Liberty Plan Co. v. Walker (1948)
Citation: 200 Okla. 655, 199 P.2d 205 · Court: Supreme Court of Oklahoma · Decided: October 12, 1948 (rehearing denied November 9, 1948)
Source note (2026-10-18):
- Links on this page to
https://static.case.law/okla/200/cases/0655-01.jsonare an (unofficial Caselaw Access Project copy, retrieved before 2026-10-18; host disallows automated access); no official or otherwise permitted full-text copy was located on 2026-10-18.
An oklahoma decision holding that a mechanic in lawful possession of a car holds the general possessory lien of 42 O.S. § 91 without filing the lien statement required for the separate recorded lien of §§ 131–132, and that the lien survived a replevin by a mortgage assignee.
Source note: opinion text retrieved from the Caselaw Access Project’s scan of the Oklahoma Reports (static.case.law).
Facts
A taxicab was mortgaged, then sold with the mortgagee’s knowledge to Boxford; the mechanic, having discussed the job with the mortgagees, repaired it (USD 428.31; a USD 30 storage charge was disallowed). Liberty Plan later took assignments of the past-due notes and mortgages and replevied the car.
Holding
Affirmed for the mechanic. (1) The original mortgagee’s words and conduct, consenting to the repairs while in default, waived the mortgage’s priority, and the assignee took the past-due paper subject to that defence. (2) The 60-day filing rule of §§ 131–132 applies only to a mechanic who wants that separate recorded lien “or to protect his lien against subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers”; it did not repeal § 91, and “so long as the property legally remained in his possession this lien was in force.”
The mechanic attempted no foreclosure; the court expressly did not decide how such a lien could be foreclosed. The action reviewed possession, waiver and the separate recorded-lien filing theory. The full opinion contains an internally inconsistent mortgage date; no deadline is derived from that text/OCR anomaly. Full opinion.
Practical impact
- Possession is the foundation of the § 91 lien; a buyer from a lien claimant should confirm continuous lawful possession.
- The current § 91 adds a detailed notice-and-sale procedure, a lawful-possession documentation requirement, and subordination to perfected security interests absent compliance (42 O.S. § 91, retrieved 2026-10-17) — so the case’s priority result is now statute-dependent.
Good-law status
Qualified by later amendments to 42 O.S. § 91; cited and followed on the possession point in commerce-acceptance-v-press-1967. That later opinion incorrectly describes this case as promulgated in 1943; the retrieved report is dated 1948. Current §§ 91/91A require the detailed notice, authority and title procedures; old possession-alone wording does not dispense with them. Current Title 42. This is full holding verification with identified treatment, not a comprehensive citator certificate.
Applies in →
oklahoma · towing-storage-and-mechanics-lien-sales · motor-vehicles
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify current statutes, procedural facts and subsequent treatment before relying on this historical decision.