Hall v. Durham

20 N.E. 282, 117 Ind. 429, 1889 Ind. LEXIS 185
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided February 21, 1889·No. No. 13,522·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

Olds, J. —

This is an action of replevin commenced be[430] fore a justice of the peace for one hundred bushels of wheat, alleged to be of the value of $100.

There was an appeal taken to the circuit court; trial by the court; special finding of facts and judgment for appellee.

Two objections are urged to the complaint. The first is, that the description of the property is too vague and indefinite. The property is described as “ one hundred bushels of wheat of the value of $100, said wheat having grown in and harvested on the 28th and 29th of July, 1885, having been threshed off the following described real estate and the wheat ground situate thereon, to wit.” Then follows a description of the real estate.

The complaint is sufficient after judgment. Powell v. Stickney, 88 Ind. 310; Malone v. Stickney, 88 Ind. 594.

The second objection urged is, that the complaint is not verified by the plaintiff. The complaint is verified by John R. Courtney, the attorney for the plaintiff, who makes the affidavit as plaintiff’s agent.

Section 1547, R. S. 1881, does not require the complaint to be verified by the plaintiff in person. The complaint was properly verified.

The court found the facts to be, that, on the 16th day of May, 1882, the plaintiff, William H. Durham, recovered a judgment against the appellant Hall for the sum of $275, and the additional sum of $87.92 costs, and a decree for the sale of the following described real estate to satisfy said judgment, to wit: The east half of the southwest quarter of section 21, town. 18 north, of range 5 west, in Montgomery county, Indiana; that, by virtue of a certified copy of said judgment and decree to him directed, the sheriff of said county, on the 24th day of May, 1883, sold said real estate to said Durham, and executed to him a certificate of purchase therefor; that afterwards, to wit, on the 21st day of June, 1884, the sheriff, in pursuance of said certificate, executed to Durham a deed for said real estate; that, on the 26th day of September, 1884, in an action between Durham, [431] appellee, and appellants Hall and Hall, in the Montgomery Circuit Court, Durham recovered a judgment against Hall and Hall quieting his, Durham’s, title to said real estate, his right of action being based upon said deed; that in the action in the Montgomery Circuit Court between appellee,Durham, as plaintiff, and appellants Hall and Hall, as defendants, commenced March 12th, 1885, Durham, on the 18th day of June, 1885, recovered a judgment for the possession of said real estate, the plaintiff’s right of recovery being based upon said deed and judgment quieting title; that ever since the 26th day of June, 1884, appellee, Durham, has been the owner, and entitled to the possession of said real estate; that the appellants Hall and Hall were, on the 26th day of June, 1884, and for thirty years prior thereto, in possession of said real estate, and ever since have been wrongfully and unlawfully in the possession thereof, and claiming title thereto adverse to the plaintiff, but without any color or right of title whatever; that during all of said time the appellee, Durham, has been entitled to the possession thereof; that, on the — day of August, 1884, the appellant George Barclay, by virtue of a lease or contract with appellant John R. Hall, and without the consent of appellee, entered upon said real estate and sowed thereon a crop of wheat which he afterwards, in the summer of 1885, harvested and threshed, and put in a building on said real estate, and that there were sixty-three bushels and fifty pounds of said wheat; that, dn the 29th day of July, 1885, this action was commenced, and at the time of the commencement of this suit the wheat was of the value of f 50; that said wheat was not taken by virtue of any execution or other writ against Durham or his property; that by virtue of the writ of replevin in this suit, on the 29th day of July, 1885, said wheat was seized and placed in the possession of the appellee, Durham, and he now holds possession of the same; that, previous to the bringing of this suit, neither the appellee nor any [432] person ip his behalf made any demand of the appellants for the possession of said wheat.

The court, upon these facts, stated the following conclusions of law:

1st. The appellee is the owner and entitled to the possession of the wheat described in the complaint, to wit: 63 bushels and 50 pounds.

2d. That the wheat is of the value of $50.

3d. That the appellants, at the time this suit was commenced, had possession of said wheat and unlawfully and without right detained the possession thereof from the appellee.

To'the conclusions of law the appellants excepted and assign as error that the court erred in the conclusions of law.

It is contended by counsel for the appellants that, as the finding'of facts shows the appellant Hall in possession of the real estate at the time he leased the land to appellant Barclay and remaining in possession of the same up to the time this suit was commenced, and that as he was claiming possession of the same, Hall was entitled to the wheat; that at least an action could not be maintained against Barclay in replevin until demand had been made; that, having rented of a person in actual possession, he had rightful possession, and his detention would not be unlawful until after demand for possession by appellee. Counsel further maintain that appellee only became entitled to crops by the execution of the writ issued upon his judgment for the possession, and then only to the crops unharvested at the time the writ was executed and possession turned over to the appellee.

We can not concur in this theory.

It is an elementally principle that a deed to real estate carries with it the right of possession. In the case of Jones v. Thomas, 8 Blackf. 428, it is said: “ If land mortgaged be sold under a decree of foreclosure, the purchaser will be entitled to the crops growing at the time of the sale, in prefer[433] enee to a person claiming under the mortgagor and whose claims originated subsequently to the mortgage.”

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Hall v. Durham, 20 N.E. 282, 117 Ind. 429, 1889 Ind. LEXIS 185 (Ind. 1889).

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