Boies v. Henney

32 Ill. 130
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1863
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 32 Ill. 130 (Boies v. Henney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boies v. Henney, 32 Ill. 130 (Ill. 1863).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Breese

delivered the opinion of the Court:

This was an action of replevin brought in the Henry Circuit Court, by the intestate of appellant, for a quantity of broom corn brush. The defendant pleaded non eepit and five specia pleas, the first averring a seizure of the property, as sheriff, on an execution issued on a judgment in favor of Oloff Johnson against George Farr, and that it was the property of Farr; the second averring that the corn brush was the property of George'Farr and not the property of the plaintiff; the third, that the property, was the property of Oloff Johnson and not the property of the plaintiff; the fourth, that the goods and chattels mentioned were the goods and chattels of George Farr, Peter Peterson, Peter Gibson and John Lind, and not the property of the plaintiff; and the fifth plea was non dei/met.

The first special pleas were all traversed, and issue joined upon them, which were tried by a jury, who found them for the defendant. A motion was made for a new trial, which was overruled, and exception taken, and the case brought here by appeal.

We do not consider it necessary to notice all the errors assigned, as the case is made to turn here, principally upon the question of fraud in the transactions between Farr, Wells and Boies, out of which the action arose, the appellant affirming, and appellee denying they were fair and honest.

A brief statement of the leading facts will show how the question of fraud arose.

It appears that Oloff Johnson had, on November 30, 1859, obtained an award of arbitrators in his favor, against Farr, on which he brought suit and recovered a judgment in the Henry Circuit Court, on the 31st October, 1860, Farr appealed from the judgment to this court, where such proceedings were had, that May 17, 1861, the cause was remanded to the Circuit Court and final judgment there entered up against Farr, on the 5th of March, 1862. Pending the proceedings, Farr, on the 16th of January, 1861, entered into a contract with Peter Peterson, John Lind and Peter Gibson, whereby Farr leased to them, for the term of two years, 295 acres of land, besides personal property. The land was described as 8. W. 33, T. 14 N., range 4 east, and 135 acres on section 33, in the same township and range, “now occupied by said Fan-,” the broom com sheds and machinery for scraping and bailing broom corn, viz., four scrapers, one eight horse power, two presses, with slats for drying brush on, being the r,entire fixtures for scraping and preparing for market, and the same used by Farr in 1860. The lease stipulates that the land all must be in broom corn; one-third of the crop was to be the property of Farr, “ his heirs or assigns,” to be delivered to him, his heirs or assigns, well scraped, thoroughly dried and in good shipping order. Farr agreed he would, or in case of assignment of the lease, his assignee should leave to the lessees, at the time of cutting and preparing the brush for market, the necessary money for paying the hired hands, for which he, or his assignee, in case of assignment, was to receive ten per cent, per annum, as.interest thereon. Farr, or in case of assignment, his assignee, was to pay the lessees seventy-five dollars per ton for the other two-thirds of the brush to be delivered to Farr on or before the loth day of October of each year, or as soon thereafter as it could be prepared for market, or in case of assignment, to his assignee, and it is expressly stipulated that this two-thirds “ shall be sold to Farr or his assignee, upon the above terms, in any event.” The money loaned by Farr to pay hired hands, or by his assignee in case of assignment, together with the interest thereon, was to be applied in payment of this two-thirds, and the balance which might be due should be paid by Farr, or in case of assignment then by his assignees, in certain specified installments. It was agreed all the obligations should be reciprocally binding upon both parties, and to be enforced separately for each year. Farr was to put "the machinery in good repair, to be returned to him in like repair. It was farther mutually agreed that “ in case the said Farr shall assign this lease, it shall be in force between his assignee and the said parties of the second part, and the said assignee shall hereby be obligated in like manner and with like effect as the said Farr would be were this not assigned, and the said parties of the second part hereby ratify this contract with any such assignee or assignees, without or with notice from the said Farr, previously given to them as to whom the same may and shall be assigned.”

The lease was assigned by Farr to F. C. Wells, on the 19th of April, 1861, and by Wells to the deceased, Boies, on the 2d day of June, 1862. On the 28th of August, 1862, Boies assigned the lease to A. J. Bockafellow, as collateral security for a note of $636, executed to him by Boies, and payable in ninety days.

About one month before the ninety days had expired, namely, on the 21st of October, 1862, Bockafellow made this indorsement on the lease: “ Having received payment in full of the note specified in the foregoing assignment of W. H. Boies to me, I hereby, in consideration thereof, and for value received, reassign and transfer said lease to said Boies, and release and discharge all my lien thereon and right thereto.”

F. 0. Wells, the witness who proved the execution of the lease and the several assignments, testified, on cross-examination, that the lease was not assigned to him at the time the assignment bears date, but about the first of Hay thereafter. It had previously been assigned to parties at the east, creditors of Farr, who refused to receive it, and it was returned to Farr, and a part of the assignment stricken out and his name inserted, the date not having been altered. He gave no consideration for the assignment other than assuming the responsibilities of the lease. He resided, at the time the lease was assigned to him, and now resides at Chicago, and was in the employment of Wadsworth & Wells.

It was in testimony by Peter Peterson, that broom corn was raised on the land by him and Bind and Gibson; that Boies advanced the money on that year’s crop; he paid it as they wanted it; they delivered thirty-nine bales of the corn, being the third of the crop, at the railroad company’s warehouse in Galva; Boies had paid them about $1,200 on the contract. On his cross-examination he stated that it was delivered to Boies, because he advanced the money and had the contract, and he knew nobody else to whom to deliver it; he first learned that Boies bought the contract the 2d or 3d of June last; it was at his house and he knew it; Boies and Farr were there on the 2d of June, and this lease, and he presumes it was assigned to Boies there; Wells was to he out of it because he had so much business to do; the arrangement (assignment) was on the contract, and he saw it when Farr and Boies came to his house; Boies paid to them fifty dollars, the day he was there; did not know Boies, so Farr came with Boies; they relied on Farr to inform them of Boies’ responsibility; Farr recommended him; Farr has been in Chicago, and not in Boies’ office for about four weeks past; they thought Boies would fulfill the' contract, and he did so, and paid them the money, and that was all they asked him to do; Farr did not come again after that, and they had no transactions with bim then, as to the contract; he has seen Farr in Boies’ office.

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Bluebook (online)
32 Ill. 130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boies-v-henney-ill-1863.