Matthews v. Crofford

129 Tenn. 541
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 129 Tenn. 541 (Matthews v. Crofford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matthews v. Crofford, 129 Tenn. 541 (Tenn. 1914).

Opinion

MR. Chief Justice Neil

delivered tlie opinion of the Court.

On the 1st day of September, 1910, T. J. ■ Crofford leased to Mrs. W. C. Deatherage certain real estate in the city of Memphis, for the term of two years, ending on August 31, 1912-, at the price of $3,600', payable monthly in advance in twenty-four installments, represented by twenty-four promissory notes, each for the sum of $150', payable the first day of each month. The lease contained the following provisions for forfeiture :

“It is further agreed that in default of either one or inore of said payments or any part thereof at maturity . ■ . . this lease may be declared forfeited by said party [lessor] at his option, in which case the second party [lessee] shall be liable for all rents until the possession be delivered, and for all damages done to the premises; and the first party [lessor] shall have the right to re-enter and retain possession of said premises without being required to make demand of the same, or demand the payment of rents due, or to give notice of the nonpayment of the rent; and the first party [lessor] shall not become a trespasser by taking possession as aforesaid. ... In case of default of the second party, so as to forfeit her lease, in her absence from this! city, service of process upon any white adult occupying or in possession of the premises shall be good and valid service upon the second party.”

[545]*545All of the rents were paid np to a note falling due September 1, 1911. Those falling due prior to the day just mentioned were, many of them, not paid promptly, hut were generally paid from the 23d to the 25th of the month. The rent notes were deposited in one of the banks of Memphis, and it was expected that the lessee would pay them as they fell due. She became so constantly remiss, however, in this duty, that they were placed in the hands of the agent of the bank who had charge of • its real estate matters, the witness, Elmer Harris. He testified that he visited the lessee two or three times a month, urging her to pay the money, but frequently had to content himself with collecting it about the 23d or 25th.

“Q. What would you tell her when she would put off: paying the rent this way? A. I would tell her I was not going to wait any longer, and try to bluff her out of it each month until I got it. I would tell her I was not going to do it the next month. Q. Did you tell her that every month? A. Yes, sir; every month, but it didn’t do any good. Q. Did you have to see her more than every month? A. Yes, sir; every day or two.”

The note due the 1st of September, 1911, was demanded but not paid. Thereupon, on the 2d day of September, 1911, a suit of unlawful, detainer was brought before George B. Coleman, a justice of the peace of Shelby county, by Crofford to recover possession of the property. The writ was duly served [546]*546on Mrs. Deatherage on the same day, and on the 8th day of the month a judgment was rendered by the justice of the peace in favor of Crofford for the possession.

On the 13th of September Mrs. Deatherage filed her petition to obtain the writs of certiorari and superse-deas for the purpose of removing the cause into the circuit court of the county, and to restrain the enforcement of the writ of possession. Accompanying this petition she tendered into court $155.75, to cover the note and interest and costs.

She also executed a supersedeas bond with W. D. Matthews as surety in the penal sum of $3,600, conditioned to prosecute the petition with effect and, on default, to abide by and perform the judgment of the court trying the case; likewise to pay the costs.

On August 12, 1912, Mrs. Deatherage died, and the cause was thereafter duly revived in the name of her children, Charles Deatherage, James E. Lewis, and Mrs. J. I. Stewart, as her heirs at law, and in the name of the North Memphis Savings Bank as her administrator.

On August 14, 1912, possession of the real estate in controversy was surrendered to Crofford by the heirs.

The case came on for trial before his honor, H. W. Laughlin, one of the judges of the circuit court.

The court found the plea of no assets in favor of the administrator, also the tender made by Mrs. Death-erage as already mentioned, the execution of the bond [547]*547by Matthews, the surrender of the possession of the property on August 14th, and proceeded to adjudge as follows:

“And thereupon the court adjudged that the plaintiff [Crofford] is entitled to no judgment either against the said heirs or said hank [the administrator], but is entitled to a judgment for the value of the rent of said premises against W. D. Matthews the surety on the bond of certiorari and supersedeas of Mrs. "W. C. Deatherage, now deceased, from September 1, 1911, up to August 14, 1912, at the rate of $150 per month, with interest at six per cent, on each month’s rent from the first of that month to this date.”

After ascertaining the whole amount, principal and interest, $1,849.54, the judgment proceeds: •

“The court further orders that the clerk of the court at once pay the plaintiff, or his attorney, the $155.75 paid into court by deceased defendant on September 13, 1921, when she prayed for the writs of certiorari and supersedeas, and that this amount he credited on the amount of this judgment.
“"Wherefore it is ordered that the plaintiff, T. J. Crofford, have and recover of the said W. D. Matthews, surety on said bond, and the said North Memphis Savings Bank, administrator of the said Mrs. W. C. Deatherage, deceased, $1,849.54, and the costs of the suit, less the $155.75' mentioned, making a total of $1,693.79, for which execution will issue.”

[548]*548Matthews prayed an appeal to the court of civil appeals, and that court reversed the judgment as to the administrator, holding that the entry of judgment against it was evidently an inadvertence, and corrected the entry so as to render judgment for the possession against the heirs, but directed no writ of possession, inasmuch as this feature of the judgment of that court was based on a decision of this court (Spillman v. Walt, 12 Heisk., 574), in which it was held that a judgment on a certiorari bond, executed under our statute in forcible entry and detainer cases, could only follow as an incident to a judgment for possession. With these emendations the judgment of the trial court against Matthews for the rent was affirmed.

At this point Matthews filed a petition in this court for the writ of certiorari and supersedeas to remove the cause here for trial, and errors have been assigned.

Only two errors are available, however, in this court under our rules, viz., those which were embraced in a motion for a new trial. These are as follows:

“(1) The court erred in rendering judgment because it is established by the evidence that on the 14th day of August, 1912, the land for the possession of which this suit was instituted was surrendered to the plaintiff, and he then entered into possession of said premises and demised same to other tenants, leaving nothing really for controversy or decision in the suit.
“(2) The court erred in entering judgment in the suit for the further reason that, at the time of suing [549]

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129 Tenn. 541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matthews-v-crofford-tenn-1914.