggle for Smith's Bay: A Foreclosure on Progress
A landmark Seattle building faces the auction block as labor claims and land disputes entangle a growing city.
- The Ghost of the Tug Mystic
After being run down by a larger ship and sitting on the bottom of Puget Sound for months, the tug Mystic becomes the subject of a legal tug-of-war.
- Miners’ Liens and a $20,000 Mortgage Land on the Spokane Lead Mines
A Michigan creditor and a Spokane lienholder pursue the Metaline district mining company over unpaid notes and laborers’ claims.