Common law solicitor's lien on recovered funds prevails against attaching creditors where the money remains under court control.

Attorneys have a common law lien over money or property recovered or preserved by their exertions, distinct from a mere possessory lien. That lien is not displaced by the Solicitors Act, 1860, and a decree or fund in Court remains subject to the solicitor's claim for costs. An attaching creditor is treated as taking subject to that possible lien, particularly where the attached fund consists of costs awarded in the suit. Where the fund remains under the Court's control, the Court may protect and enforce the attorneys' priority, and a prior order treating the money as available to attaching creditors cannot defeat that claim.

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Issues: Whether the attorneys had a common law lien on costs recovered in the suit and whether that lien prevailed against attaching creditors so as to justify an order protecting payment of the fund to the attorneys.

Analysis: The attorneys' right was held to be a common law lien on property or money recovered or preserved by their exertions, distinct from a mere possessory lien. The lien was not displaced by the Solicitors Act, 1860, and the Court followed the long-standing English and Indian authorities recognising that a decree or fund in Court remains subject to the solicitor's lien for costs. An attaching creditor who attaches a decree for costs is taken to have notice of the possibility of such a lien, especially where the fund consists of costs awarded in the suit. Since the fund remained within the control of the Court, the Court could protect and give effect to the lien and the earlier order treating the money as available to the attaching creditors could not defeat the attorneys' prior claim.

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

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded, the attorneys' lien was upheld, and the fund was directed to be applied in accordance with their priority claim, with costs awarded to them.

Ratio Decidendi: A solicitor or attorney has a common law lien on money recovered or preserved by his exertions, and where the fund remains under the control of the Court, an attaching creditor takes subject to that lien.

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