Cravens v. Hunter

87 Mo. App. 456, 1901 Mo. App. LEXIS 430
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 4, 1901
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 87 Mo. App. 456 (Cravens v. Hunter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cravens v. Hunter, 87 Mo. App. 456, 1901 Mo. App. LEXIS 430 (Mo. Ct. App. 1901).

Opinion

BLAND, P. J.

The petition is in three counts. The first alleges that plaintiff rented the defendant’s farm, known as the Mary Jasper farm consisting of two hundred and fifty acres, for the year 1.897, and agreed to pay as rent one-tbird of the crop; that as a part consideration for the rent, defendant agreed to build a cross-fence to separate the wheatfield from the cornfield and to erect a barn sufficient to bouse plaintiff’s part of the crop, bis live stock and bis farming implements; that plaintiff cultivated the farm and paid the rent, but that defendant failed and refused to build the fence or to erect the barn whereby plaintiff alleges be was damaged in the sum of $500.

The second count alleges that for the year 1898, the same contract was entered into for that year, and a breach of it by defendant in failing to build the fence or erect the barn, to the damage of plaintiff in the sum of $500.

The third count alleges that plaintiff rented the same farm for the year 1899, at a cash rent of $800; that defendant again agreed to build the fence and erect the barn, but failed to do so, to the plaintiff’s damage in the sum of $500.

The answer was a general denial. Trial by jury, verdict for plaintiff and damages assessed on the first count at $200; [459]*459on the second at $200, and on the third at $300. Defendant appealed. ,

I. The testimony of respondent tends to prove that he rented the farm of defendant for the years 1897 and 1898 for grain rent, and the undisputed evidence is that he rented the farm for the year 1899 at a cash rent of $800 — and the evidence is that the rent for all the years was paid. Plaintiff testified that the defendant agreed to build the fences and the barn as alleged in the several counts of the petition, but that he failed to build either; that he had on the farm the first two years and up to December 28 of the third year, when he moved off of the farm, from eighteen to twenty head of horses and mules, from forty to fifty head of cattle and about forty head of hogs; that he had three self-binders, a mower, rakes, plows and other farming implements; that there was no barn on the premises; that he had to rick his hay (Crab grass), and let his stock run out exposed to the weather all the year round, and that his farm machinery was also exposed to the weather; that much of his hay was spoiled by being exposed; that it required a fourth more feed to keep his stock than would have been required had they been under shelter and that they were not as healthy as they would have been, had they been housed; also that the exposure of his farm machinery to the weather was damaging to it and he lumped his damages so sustained at $500 for each year.

In respect to the agreement of appellant to build the barn, he was corroborated by Lewis, his son-in-law, who testified that in August, 1897, he heard the defendant tell the plaintiff that he would build bim a barn. There is evidence, also, that the appellant in the fall of 1897 had rock and some lumber hauled to the premises with a view of building a barn. The testimony of appellant was that he did not rent the premises to respondent for but one year, the year 1899, and that for the two [460]*460previous years lie rented them to the plaintiff’s brother, George Cravens, and that at no time did he agree with the respondent to build fences or to erect a barn on the premises. This testimony of the appellant is strengthened by the following evidence (preserved in a bill of exceptions) of plaintiff, given in another case in which the respondent was the defendant, to-wit:

“Q. What time did you go in possession of this property described in plaintiff’s petition? A. I got possession of the farm in 1896, part of the land, I and my brother together.
“Q. You and your brother ? A. Yes, sir; part of the land. I had half of it.
“Q. When did you get possession of the whole of it? A. in January, 1897.
“Q. What was the name of your brother ? A. George.
“Q. Where is he now? A. Dead. He died in the spring of 1898.
“Q. When you got possession of it, you and George, in the first place, did you have it one or two years under that contract ? A. Two years.
“Objected to by counsel for plaintiff. The objection was overruled, to which ruling of the court plaintiff excepted at the time.
“Q. At the time you were in possession — at the time you made the contract with Hunter yourself ? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. When was that? A. In 1898; in August sometime.
“Q. Did you live on that place at the time you and George had it ? A. No, sir; I lived at Lilbum Lewis’ place.
“Q. George lived at that place ? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. When you made the contract in 1898, what month was it ? A. August.
“Q. What place did you make it at ? A. On the place where I reside now, on the Hunter place, out in the field where [461]*461we were threshing wheat.
“Q. Was that contract a verbal or a written contract? A; Verbal.
“Q. Who was present at that time and place where it was made and heard it made ? A. Wash Babb.
“Q. State what was said by and between yon and Judge Hunter about the rental of that place ? A. Uncle Joe came out where we were threshing wheat; he says: ‘Well Berry, being as you are threshing wheat I thought I would come out and see if you wanted the place next year again.’ I told him I did; I didn’t think of anything else except keeping the place. Uncle Joe says: ‘Well, I want to rent you the place, but I don’t rent for a part of the crop. I want money.’ I told him I would just as soon pay money rent as a part of the crop; that is, if he didn’t charge too much rent. Well, he said he wanted $3.50 an acre. I told him I could not give it, it was more than it was worth. Uncle Joe studied — no, I told him: ‘Uncle Joe, I will give you $800 for the next year, 1899.’ Uncle Joe studied about half a minute; he says. ‘Vou can have it.’
“Q. Was that all the conversation that occurred about the rental? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. That was the only contract between you ? A. Yes, sir. Uncle Joe didn’t stay but a few minutes.
“Q. Are you using the language used or your present understanding? A. Just what passed between I and Uncle Joe..........I don’t remember anything I said to Uncle Joe about the place until 1897. The first year my brother rented the place from him, and I don’t remember saying anything to Uncle Joe about it, but I always paid the rent myself, and had the expense of running the place myself, and I have always done the settlements with Uncle Joe and Lee Hunter. My brother George never done any settling with them at all, during the whole three years.
[462]*462“Q. Ton were the administrator of your brother George ? A. No, sir; but I always settled up his business.
“Q. You were not on this place until 1899, or this year ? A. I came there about the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth of last December, moved on that place.
“Q. That was after you rented it in August, 1898, was it not ? A.

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Bluebook (online)
87 Mo. App. 456, 1901 Mo. App. LEXIS 430, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cravens-v-hunter-moctapp-1901.