Fite v. Briedenback

105 S.W. 1182, 127 Ky. 504, 1907 Ky. LEXIS 159
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedDecember 12, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 105 S.W. 1182 (Fite v. Briedenback) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fite v. Briedenback, 105 S.W. 1182, 127 Ky. 504, 1907 Ky. LEXIS 159 (Ky. Ct. App. 1907).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

Judge Carroll

Reversing on appeal and affirming on cross-appeal.

The appellant, as plaintiff below, brought this action against Briedenbaek, Burch, Short, and Dawson, alleging, in substance, that she was the owner of certain described articles of personal property of the value of $920, which she delivered to Dawson who agreed to safely care for them for a fixed compensation, but that Briedenbaek and Burch procured Short, who was sheriff of the county, to wrongfully take possession of the property and sell same. The husband of appellant was the tenant of Briedenbaek, .and became indebted to him in the sum of $100 for rent. The husband had also executed a mortgage on the property to one Hartnetz, for whom Burch acted as agent. After appellant had placed the property in the warehouse of Dawson, Briedenbaek obtained a •landlord’s attachment, and had it placed in the hands ,of Short, who levied it upon the property. Hart[507]*507netz, through his agent, Burch, also sued out an attachment in the court in which the landlord’s attachment was obtained, and it was levied by Short upon the property the landlord’s attachment had been levied on. Afterwards an order was made by the judge of the quarterly court, directing the sheriff to sell the attached property to satisfy the landlord’s rent, and the claim of Hartnetz amounting to some $26. Under this order, the sheriff proceeded to sell the property, but, before doing so, required Briedenbaek to execute to him a bond of indemnity. The action against Burch was dismissed without prejudice. Short did not file an answer. Briedenback answered, setting up that his tenant, who was tin-husband of appellant, was the owner of the property levied on and sold, and that all of the property had been in the rented premises for several months before the tenant became in default, and continued in them until a few days before the attachment was obtained, when it was removed to the warehouse of Dawson, with the intent to defraud him (Briedenback), and that he only directed the sheriff to levy on and sell the piano, office desk, and camera. Other pleadings completed the issues, and upon a trial tke jury found a verdict against Briedenback for $7uU. Thh verdict was set aside by the lower court, ana upon another trial appellant recovered judgment against Briedenback for $75. Appellant asks that the judgment on this verdict be set aside and a new trial granted her because (1) the verdict is against the evidence; (2) error in rejecting evidence; (3) error in giving and refusing instructions. Briedenback prosecutes a cross-appeal, and insists that, as the property upon which the attachment was levied was in the leased premises, it was subject to the land[508]*508lord’s claim for rent, although the wife of the tenant might have been the owner of it.

Before considering these matters, we will dispose of the question as to the right of Briedenback to prosecute a cross-appeal from the judgment against him for $75; that being the only amount in controversy so far as he is concerned. The point has not been heretofore passed on by this court, and involves the right of an appellee to prosecute a cross-appeal when the amount in controversy as to him and the judgment from which he prosecutes the cross-appeal is less than two hundred dollars. Civ. Code Prac. section 755, provides: “Appellee may obtain a cross-appeal at any time before trial by an entry on the records of the Court of Appeals. The failure of an appellant to prosecute an appeal, or his dismissal of it, shall not prevent the appellee from prosecuting a cross-appeal.” A cross-appeal can only be taken in this court. It cannot be granted by the circuit court. Murphy v. Blandford, 11 S. W. 715, 11 Ky. Law Rep. 125; Hancock v. Hancock, 69 S. W. 757, 24 Ky. Law Rep. 664. But, when the judgment below authorizes an appeal to this court by each party to the litigation- — that is, when the amount in controversy as to each party without reference to the claim or judgment of the other, whether the action be at common law or in equity, is $200 or more, as for instance, where A. sues B. on a claim for $1,000 and gets a judgment for $500, or where C. sues D. for $500 and obtains a judgment for $200 or less, and a counterclaim or set-off that would make the amount in controversy as to D. $200 or over is rejected— either or both may pray an appeal in the lower court from the judgment, and may prosecute the appeal if they desire upon the same record or each may bring [509]*509up Ms own record, and either or both may file a schedule. Allen County v. U. S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 122 Ky. 825, 93 S. W. 44, 29 Ky. Law Rep. 356. If the action is in ordinary, and the amount from which the appellee desires to prosecute an appeal is large enough to authorize him to take the appeal in the lower court, then he must in that court file his motion and grounds for a new trial, and in other respects follow the procedure that authorizes an appeal from a judgment of the lower court in ordinary actions, except that the appeal may be taken on the same record or either or both may file a schedule. L. & N. R. Co. v. Whitehead, 73 S. W. 1128, 24 Ky. Law Rep. 2315. If, however, the amount in ordinary actions is no.t sufficient to authorize an appeal in the lower court by the appellee, then he may without taking any action in the lower court prosecute! a cross-appeal in this court, and in equity actions may prosecute in this court a cross-appeal without reference to the amount If the cross-appeal is granted by this court, the amount in controversy, so far as the person asking the cross-appeal is concerned, is not material. When the appellant brings the case here, the appellee may prosecute an appeal for the purpose of having correctly adjudicated all the ques'tions disposed of adversely to his interest in the lower court, to the end that if there is a retrial of the case, the lower court may dispose, of it without prejudicing the rights of either of the parties-. If this practice was not allowable, and it was only competent to consider the points raised by appellant, and the case was remanded for a new trial, the errors committed to the prejudice of appellee might be repeated upon the retrial. Walsh v. Mayer, 111 U. S. 31, 4 Sup. Ct. 260, 28 L. Ed. 338; 2 Cyc. 583. Therefore we have [510]*510jurisdiction to examine the question raised by Briedenback on his cross-appéal.

The personal property owned by the wife of a tenant on the leased premises cannot be subjected to the payment of the rent due by the husband, first, because section 2127 of the Kentucky Statutes of 1903, provides, in part, that “marriage shall give to the husband during the life of his wife no estate or interest in the wife’s property real of personal, owned at the time or acquired after the marriage. During the existence of the marriage relation, the wife shall hold and own all her estate to her separate and exclusive use, and free from the debts, liabilities or control of her husband; ’ ’ and, second, section 2305-07 of the Kentucky Statutes of 1903 specifies the persons whose property if found on the leased premises may be subjected to the rent, and, in the absence of a contract, the property of no other person that may happen to be on the leased premises can be taken.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
105 S.W. 1182, 127 Ky. 504, 1907 Ky. LEXIS 159, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fite-v-briedenback-kyctapp-1907.