Fleming v. Cooper

271 S.W.2d 772, 224 Ark. 10, 1954 Ark. LEXIS 513
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedOctober 4, 1954
Docket5-442
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 271 S.W.2d 772 (Fleming v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fleming v. Cooper, 271 S.W.2d 772, 224 Ark. 10, 1954 Ark. LEXIS 513 (Ark. 1954).

Opinion

Ward, J.

The principal question presented by this appeal is: Under what circumstances may it be presumed that the pleadings in a chancery proceeding were treated as amended to conform to the evidence? 'To properly present the question it is necessary to set out the material portions of the pleadings and the decree.

The Complaint. Appellee, Ellis Cooper, who was the plaintiff below, alleged: That he had for eight or ten years been a tenant on a farm belonging to appellant, Joe W. Fleming, and his tenancy was from year to year; that as such tenant he was to pay to appellant one-half of the net proceeds from the farm; that during the year 1951 he furnished one-half of the vetch and rye seed, did all the labor incidental to sowing the same, all without any notice from appellant that he would not be allowed to remain on the premises for the year 1952; that appellant gave him notice [shown later to be in November or December 1951] to vacate the premises; that he voluntarily vacated the premises to “avoid any trouble in a lawsuit”; that appellant has harvested approximately $1,680.00 worth of vetch and rye seed from the premises and refuses to account for same; and, that appellant has in his possession approximately $450.00 paid to him by the Welch Grape Juice Company, one-lialf of which amount belongs to appellee, and appellant refuses to turn over to him his portion.

The prayer was for an Order against appellant [and also Tom Gately whom appellant had placed on the premises in 1952] restraining them from selling the said seed; that the Welch Grape Juice Company be required to pay the said $450.00 into court; that he have judgment for one-half of the value of the above items; and, that he have judgment against appellant for one-half the value of the rye and vetch seed grown on the said premises, and for all other relief to which he might be entitled.

Answer and Cross Complaint. Appellant entered a general denial, and in his cross complaint alleged that appellee owed him for certain advances made during the years 1949 to 1952 inclusive, amounting to approximately $550.91; and that appellee’s tenancy expired by its own terms on January 1, 1952 and that thereafter appellee had no interest in the crops grown on the said premises.

Reply. Appellee replied: That appellant had failed to take account of certain income received from the premises during the said years; that he had had a final accounting and settlement with appellant at the end of each of the said years; and, that appellant was entitled to nothing on his cross complaint.

Upon the issues thus joined a hearing was had at which much testimony was introduced by both sides, and at the conclusion of the hearing the chancellor found against appellant on his cross complaint, and made certain awards to appellee as will be more fully set out later.

Before proceeding further with this opinion we make the following explanation. While all of the testimony taken at the hearing before the chancellor is on file in this Court, it cannot be considered by us in arriving at a conclusion. The reason is that this Court previously sustained appellee’s motion to strike the Bill of Exceptions. Consequently we can consider only errors that may appear on the face of the record.

The Decree. “On this 30th day of September, 1953, pursuant to a recess, the within styled cause comes on to be heárd'aiídNtrtHe'pleadings of the parties herein this court having heard all the evidence, oral and documentary, finds: ■

“1. That during the year 1939 Ellis Cooper became the tenant from year to year of the defendant, Joe W. Fleming, which tenancy had not been terminated at the time this action was brought on August 4, 1952.

“2. That in November or December of 1951, Joe W. Fleming demanded that Ellis Cooper leave the said premises and that the defendant Joe W. Fleming, had a notice to vacate served on the plaintiff, Ellis Cooper, on January 9, 1952, by the Sheriff of Washington County, Arkansas, and that Ellis Cooper left the said premises on January 22, 1952 to avoid being evicted by the Sheriff from said premises; that no legal action as required by the statutes was ever served on Ellis Cooper to vacate said premises.

“3. That Ellis Cooper performed services and labor and furnished materials on the said premises in the year 1951, subsequent to the harvesting of the 1951 grape crop and prior to the time he was served with notice to vacate; which services, labor and material were of material benefit to the said defendant, Joe W. Fleming, in growing the 1952 crop on said premises; that Ellis Cooper used materials of his own in the form of rye and vetch seed; that a part of these were harvested in the form of crops in the year 1952, and a part was cover for the grapes in 1952 and which cover crops materially benefited the 1952 crop.

“4. That on a motion to modify the temporary restraining order held on August 25,1952, with the consent of the plaintiff, one-half of the rye and vetch seed was released to the defendant Joe W. Fleming, and all the Do ark vetch seed, consisting of nine bushels, was released to the defendant, Fleming, the court directing that he measure the same and be accountable for the value of the same; it was stipulated at that time that there were 181 bushels of rye and vetch seed and nine bushels of Doark seed and that the value of the seed was $3.50 per bushel.

‘ ‘ 5. That there has been deposited into the registry of the court by the Welch Grape Juice Company, Inc., the sum of $928.08 which proceeds are bonus payments on the grape crops raised on said premises for the years 1950 and 1951; that the said Welch Grape Juice Company, Inc., or its successors or assigns had issued a grape allocation certificate for the 1951 crop in an amount of $875.00 which is due September 1, 1972. [1952]

“6. That the defendant Joe W.. Fleming after the wrongful notice and eviction of Ellis Cooper, placed on the said premises for the year 1952, one James T. (Tom) Gately and that during the year 1952, there was harvested from the said premises grapes in an amount of $3,626.77 and that the expense of growing the 1952 crop of grapes was $1,800.17 leaving net from said grapes the sum of $1,826.60.

“7. That the plaintiff, Ellis Cooper, herein is due the said Joe W. Fleming a credit of $84.00 by reason of funds loaned by the said Fleming to Cooper for the years 1948 or 1949.

“8. That the cross-complaint of the said Joe W. Fleming alleging charges for the years 1949, 1950 and 1951 is without merit and the same is hereby dismissed.

“IT IS THEREFORE, the judgment, order and decree of this court that the clerk of the court, herein is authorized and directed to pay the costs of this action out of the proceeds in court; that the clerk is further directed to pay to the said Ellis Cooper one-half of the proceeds remaining in the hands of the court and the other one-half to the defendant Joe W. Fleming; that Ellis Cooper is entitled to the rye and vetch seed in the amount of ninety and one-half bushels now on the premises and is entitled to the value of one-half of the Doark seed used by the said Joe W. Fleming which was released to the said Joe W. Fleming on August 25, 1952; that the grape allocation certificate issued for the year 1951 is hereby divided equally between the plaintiff, Ellis Cooper and the defendant, Joe W.

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Related

Pearson v. Henrickson
983 S.W.2d 419 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1999)
Fleming v. Cooper
284 S.W.2d 857 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
271 S.W.2d 772, 224 Ark. 10, 1954 Ark. LEXIS 513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fleming-v-cooper-ark-1954.