Ingram v. Aldrich

83 P.2d 917, 196 Wash. 627
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 4, 1938
DocketNo. 27070. Department Two.
StatusPublished

This text of 83 P.2d 917 (Ingram v. Aldrich) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ingram v. Aldrich, 83 P.2d 917, 196 Wash. 627 (Wash. 1938).

Opinion

Millard, J.

— As the alleged owner of the property, N. C. Ingram instituted a replevin action against the Foss Company to recover possession of a number of rafts of cedar logs in storage with that company. Clark Aldrich, who also claimed to be the owner of the subject-matter of the controversy, was made an additional party defendant. Pursuant to a stipulation between the parties, the logs were sold and the proceeds — less the amount of the cost of the sale and the storage charges paid to the Foss Company, which party was thereupon dismissed from the action — of that sale were deposited in the registry of the court to abide the outcome of the contest between plaintiff, Ingram, and defendant Aldrich as to the ownership of the fund. The trial court found, briefly, as follows:

Under the provisions of a stumpage contract with plaintiff, Joe Rush logged certain lands owned by plaintiff during the months of July to September, 1933. The logs, which were cedar, cut by Rush were rafted by him in Ludlow Bay, Clallam county, and October 12, 1933, Rush sold and delivered to plaintiff all of those cedar logs except one, the ownership of which is not in question in this action. In May, 1934, plaintiff employed the Wagner Tug Boat Company to tow his logs from Ludlow Bay to the towing company’s place of storage in Lake Washington, King county. In the same tow, the tug boat company transported to the same place of storage cedar and fir logs owned by Clark Aldrich. In October, 1934, the logs were *629 driven from their boom by a severe storm, and some of the logs of each of the parties were lost. Without plaintiff’s knowledge, Aldrich had his logs and the logs owned by plaintiff removed April 28, 1936, from the Wagner Tug Boat Company’s storage to Lake Union for storage with and sale by the Foss Company.

Prior to the sale, Ingram instituted this replevin action against Foss Company, which denied ownership of the logs and alleged that it was holding the logs simply as bailee for Aldrich, who was then made an additional party defendant. Pursuant to stipulation of the parties, the logs were sold and the net proceeds of the sale deposited in the registry of the court.

The court further found that, of the logs sold, 103,-290 feet of cedar logs in controversy were the property of Ingram, and that 7,103 feet of logs, ownership of which was conceded, were the property of Aldrich; that the fund (after payment of filing and attorney’s fees, amounting to $53, of the Foss Company) of $921.95 in the registry of the court should be prorated between Ingram and Aldrich — $782.06 to Ingram and $86.89 to Aldrich. From the judgment rendered in consonance with the foregoing, Aldrich has appealed.

Appellant states, in effect as follows, the theory of his acquisition of title to the cedar logs in controversy:

A copartnership designated the Dabob Logging Company, consisting of John Bolán and wife, Joe Rush, and other members of the Bolán family, financed by appellant, logged respondent’s lands. The cedar logs claimed by appellant and respondent are a portion of those taken off of respondent’s lands by the copartnership and were dumped in the same boom as had been used by the copartnership in other logging operations. During the operations, the Bolans executed chattel mortgages to secure payment of the indebtedness to appellant.

*630 In the fall of 1933, John Bolan’s wife, the financial manager of the copartnership, executed a. bill of sale to the appellant covering the subject-matter of this controversy in order to secure payment to appellant of thirty-five hundred dollars then owing to appellant by the copartnership. In 1934 — subsequent to the death of Mrs. Bolán — John Bolán executed a bill of sale and release to the appellant covering the logs in question. That is, under a stumpage contract with respondent, the copartnership acquired title to the logs, and by virtue of the chattel mortgage and two bills of sale described above, executed by the copart-nership to appellant, the latter became owner of the logs.

The evidence, summarized as follows, amply sus-táins the court’s finding that, at all times from October 12, 1933, until sale of the logs pursuant to the stipulation between the parties, respondent was the owner and entitled to possession of the cedar logs:

Respondent, a timber cruiser, has owned lands in Jefferson county for many years. Prior to the logging contract of Joe Rush with respondent, the Dabob Logging Company logged some of the lands of respondent. On April 22, 1932 — more than a year before Joe Rush commenced operations under his logging contract with respondent — the Bolans (Dabob Logging Company) acknowledged in writing final payment under, and cancellation of, their contract of July 21, 1930, with respondent. No further business dealings were ever had by Ingram with the copartnership.

Joe Rush, a step-son of John Bolán, but not interested in the Dabob Logging Company, entered into a contract May 29, 1933, to log respondent’s land described as the “S% SW^, Section 11, Township 28, North, Range 1 West.” Rush agreed to pay respondent stumpage at $2.50 per thousand feet, water scale, *631 the logs to be dumped into Ludlow Bay. Respondent advanced, during the logging operations, which covered both fir and cedar, an aggregate of $1,005 to Rush.' While the logging operations were in progress, Rush sold the fir logs. On October 12, 1933, at which time Rush was heavily indebted to respondent, the latter bought the cedar logs from Rush and took immediate possession of same. The bill of sale of October 12, 1933, from Joe Rush to respondent was not placed of record in the office of the auditor for Jefferson county until May 14, 1935. While Rush used some of the Da-bob Logging Company’s equipment for logging respondent’s land, he paid rental to the copartnership for use of that equipment.

In 1934, at which time appellant had five sections of fir and one raft of cedar logs in Ludlow Bay, which logs were the result of logging operations by the Bolans —not Rush — on appellant’s lands and not on respondent’s lands, respondent’s logs were towed to Lake Washington by the Wagner Boat Company. At appellant’s request, respondent permitted appellant’s logs to be towed at the same time. That is, all of the logs came in as a single tow to Lake Washington and were billed without segregation jointly to appellant and respondent. Some of the logs were lost from the boom in a severe storm on the lake. Without the knowledge of respondent, appellant paid the towing charges to the Wagner Tug Boat Company on all the logs and had the Foss Company tow the logs remaining after the 1934 storm to the pool of the Foss Company in Lake Union and directed that company to sell the logs.

The cedar logs in controversy were cut on respondent’s land by Rush under a stumpage contract with respondent, and the Dabob Logging Company had no interest in the contract. At the time of the delivery of the logs by Rush to Ingram at Ludlow Bay, the appel *632 lant did not have any logs in the bay. On January 13, 1933, when Mrs.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
83 P.2d 917, 196 Wash. 627, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ingram-v-aldrich-wash-1938.