is exempt from levy and sale by virtue of an execution, and each movable article thereof continues to be so exempt, while the family, or any of them, are removing from one residence to another: 1. All spinning wheels, weaving looms, and stoves, put up or kept for use in a dwelling house; and one sewing machine with its appurtenances. 2. The family bible, family pictures and school books, used by or in the family; and other books, not exceeding in value fifty dollars, kept and used as part of the family library. 3. A seat or pew, occupied by the judgment debtor or the family, in a place of public worship. 4. Ten sheep, with their fleeces, and the yarn or cloth manufactured therefrom; one cow; two swine; the necessary food for those animals; all necessary meat, fish, flour, groceries, and vegetables, actually provided for family use, and necessary fuel, oil and candles, for the use of the family for sixty days. 5. All wearing apparel, beds, bedsteads and bedding, necessary for the judgment debtor and the family; all necessary cooking utensils; one table; six chairs; six knives; six forks; six spoons; six plates; six tea cups; six saucers; one sugar dish; one milk pot; one tea pot; one crane and its appendages; one pair of andirons; one coal scuttle; one shovel; one pair of tongs; one lamp and one candlestick. 6. The tools and implements of a mechanic, necessary to the carrying on of his trade, not exceeding in value twenty-five dollars. [As amended by L. 1891, ch. 112.] § 1391. Additional personal property exempt in certain cases.-In addition to the exemptions, allowed by the last section, necessary household furniture, working tools and team, professional instruments, furniture and library, not exceeding in value two hundred and fifty dollars, together with the necessary food for the team, for ninety days, are exempt from levy and sale by virtue of an execution, when owned by a person, being a householder, or having a family for which he provides, except where the execution is issued upon a judgment recovered wholly upon one or more demands, either for work performed in the family as a domestic, or for the purchase money, of one or more articles, exempt as prescribed in this or the last section. [As amended by L. 1879, ch. 542, and L. 1901, ch. 116.] Exempting Wages of Workingmen from Attachment for Debt. CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, CHAPTER 15, TITLE 4, ARTICLE 1 (JUDGMENT CREDITORS' ACTION). § 1879. Application of article; what property cannot be reached.— This article does not apply to a case where the judgment debtor is a corporation, created by or under the laws of the state. Nor does it authorize the discovery or seizure of, or other interference with, any property, which is expressly exempted by law from levy and sale, by virtue of an execution; or any money, thing in action, or other property, held in trust for a judgment debtor, where the trust has been created by, or the fund so held in trust has proceeded from, a person other than the judgment debtor; or the earnings of the judgment debtor for his personal services, rendered within sixty days next before the commencement of the action, where it is made to appear, by his oath, or otherwise that those earnings are necessary for the use of a family, wholly or partly supported by his labor.* Making Employees Preferred Creditors. † LAWS OF 1877, CHAPTER 466, BEING THE GENERAL ASSIGNMENT ACT. § 29. Preference of wages and salaries.-In all distribution of assets under all assignments made in pursuance of this act, the wages or salaries actually owing to the employees of the assignor or assignors at the time of the execution of the assignment for services rendered within one year prior to the execution of such assignment, shall be preferred before any other debt; and should the assets of the assignor or assignors not be sufficient to pay in full all the claims preferred, pursuant to this section they shall be applied to the payment of the same pro rata to the amount of each such claim. [As amended by L. 1884, ch. 328; L. 1886, ch. 283; L. 1897, ch. 266 and ch. 624.] Liability of Stockholders for Wage Debts. LAWS OF 1892, CHAPTER 688, BEING THE STOCK CORPORATION LAW AND CONSTITUTING CHAPTER XXXVI OF THE GENERAL LAWS. § 54. Liabilities of stockholders.-Every holder of capital stock not fully paid, in any stock corporation, shall be personally liable to its creditors, to an amount equal to the amount unpaid on the stock held by him for debts of the corporation contracted while such stock was held by him. As to existing corporations the liability imposed by this section shall be in lieu of the liability imposed upon stockholders of any existing corporation, under any general or special law, (excepting laws relating to moneyed corporations, and corporations and associations for banking purposes,) on account of any indebtedness hereafter contracted or any stock hereafter issued; but nothing in this section contained shall create or increase any liability of stockholders of any existing corporation under any general or special law. The stockholders of every stock corporation shall, jointly and severally, be personaly liable for all debts due and owing to any of its laborers, servants or employees other than contractors, for services performed by them for such corporation. Before such laborer, servant or employee shall charge such stockholder for such services, he shall give him notice in writing, within thirty days after the termination of such services that he intends to hold him liable, and shall commence an action therefor within thirty days after the return of an execution unsatisfied against the corporation upon a judgment recovered against it for services. No person holding stock in any corporation as collateral security, or as executor, administrator, guardian or trustee, unless he shall have voluntarily invested the trust funds in such stock, shall be For similar exemption from the supplementary proceedings provided for in chapter 17, title 12, article 1, see § 2463. +Compare section 8 of the Labor Law, "Payment of wages by receivers." See also the Lien Law, below. personally subject to liability as a stockholder; but the person pledging such stock shall be considered the holder thereof, and shall be liable as stockholder; and the estates and funds in the hands of such executor, administrator, guardian or trustee shall be liable in the like manner and to the same extent as the testator or intestate, or the ward, or person interested in such trust fund would have been, if he had been living and competent to act and held the same stock in his own name, unless it appears that such executor, administrator, guardian or trustee voluntarily invested the trust funds in such stocks, in which case he shall be personally liable as a stockholder. [As amended by L. 1901, ch. 354.] § 55. Limitation of stockholders' liability.-No action shall be brought against a stockholder for any debt of the corporation until judgment therefor has been recovered against the corporation, and an execution thereon has been returned unsatisfied in whole or in part, and the amount due on such execution shall be the amount recoverable with costs against the stockholder. No stockholder shall be personally liable for any debt of the corporation not payable within two years from the time it is contracted, nor unless an action for its collection shall be brought against the corporation within two years after the debt becomes due; and no action shall be brought against a stockholder after he shall have ceased to be a stockholder, for any debt of the corporation, unless brought within two years from the time he shall have ceased to be a stockholder. Liability of Railroad Corporations to Employees of Contractors for Wage Debts. LAWS OF 1890, CHAPTER 565, BEING THE RAILROAD LAW AND CONSTITUTING CHAPTER XXXIX OF THE GENERAL LAWS. § 30. An action may be maintained against any railroad corporation by any laborer for the amount due him from any contractor for the construction of any part of its road, for ninety or any less number of days' labor performed by him in constructing such road, if within twenty days thereafter a written notice shall have been served upon the corporation and the action shall have been commenced after the expiration of ten days and within six months after the service of such notice, which shall contain a statement of the month and particular days upon which the labor was performed, and for which it was unpaid, the price per day, the amount due, the name of the contractor from whom due, and the section upon which performed, and shall be signed by the laborer or his attorney and verified by him to the effect that of his own knowledge the statements contained in it are true. The notice shall be served by delivering the same to an engineer, agent or superintendent having charge of the section of the road upon which the labor was performed, personally, or by leaving it at his office or usual place of business with some person of suitable age or discretion; and if the corporation has no such agent, engineer or superintendent, or in case he can not be found and has no place of business open, service may in like manner be made on any officer or director of the corporation. Securing the Payment of Wages in New York City. LAWS OF 1902, CHAPTER 580. AN ACT in relation to the municipal court of the city of New York, its officers and marshals. § 44. Where employee is party.-When an action is brought by an employee against an employer for services performed by such employee, male or female, the clerk of said municipal court in the district in which the action is brought, shall issue a free summons when the plaintiff's demand is less than fifty dollars and the plaintiff is a resident of the city of New York, and proof by the plaintiff's own affidavit that he has a good and meritorious cause of action and of the nature of such action and of said plaintiff's residence, and whether previous application therefor has been made, shall be duly presented to and filed with the clerk of the municipal court where such action shall be brought and he shall not demand or receive any fee whatsoever from the plaintiff or his agents or attorneys in such action, unless the plaintiff shall demand a trial jury, in which case the plaintiff must pay to the clerk of the municipal court where such action shall be pending the sum of four dollars and fifty cents. § 274. Judgment in favor of wage earners.-In an action brought in the municipal court, by a journeyman, laborer, or other employee whose employment answered to the general description of wage earner, for services rendered or wages earned in such capacity, if the plaintiff recovers a judgment for a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, exclusive of costs, and the action shall have been brought within one month after the cause of action accrued, no property of the defendant is exempt from levy and sale by virtue of an execution against property, issued thereupon; and, if such an execution is returned wholly or partly unsatisfied, the clerk must, upon the application of the plaintiff, issue an execution against the person of the defendant for the sum remaining uncollected, if the indorsement required by this act to the effect that defendant was liable to arrest was complied with. A defendant arrested by virtue of an execution so issued against his person, must be actually confined in the jail, and is not entitled to the liberties thereof; but he must be discharged after having been so confined for fifteen days. After his discharge another execution against his person cannot be issued upon the judgment, but the judgment creditor may enforce the judgment against property as if the execution, from which the judgment debtor is discharged, has been returned, without his being taken. § 340. Costs in action by working woman.-In an action brought to recover a sum of money for wages earned by a female employee, other than a domestic servant; or for material furnished by such an employee, in the course of her employment, or in or about the subject-matter thereof, or for both, the plaintiff, if entitled to costs, recovers the sum of ten dollars as costs, in addition to the costs allowed in this court, unless the amount of damages recovered is less than ten dollars; in which case, the plaintiff recovers the sum of five dollars as such additional costs. When the employee is the plaintiff in such an action, she is entitled upon a settlement thereof, to the full amount of costs, which she would have recovered, if judgment had been rendered in her favor, for the sum received by her upon the settlement. $348. Employee's action; no fees.-When the action is brought by an employee against an employer for services performed by such employee, male or female, the clerks of this court shall not demand or receive any fees whatsoever from the plaintiff or his agents or attorneys in such action, if the plaintiff shall present proof by his own affidavit that his demand is less than fifty dollars, that he is a resident of the city of New York, that he has a good and meritorious cause of action against the defendant, and the nature thereof; that he has made either a written or a personal demand upon the defendant or his agent or representative, for payment thereof, and that payment was refused. Except that if the plaintiff shall demand a trial by jury, he must pay to the clerk the fees therefor prescribed in this act. The Lien Law. NOTE. Chapter 418 of the Laws of 1897, "An act in relation to liens, constituting chapter 49 of the general laws," was approved May 13, 1897. (§§ 40-44.) (§§ 30-35.) III. Liens on monuments, gravestones and cemetery structures. IV. Liens for labor on stone. (§§ 50-52.) (§§ 60-63.) (§§ 70-74.) V. Liens for service of stallions. IX. Contracts for the conditional sale of goods and chattels. X. Laws repealed; when to take effect. (§§ 120, 121.) ARTICLE I. Section 1. Short title. 2. Definitions. 3. Mechanics' lien on real property. 4. Extent of lien. 5. Liens under contracts for public improvements. 6. Liens for labor on railroads. 7. Liability of owner for collusive payments, incumbrances and other mortgages. 8. Terms of contract may be demanded. 9. Contents of notice of lien. 10. Filing of notice. 11. Service of copy of notice. 12. Notice of lien on account of public improvements. 13. Priority of lien. 14. Assignment of lien. 15. Assignments of contracts and orders to be filed. 16. Duration of lien. 17. Duration of lien under contract for a public improvement. 18. Discharge of lien, generally. 19. Discharge of lien by deposit of money into court. 20. Discharge of lien for public improvement. 21. Building loan contracts. 22. Construction of article. 23. Enforcement of mechanics' liens. 24. Priorities of liens for public improvements. |