Henney v. Lambert

21 N.W.2d 301, 237 Iowa 146, 1946 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 261
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJanuary 8, 1946
DocketNo. 46709.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 21 N.W.2d 301 (Henney v. Lambert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henney v. Lambert, 21 N.W.2d 301, 237 Iowa 146, 1946 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 261 (iowa 1946).

Opinion

Bliss, C. J.

The plaintiff owned a 320-acre farm in the west part of Crawford county, on which he was born and reared and which he farmed- for several years. It consisted of the NW1^ and the E14 of the NE14 of Section 32, and the Ey2 of the SW^ of Section 29, lying immediately north. A road separated the 80-aere tract from the 240 acres. It was- a mile across both east and west and north and south. *147 It was a hill farm. The 240-acre tract, in particular, was a succession of hills and intervening draws, the latter being cut by ditches. The tops and sides of the hills had been eroded down to the clay subsoil. It was not a good farm in several respects.

The husband of the defendant Edith Lambert had died about 1933, and she and the children had continued as tenant farmers. On October 9, 1941, the plaintiff leased this farm, by written lease, to Mrs. Lambert and her son LaNerne, who had just reached manhood. The term of the lease was from March 1, 1942, to March 1, 1943, and later, by agreement, was extended for another year. Just what knowledge defendants had of the farm does not appear. It was apparently fenced when the lease was executed. Bernhardt Schmieder was the tenant. He testified:

“Fences was poor. I took some fences with me. All of the fences was mine. All of the wire. I had the electric fences and of course, I moved them. * * * Q. So that the tenant that came after you didn’t have any fences? A. There was outside fence. ’ ’

There were no cross-fences of any consequence. The plaintiff furnished six spools of barbed wire.

Like many printed leases this lease stipulated numerous obligations for the tenant but few, if any, for the landlord. It was a harsh lease, particularly because of the lack of fencing, for the defendants. Among .its provisions we note:

“Second party [tenant] further agrees to faithfully and properly guard and protect said premises and crops thereon * * * from all damage by * * * depredation of animals * # * A failure * *' * to comply with any of the stipulations of this lease by the said second party * * * or a failure of the tenant to farm the land in good farmer-like manner, shall mature the notes given for rent and shall authorize the said first party to consider the lease forfeited, without any demand for rent upon the premises or elsewhere, and he may take possession of the premises without notice and without process of law * * * A failure to pay any portion of the rent as the same becomes due shall mature the whole amount *148 of rent. * * * No repairs will be made by the lessor, except as hereinstated [none are stated], and it is agreed that the lessor shall not be liable for any damages to crops, though such damage might have been prevented by proper fencing.”

However, we are not reviewing the case de novo but on assignments of error. The signatures of the defendants are on the lease and there is no claim or showing that they were procured by misrepresentation.

Plaintiff on January 17, 1944, filed his petition in equity in four counts. In count one it was alleged: That under the lease defendants were required to pay $110 cash rent on January 1, 1944, and to give as further rental one half of all corn (shelled) and two fifths of all small grain raised during the year, .delivered to market free of charge to plaintiff; that defendants .raised to maturity 133 acres of corn, averaging 50 bushels per acre, one half of which, or 3,325 bushels, was due the plaintiff; that defendants converted plaintiff’s share of the oats, being 65 bushels worth $39; that defendants have harvested said corn crop, have allowed their livestock to consume a considerable amount of the corn in the field, have been and are feeding the harvested corn to their livestock, and have sold approximately 400 bushels without the consent or knowledge of plaintiff; that defendants have failed, neglected, and refused, though demanded, to set off to plaintiff his full one-half share of the corn, or 3,325 bushels, of the value of $3,391.50, or $1.02 a bushel; that defendants have not paid the cash rent or the value of the oats; that plaintiff had a statutory landlord’s lien and the suit was to recover rent accrued within the previous year. On count one plaintiff asked judgment for $3,474 and the issuance of a writ of landlord’s attachment.

In' count two plaintiff asked for foreclosure of his contract lien. In count three he asked judgment for $80 for the conversion of 100 bushels of the 1942 corn crop belonging to him. In count four plaintiff asked for a receiver.

On May 22, 1944, defendants filed answer and counterclaim. In answer to count one defendants deny that they raised 6,650 bushels of corn but admit that they raised and harvested 4,180 bushels, and that this corn on the date of *149 the filing of plaintiff’s petition was on hand or disposed of as follows:

Single crib.1,500 bushels
Wire crib with cover. 830 bushels
Piled in pasture. 800 bushels
Another pile . 550 bushels
In hog house and fed. 337 bushels
Sold to obtain cash for farming purposes. 130 bushels
Delivered to Hannigan for corn borrowed .... 33 bushels
Total .4,180 bushels

They further allege that all this corn had been measured by wagon-box measure; that as soon as it was all harvested they notified the plaintiff of that fact and invited him to come to the farm to assist in dividing it but he refused and at once came out with the sheriff and levied an attachment on all of the corn and all of the personal property of defendants; that plaintiff had never given any directions to defendants as to the place to deliver his corn to market, and by attaching he made such delivery impossible; that they had set aside for plaintiff 2,090 bushels, or one half of all corn raised in the wire crib with a top, and in the two piles above noted, and owed him no other corn rental; they admit the value of the oats taken and the amount of the cash rent and the $80 for the 1942 corn, but aver that these sums are offset by services rendered plaintiff in constructing a bridge to the value of $150, in preparing alfalfa ground, $45.50, grading yard, $35, hybrid seed corn, $66.66, staples, nails, etc., $1.65, for a total amount of $298.81, as alleged in their counterclaim. Plaintiff conceded that he owed defendants for the seed corn and staples but denied liability on the other items of the counterclaim.

On motion of defendants the court transferred counts one and three to the law side and trial was had thereon to a jury in June 1944, which allowed plaintiff $2,874.37, less a credit to defendants for the last two items of the counterclaim of $62.15, and returned a verdict for plaintiff of $2,812.22. The receivership was denied. In overruling defendants’ motion for *150

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

Related

Musgrove v. Leonard
396 P.2d 614 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
21 N.W.2d 301, 237 Iowa 146, 1946 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henney-v-lambert-iowa-1946.