Odger's English Common Law

LIEN. 29
which he has ground for the cost of grinding it. Again, a
common carrier and an innkeeper are hound by the common
law to receive goods which are brought to their premises in
the ordinary way of their business. Hence they have a lien
on the goods so entrusted to their care. An innkeeper cannot
detain the person of his guest if he refuses to pay his bill ;
he cannot take his coat off his back to secure payment, but
he may detain his luggage. 1 These are all cases of what is
called a particular lien
—
i.e., a lien which entitles a man to
retain goods until he is paid the debt which has arisen in
connection with those particular goods, and that debt only.
In some cases, however, a general lien arises i.e., a lien
which entitles a man to retain any goods which he has
received from A. until A. has paid him all the debts he owes
him, whether such debts arose out of matters connected with
those goods or not. This larger lien arises by virtue of a
contract, expressed or implied, from a course of dealing between
the parties or under a custom of some profession or trade.
Solicitors, bankers, wharfingers, factors, dyers and many
other traders are allowed such a lien.
Thus, if a jeweller repairs A.'s watch, he can retain possession of the
watch until A. pays him what is owing for the repair of that watch ; but
if this be paid, he cannot retain the watch because A. owes him money for
work previously done to other jewellery. On the other hand, if a solicitor
conducts three separate actions for a client, he can retain the papers con-
nected with all three actions until the client pays him his three bills of
costs in full.
A lien comes to an end when the person exercising it gives
up possession of the goods to the owner, or when he takes
other security for his debt under circumstances which show
that he intended to abandon his lien on the goods over which
he originally exercised it. 2
—
There is an exception to this in
the case of a shipowner, who has a lien for freight on all
goods that he has carried. This lien continues, if necessary,
after the goods have passed out of his possession, if they are
i See 41 & 42 Vict. o. 38, s. 1.
* In re Taylor, [1891] 1 Oh. 590.