Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-123 (2026)
Parties to suits
In all suits under this subchapter, the parties to the contract and all other persons interested in the controversy and in the property charged with the lien may be made parties to the suit. Those that are not made parties shall not be bound by the proceedings.
History. Acts 1895, No. 146, § 19, p. 217; C. & M. Dig., § 6928; Pope's Dig., § 8890; A.S.A. 1947, § 51-618.
Case Notes
Contractors.
In an action by a materialman against the owner of a building to have a lien declared and enforced on a building for the erection of which the material has been furnished, the original contractor is a necessary and indispensable party. Cruce v. Mitchell, 122 Ark. 141, 182 S.W. 530 (1916).
United States' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' claims for breach of contract and enforcement of its materialman's lien was granted in part because it had not waived its sovereign immunity, and thus, it had to be dismissed with prejudice from the action. However, dismissing the United States from the lawsuit did not necessarily result in a dismissal of plaintiff's lien claims, as plaintiff was not required to make the United States, the owner and lessor of the subject property, a party to its lawsuit in order to perfect its lien interest and recover against defendant lessees' leasehold estate under this section. Dennis Allen Constr. Co. v. Sec'y of Army Corps of Eng'rs, No. 3:12-CV-03061, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107966 (W.D. Ark. Aug. 2, 2012).
Mortgagees.
Where plaintiff in suit seeking to establish lien and decree foreclosure, though charged with knowledge of mortgage, did not make mortgagee party to such suit, mortgagee was not bound by the judgment and decree. Middleton v. Watkins Hdwe. Co., 196 Ark. 133, 116 S.W.2d 1043 (1938).
Cited: Lowe's of Ark., Inc. v. Bush, 282 Ark. 508, 669 S.W.2d 198 (1984).