Barnes v. Burke

253 So. 2d 46, 47 Ala. App. 253, 1970 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 436
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedSeptember 30, 1970
Docket7 Div. 17
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 253 So. 2d 46 (Barnes v. Burke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barnes v. Burke, 253 So. 2d 46, 47 Ala. App. 253, 1970 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 436 (Ala. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinions

[255]*255ON REHEARING

BRADLEY, Judge.

On rehearing, the original opinion in this case is withdrawn and the following is substituted therefor as the opinion of the Court.

This proceeding commenced as a result of the plaintiff-appellant suing out a Writ of Attachment against certain personal property and crops allegedly belonging to defendant-appellee to enforce a lien arising out of the landlord-tenant relationship.

The defendant-appellee was a tenant farmer living on and farming land belonging to plaintiff-appellant. These two had an oral agreement for the years 1962 and 1963 that the appellee would furnish the labor for planting the crops, half of the fertilizer, gather the crops and receive one-half of the proceeds from the sale of the crops. Also, he was to live in a house on the property rent-free.

The appellant-landlord was to furnish the land, the implements to farm the land, half the fertilizer, and was to receive one-half of the proceeds of the crops.

For the year 1962 the appellee paid his rent and advances except for approximately $100.00 which had been advanced to him, and this was carried over to 1963.

In the latter half of 1963, after most of the cotton crop and all of the corn crop had been gathered, a controversy arose between appellant and appellee over a request made by appellant that appellee pay $100 on advances that had been made to' him.

The evidence on behalf of appellee tended to show that he did not have $100 at the time the demand was made, and therefore could not pay it. He did testify, however, that he was working at a gin and would be able to pay the $100 soon.

There was also testimony taken that appellee was working at the gin to earn money while he was waiting to gather the remainder of the cotton crop, which was not then ready to be gathered.

The evidence introduced on behalf of appellant tended to show that appellee told appellant’s husband, when he requested the $100 payment on the advances, that “he could get his money the best damn way he could.”

Also the evidence for appellant tended to show that appellee had stopped gathering the cotton and gone to work at the gin and was going to remove from appellant’s premises without paying the advances.

It should be pointed out here that there was no dispute over the rents at the time the demand was made by appellant to appellee to pay $100 on the advances made to him.

The demand for the money was made on October 15, 1963' and the Writ of Attach[256]*256ment was sued out on October 16, 1963.

Most of the appellee’s household goods were attached, and the remainder of the cotton crop was also attached and subsequently gathered and sold by the Sheriff.

A complaint was filed on October 17, 1963 by the appellant alleging that appellee owed her a certain sum of money accruing from the landlord-tenant relationship.

On November 5, 1963 appellee filed a Plea in Abatement asking that the Writ of Attachment be abated and dissolved.

There were demurrers filed to the Plea which were overruled; also the affidavit filed in support of the Writ was amended twice; then the Plea was amended and demurrers filed to the Amended Plea, and they were overruled.

Ultimate^, the case was tried before the court and a jury on the Plea in Abatement. The jury found for the appellee on his Plea and the court entered judgment sustaining the Plea in Abatement.

Later, on motion of appellee, the trial court dismissed the suit against appellee. Then, after proper request had been made by appellee, the court awarded the proceeds of the cotton crop gathered by the Sheriff pursuant to the Writ of Attachment to the appellee.

From these various rulings of the trial court, an appeal has been perfected to this court.

There were twenty-two assignments of error made by appellant, but only nine argued in brief. Consequently, those assignments not argued in brief are considered waived. Supreme Court Rule 9.

The main issue in this case centers around the dispute between the landlord and tenant as to when the rent and advances were due, and this was presented by the Plea in Abatement.

The appellant-landlord contended that the rents and advances were due when the crops were gathered; the appellee countered that there was no such agreement that the rents and advances would be due at that time.

The trial court charged the jury that in the absence of an agreement as to when the rents and advances would be due, the statute—Title 31, Section 16, Code of Alabama 1940, as Recompiled 1958—which prescribes November 1 of each year as the due date for rents and advances in the absence of a prior agreement, would govern the due date of the rents and advances made in the case at bar.

The other issue raised by the Plea in Abatement was the question of whether the appellee-tenant was about to quit the premises without paying the rent and advances or had disposed of the proceeds of the crop without paying the rent and advances, all without the prior consent of the landlord.

These issues are based on the assumption that the landlord had made demand on the tenant for the rent and advances prior to suing out the Writ of Attachment or filing of his summons and complaint.

In the case at bar the evidence is undisputed that the landlord made a demand for only $100 of the advances. There was evidence presented to the jury for their consideration that the landlord advised the tenant that the landlord’s remaining rent and advances could be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the cotton which was to be gathered later.

There was also evidence for consideration by the jury that the tenant was working at the gin not only to earn money to pay the landlord’s advances, but to earn money for the necessities of his family, all while he was waiting to gather the remaining cotton crop, which was not ready at the time the bulk of the cotton crop was gathered and sold.

There was sufficient evidence introduced at the trial to support the Plea’s traverse of the allegations set out in the original [257]*257affidavit and as amended, if the jury believed it, and apparently they did, because they found for the appellee-tenant.

Appellant contends that the trial court erred when it refused to give to the jury her reqeusted charge 1, which is as follows:

“In attachment for the collection of rent and advances, which is the basis of this suit, it is not necessary that the rent shall be due when the suit was commenced; it is only necessary that it be due and payable at the time the suit is brought to trial.”

In support of her contention that the trial court erred, appellant cites us to the case of Birmingham Purchasing Co. v. Colvin, 219 Ala. 662, 123 So. 45, wherein the Supreme Court said:

“In suits by attachment for the collection of rent, it is not necessary that the rent should he due when the suit was commenced; it is only necessary that it be due and payable at the time the suit is brought to trial. * * * ”

It is to he noted however that Colvin,

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Related

Ceres Fertilizer, Inc. v. Beekman
308 N.W.2d 347 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1981)
M.C. West, Inc. v. Battaglia
386 So. 2d 443 (Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama, 1980)
Shields v. State
296 So. 2d 786 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 1974)
Barnes v. Burke
253 So. 2d 56 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1971)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
253 So. 2d 46, 47 Ala. App. 253, 1970 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 436, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barnes-v-burke-alacivapp-1970.