Jenkins v. Donaldson

429 P.2d 841, 91 Idaho 711, 1967 Ida. LEXIS 252
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 27, 1967
Docket9207
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 429 P.2d 841 (Jenkins v. Donaldson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jenkins v. Donaldson, 429 P.2d 841, 91 Idaho 711, 1967 Ida. LEXIS 252 (Idaho 1967).

Opinion

SMITH, Justice.

Appellant has appealed from a judgment of the district court, claiming error in the court’s determination of set-offs against the proceeds of certain bank checks in which appellant was named co-payee with respondent, Clarence Jenkins; also claiming error in the court’s determination of the resultant amount adjudged to be appellant’s equitable interest in the proceeds of the checks; also in failing to enter judgment against respondents in favor of appellant in addition to the amount of the funds held in trust as the proceeds of the checks.

On December 17, 1953, third party defendants-respondents, herein sometimes referred to as respondents or Jenkins, leased under a “50-50 share crop lease,” farm land owned by appellant Donaldson, for the term commencing March 1, 1954, and ending November 15, 1954.

Respondents farmed the land in 1954 and made certain improvements inside of the dwelling house situate on the land. At the end of the year, respondents and appellant reached a settlement as to all matters relating to the lease except the improvement work on the dwelling. Respondents continued farming the land through 1955 and again the parties entered into a settlement except as to the dwelling house improvements; respondents brought the matter of such improvements to appellant’s attention, but did not press their claim at the time because they understood that appellant “was not too well off” financially.

Respondents again farmed the land for the crop season of 1956. On February 1, 1956, they borrowed $1,700.00 from appellant, evidenced by their promissory note, agreeing to repay the loan by December 15, 1956, with interest. On July 12, 1956, appellant advanced $282.00 to Clarence Jenkins.

Both of the parties to the farm lease agreed that the lease should expire at the end of the 1956 farming season.

On December 7, 1956, appellant and respondents discussed final settlement of the operations of the farm; as the result thereof, appellant prepared an accounting, which showed a balance of $790.54 in respondents’ favor, for which amount appellant drew and delivered his check payable to respondent, Clarence Jenkins. The settlement was based on the assumption that appellant was to receive four checks made payable to appellant and Clarence Jenkins, as co-payees, the checks to be endorsed by Jenkins and turned over to appellant, as follows: $2,763.92, the first beet check; $1,-510.16, the second beet check; $1,642.24, the third beet check, and $1,000.00, a fourth check for hay. Clarence Jenkins endorsed the last three checks'and delivered them to appellant. However, both parties had there *714 tofore,’on November IS, 1956, endorsed the first check and Clarence Jenkins had cashed it and retained the proceeds. Upon discovery of the error, appellant notified respondents that adjustments must he made.

Clarence Jenkins, upon examining appellant’s acounting, ascertained that certain of his, Jenkins’, claims had not been included in the computations, and concerning 'which the parties had not agreed.

On or about December 10, 1956, respondents left the premises.. Subsequently, three additional checks were received, totaling $2,080.02, arising out of the operation of the leased farm, made payable to Clarence Jenkins and appellant as co-payees. Clarence Jenkins endorsed them and assigned his interest therein to his father, Joe Jenkins, plaintiff-respondent, as payment for alleged debts. Appellant refused to endorse the checks until such time as a settlement was reached between himself and Clarence Jenkins. Respondent Joe Jenkins then brought this action seeking “to quiet title in said checks.”

In his answer and cross-claim, appellant sought recovery of $3,197.68 allegedly owed to him by Clarence Jenkins, together with attorneys’ fees.

At the conclusion of a trial without a jury the court found that respondent, Joe Jenkins, had no interest in the funds and was not entitled to any relief sought by his complaint.

The trial court then found that appellant Donaldson had received the following sums of money: $1,510.16, $1,642.24 and $1,-000.00 as the proceeds of the second and third beet checks and of the hay check, totaling $4,152.40; that he had incurred allowable (reimbursable) expenses of $3,-428.68, and had received $723.72 ($4,152.40 minus $3,428.68) more than his allowable expenses.

The court further found that respondent, Clarence Jenkins, had received the following sums of money: $2,763.92 as the proceeds of the first beet check, $790.54 as proceeds of appellant’s check dated December 7,1956, and $108.00 as proceeds of appellant’s additional check, totaling $3,661.46; that Jenkins had incurred allowable (reimbursable) expenses of $1,197.41 and had received $2,564.05 over his allowable expenses ($3,661.46 minus $1,197.41 which reveals an error of $100.00 against Jenkins’ interest; correction of the error is reflected in the corrected accounting hereinafter set forth). The court then determined that Donaldson should receive $1,-840.33 (correct figure $1,740.33) out of the sum of $2,080.02 (the three checks) in order that the amount over his reimbursable expenses would equal that of Jenkins ($723.-72 plus $1,840.33 [$1,740.33] equals $2,564.-05 [$2,464.05]).

The court then determined that the remaining $239.69 ($2,080.02 minus $1,840.33) .should be divided equally between Clarence Jenkins and Donaldson; that Jenkins was entitled to one-half of the $108.00 paid to him by Donaldson; that consequently Jenkins should receive, in addition h> his one-half of the $239.69,. one-half of the $108.00,.or $54.00, to be subtracted out of the $239.69, or a total of $173.85 ($119.85 plus $54.00); and that Donaldson should receive the remainder of $1,906.17. Judgment was entered accordingly from which appellant has appealed.

Appellant assigns as error the trial court’s failure to allow 24 days’ rent at $10.00 a day as provided by the lease for third party respondents’ possession of the premises after November 15, 1956, the expiration date of the lease. The evidence shows that on or about October 1, 1956, Clarence Jenkins purchased appellant’s half 'of the pasture with the understanding that he, Jenkins, could remain upon the premises until the “pasture was used up.” That oral contract was sufficient to lengthen the term of the lease from November 15th until or about December 10, 1956, when the feed was consumed and respondents quit the premises; hence, the trial court properly disallowed the $10.00 per day rent allegedly owing after November 15th.

*715 Appellant next assigns as error the trial court’s determination that appellant was not entitled to interest on a loan or “advance” of $282.00 to respondents, from July 12, 1956, the date of the transaction, to the date of judgment. The evidence discloses similar prior loan transactions between the parties without exaction of interest. At the time of the $282.00 loan, there was no mention of interest and the transaction was to be settled in the accounting at the end of the 1956 farming season. Appellant included such amount as an “advance,” plus interest, in his claims in the accounting of December 7, 1956. The loan was one of several items which appellant set off against Clarence Jenkins, who in return had set-offs against appellant. The trial court did not err in disallowing the claimed interest item.

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Bluebook (online)
429 P.2d 841, 91 Idaho 711, 1967 Ida. LEXIS 252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-donaldson-idaho-1967.