Dutro v. Kennedy

9 Mont. 101
Montana Supreme Court·Decided July 15, 1889·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

Liddell, J.

In order to correctly understand the points at issue in this case it is necessary to state at some length the facts involved. On the 28th of July, 1879, one Seheurman and George Kennedy were the owners in indivisión of a certain mining claim situated in Lewis and Clarke County, and designated in the official survey thereof as lot “ No. 54 C,” in sections 9 and 16, in township 9 north, range 4 west, commonly known as claim No. 5 east from discovery claim on Park lode.

Kennedy’s interest in the claim was standing in the name of R. S. Hale, either to protect it from the pursuit of his creditors, or to secure the payment of a certain sum then due to Hale. At the same time we find that Kennedy’s wife, who was a sole trader, also owned three mining claims in her own right, and they were all engaged in mining in Lewis and Clarke County. For the purpose of conducting the business, Kennedy and wife, by power of attorney, authorized Seheurman to borrow money either on sale or mortgage of the property owned by either of them at the date of the instrument. Under this power of attorney Seheurman borrowed $3,500 from one Branch on the 28th of July, 1879, and executed a note therefor, signed by himself, and with the names of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy.

The money so obtained was used by George Kennedy in paying off his creditor, Hale, who on the 1st of August, 1879, at the former’s request, made a title of Kennedy’s undivided half interest in the claim (No. 5) to Seheurman; and on the 12th of August, 1879, the latter executed a mortgage on that lot and the property of Mrs. Kennedy for the purpose of securing the note which Branch held for $3,500.

The mortgage was intrusted to Seheurman for registry in Lewis and Clarke County, and he in turn allowed Kennedy to [105] obtain possession of the instrument, by whom it was destroyed. Branch instituted suit against Scheurman, Kennedy, and his wife, but during the pendency of the litigation transferred his interests therein to Dutro, the present plaintiff, who successfully prosecuted the suit to a final judgment.

Now, the act of mortgage being destroyed, it became necessary to establish the contents, and upon what property it operated; and to that end the trial judge found that “the mortgage was executed in the usual form, upon the whole of claim No. 5, and embraced and covered the tools and machinery thereon, consisting of a steam-engine for operating, and the hoisting works, pumps, etc., and also lots 1, 2, and 3, belonging to Mrs. Kennedy.”

After the execution of this mortgage the defendants placed a lot of new machinery upon claim No. 5, consisting of a boiler, engine, pump, drum, hoisting works, and connecting pipes. The boiler was set in brick and stone work, and the engine was placed upon a foundation of masonry and timber let into the ground about six feet, and securely fastened thereto by sixteen iron bolts, which passed through the foundation. The pump does not appear to have ever been securely fastened to the realty, but the rest of the machinery was all in place, and used for the purpose of working the mine.

This machinery was on the mine when the decree was rendered foreclosing the mortgage, and it was also on the property and in place when the mine was sold at sheriff’s sale to the plaintiff for $5,502.03 on the 12th of August, 1885, and at that time no objection was made to the sale of the machinery, either because it was not specifically mentioned in the mortgage, or for the reason that it was not a fixture.

Matters remained in this condition until a short time before the delays expired within which the right of redemption might have been exercised, when the defendant, George Kennedy, caused the masonry around the boilers to be torn down, with a view to removing the same, and actually removed the engine, first cutting the sixteen bolts by which it was moored to its foundation, taking also two joints of steam-pipe and other fittings connected with the engine, the drums, the pump, and a lot of wire cable used for hoisting.

[106] The present suit of claim and delivery was instituted to recover this machinery, and damages for unlawfully withholding the same, and resulted in a judgment for the defendants. From an order denying a motion for a new trial, as well as from the judgment, the plaintiff prosecutes the present appeal.

Several errors of law are assigned in the motion, but, under the view which we have taken of the case, it will only be necessary to examine one of them. The case was tried without a jury, and the judge found that the machinery, except the pump, were fixtures, and could not be removed without injury to the realty; that it would cost $500 to replace the same; that it was all put upon the claim after the mortgage; and that the pump was worth $150; finally, that this machinery was not specified in the original decree of foreclosure, from which he concludes that the title thereto did not pass by the foreclosure sale, and the sheriff’s deed made in pursuance thereof.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Dutro v. Kennedy, 9 Mont. 101 (Mo. 1889).

9 Mont. 101 (Dutro v. Kennedy) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Turner v. Kerin & Associates
938 P.2d 1368 (Montana Supreme Court, 1997)
Holloway v. University of Montana
582 P.2d 1265 (Montana Supreme Court, 1978)
Thompson v. Bantz
346 P.2d 982 (Montana Supreme Court, 1959)
Mathews v. Silsby Bros.
198 Iowa 1392 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1924)
O'Brien v. Drinkenberg
111 P. 137 (Montana Supreme Court, 1910)
Largey v. Leggat
75 P. 950 (Montana Supreme Court, 1904)
Harris v. Lloyd
28 P. 736 (Montana Supreme Court, 1891)