Albers Milling Company v. Farmers Produce Company, a Corporation, Al Faubus and Bob Faubus, and O. L. Henderson

222 F.2d 915, 1955 U.S. App. LEXIS 3899
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJune 7, 1955
Docket15230_1
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 222 F.2d 915 (Albers Milling Company v. Farmers Produce Company, a Corporation, Al Faubus and Bob Faubus, and O. L. Henderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Albers Milling Company v. Farmers Produce Company, a Corporation, Al Faubus and Bob Faubus, and O. L. Henderson, 222 F.2d 915, 1955 U.S. App. LEXIS 3899 (8th Cir. 1955).

Opinion

GARDNER, Chief Judge.

This appeal is from a judgment which determined the rights of relative claimants to a fund arising from the sale of certain chickens which had been taken possession of pursuant to a levy under execution issued on a judgment entered in favor of the Albers Milling Company and against Jim Robinson doing business as The Westark Feed Company. After the property had thus been levied upon under the execution a number of adverse claimants intervened and it was stipulated that the execution be withdrawn, that the chickens levied upon be sold and the proceeds of such sale paid into the registry of the court, subject to a hearing on the question of the distribution of said proceeds. The terms of the stipulation were embodied in an. order of court duly entered.

The Albers Milling Company claimed the entire fund arising from the sale of the chickens by reason of its unsatisfied judgment against Jim Robinson for $9,600.00 which confessedly had not been paid. O. L. Henderson claimed an interest in the fund because of his partnership with the defendant Robinson, and Farmers Produce Company and Al and Bob Faubus claimed ownership in the chickens and a right to the proceeds of the sale less one-half the profit resulting from the services rendered by Robinson and Henderson in raising and feeding the chickens during the time they were in their possession.

The court on the trial of the issues presented found among other things that:

“Early in 1954, the defendant Robinson owned or had control of certain facilities for the raising of chickens. He and O. L. Henderson agreed that if Robinson would procure the chickens and supplies, Henderson would furnish the labor and they would split the profit, if any, they made upon the chickens.

“Thereafter, Robinson went to the Farmers Produce Company at Spring-dale, which was being operated by the intervenors, Al and Bob Faubus, under contract with the Produce Company, and discussed the situation with Bob Faubus. At that time Faubus agreed to furnish Robinson the chickens, feed, utilities, etc., Robinson was to furnish the place and the labor, and if there was a loss it would be absorbed by Faubus and Farmers Produce Company and would not be charged against Robinson.

“ * * * on the flock of chickens involved herein no chattel mortgage was taken and both Robinson and Faubus understood that Farmers Produce Company and Faubus were the owners of the chickens until they were sold. They did not enter into a written contract and did not, in so many words, talk in terms of conditional sales or title retention agreements. They merely understood, as was the custom, that Farmers Produce Company and Faubus, having placed the chickens on Robinson’s place under a no-loss arrangement, ‘owned’ the chickens until they were sold. In other words, Robinson paid nothing for the chickens *917 or feed and was under no obligation to do so until the chickens were sold. If all the chickens had died Robinson would have owed Farmers Produce Company and Faubus nothing. These are factors upon which the custom is based and which caused Robinson and Faubus to understand and agree that Farmers Produce Company and Faubus retained ownership of the chickens.

“The chickens were raised by Henderson on Robinson’s place in accordance with their fifty-fifty agreement, and as heretofore stated were sold for the sum of $8,426.60, which has been paid into the registry of the Court.

“Farmers Produce Company and A1 and Bob Faubus furnished chickens and supplies to Robinson of the value of $7,539.83, and have not received payment therefor.”

Pursuant to these findings and others to which further reference will be made during the course of this opinion the court concluded as a matter of law that:

“The Intervenors, Farmers Produce Company and Al and Bob Faubus, were at all times the owners of the chickens involved herein, and the only interest the defendant Robinson had in the chickens was a one-half interest in the profits, if any, derived from the sale of said chickens.

“The amount of profit made on the chickens was $886.77, of which Robinson was entitled to $443.38.

“This amount, $443.38, less the costs of this proceeding, should be paid to the plaintiff, Albers Milling Company, and credited upon the judgment heretofore entered in this case on September 20, 1952.

“The Intervenor, O. L. Henderson, is entitled to receive from the sum in the registry of the Court one-half of the profits, or the sum of $443.39.

“The Intervenors, Farmers Produce Company and Al and Bob Faubus, are entitled to receive from the sum in the registry of the Court $7,539.83.”

Judgment was entered accordingly. From the judgment so entered the Albers Milling Company prosecutes this appeal and seeks reversal on substantially the following grounds:

1. The Court erred in finding that title to the chickens was retained by the intervenors because of custom of the trade.

2. The Court erred in finding the in-tervenors, Farmers Produce Company (Farmers Feed Store) and Al and Bob Faubus, were owners of the chickens at all times when in fact all the record exhibits show that Farmers Feed Store is owned by C. L. Garrett, and the legal relationship of Farmers Feed Store and Al and Bob Faubus is not shown.

3. Findings of fact of the lower Court were not based on substantial evidence.

4. Findings of fact will not support conclusions of law.

There is of course a presumption that the findings of the court are correct and will not be set aside unless clearly erroneous. Rule 52(a), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 28 U.S.C.A. This is so well established that we forbear the citation of any authorities except the rule itself. It appears without dispute in the evidence that the intervenors, Farmers Produce Company and Al and Bob Faubus, -were the owners of the chickens here involved at and prior to the time they entered into negotiations with Robinson. As a result of these negotiations they parted with possession of the chickens. There is no evidence that they transferred title and the transaction resulted in the creation of a bailment. The court found that by prevailing custom in the trade one of the methods employed by feed dealers in selling their feed was a so-called fifty-fifty or percentage deal, where the dealer furnished the chickens, feed, utilities, medicines, and other expenses, the growers furnished the place and the labor and they split the profit, if any, and if there were a loss on the chickens the dealer absorbed the loss and it was not charged against the grower. The court concluded that this was substantially the form of contract entered into between the inter- *918 venors, Farmers Produce Company and Al and Bob Faubus, and Robinson. There is no claim that the appellant extended credit to Robinson relying on his apparent ownership of the property and the contract of bailment being good as between the parties was good as to the judgment creditor. The judgment creditor could reach only such interest in the property as belonged to Robinson and this the trial court meticulously determined and awarded to the judgment creditor.

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222 F.2d 915, 1955 U.S. App. LEXIS 3899, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/albers-milling-company-v-farmers-produce-company-a-corporation-al-faubus-ca8-1955.