Common law solicitor's lien on recovered costs prevails over attaching creditors while court control of the fund continues.

Attorneys were held to retain a common law lien on costs or other funds recovered through their exertions, subject only to statutory modification. An attaching creditor who attaches a decree for costs takes subject to that lien, because the attachment of litigation proceeds gives notice of the solicitor's possible claim. Where the fund remains under the Court's control, the lien can be protected and enforced by directions for payment. The attorneys' claim therefore ranked in priority to the attaching creditors, and the order dismissing their summons was erroneous.

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Issues: Whether attorneys had a common law lien on costs recovered in a suit and could enforce that lien against attaching creditors while the fund remained under the control of the Court.

Analysis: The lien in question was treated as a common law lien, distinct from a mere possessory lien. The governing rule was that, subject to statutory modification, attorneys in India retained the English common law right to a lien on property or funds recovered or preserved by their exertions, including costs ordered to be paid to the client. The Court held that an attaching creditor who attaches a decree for costs takes subject to that lien, because attachment of a fund recovered in litigation gives notice of the solicitor's possible rights. The fact that the money remained in the custody or control of the Court also enabled the lien to be protected and enforced by appropriate directions for payment.

Conclusion: The attorneys were entitled to enforce their lien in priority to the attaching creditors, and the order dismissing their summons was erroneous.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the earlier order was set aside, and relief was granted declaring the attorneys' entitlement to be paid in priority from the attached costs fund.

Ratio Decidendi: An attorney has a common law lien on costs or funds recovered by his exertions, and an attaching creditor takes subject to that lien where the fund remains under the control of the Court and the attachment itself gives notice of the solicitor's possible claim.

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