AN ARCHITECT’S FEES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIX, Issue 305, 11 December 1929, Page 10

AN ARCHITECT’S FEES

KIGHT OF LIEN. IMPORTANT JUDGMENT. An architect’s right to claim a lien on bis employer’s property, under the Wages Protection and Contractors ’ Liens Act, to protect fees owing to him, was upheld by Mr Justice Blair in a reserved decision delivered at Auckland last week. The judgment is inipo'tnnt in view of the fact that in till now there has been no decision on this point in New Zealand but the judge considers there is no logical reason why an architect s' onld not bo covered by the provisions of the Act, and, apart from that, there are American authorities which recognises claims under similar provisions. The issue was raised on a summons by E. C. Laurie, Ltd., in liquidation, to set aside or stay proceedings started in the Magistrate’s Court by Frederick William Brown, and architect, for a lien for £10!’ for professional fees and for supervising the re-erection of the firm’s building. The defendant’s contention that fin architect was not covered by the Wages Protection and Contractors’ Liens Act was dealt with by His Honour, who gave an interesting definition of “work” in relation to the duties of n contractor, under which the architect claimed the protection of the Act. “It would require courage, if not temerity, to suggest to-day that the word ‘work’ is confined to manual labour only,” said His Honour. ‘‘An architect in desigping and superintending the erection of a building unouestionbly performs work, although tho result is attained mainly by the brain, and tho manual element is negligible. The use of the words ‘work or labour’ in the definition clearly contemnlates work which is, not, manual. Tn ninny cases the contractor for a building confines the whole of Lis time in the execution of a building contract to supervision only, but it has never yet. been suggested that building cannot be the subject of lien proceedings because such services are not ‘work’ within the meaning of section 48 of the