National Bank of Commerce v. McDaniel

1918 OK 376, 174 P. 286, 71 Okla. 6, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 840
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 25, 1918
Docket8877
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 1918 OK 376 (National Bank of Commerce v. McDaniel) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Bank of Commerce v. McDaniel, 1918 OK 376, 174 P. 286, 71 Okla. 6, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 840 (Okla. 1918).

Opinion

KANE, J.

This was an action upon a promissory note and to foreclose a chattel mortgage upon some cattle, given to secure the payment thereof, commenced by the) plaintiff in error, plaintiff below, against the defendant in error J. S. McDaniel, defendant below. The action as between these parties resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiff and the foreclosure of th^ mortgage, as prayed for, which was not appealed from, which closes the case in so far as these parties are concerned. The matter for reviejw concerns! the right of the defendant in error B. G. Hoff to enforce a lien upon the cattle which h^ claims by virtue of sections 175 and 176, Rev. Laws 1910, which read as follows, respectively:

“175. Any person employed in feeding, grazing or herding any domestic animals, whether in pasture or otherwise, shall have a li^n on said animals for the amount due for such feeding, grazing or herding.
“176. Any person, partnership, firm or corporation in this state, or in any border county of the adjacent states, furnishing or providing to the owner of such domestic animals any corn, feed, forage or hay, for the sustenance of such domestic animals, shall have a lien on said animals for the amount due for such corn, forage, feed and hay.”

The court below decided this question in favor of Mr. Hoff, whereupon this proceeding in error was commenced by the bank for the purpose of reviewing the action of the trial court.

The facts out of which it is claimed the lien arises may be summarized briefly as follows: Hoff, the defendant in ejrror, who was an experienced cowboy and cattleman by trade or calling, was employed by McDaniel, the owner of the cattle, to take charge of a ranch of about 1,900 acres upon which the cattle were to be herded and cared for, the former to receive wages at th^ rate of $60 per month. The agreement was not specific in defining the scope of Mr. Hoff’s duties in the premises, but as there was no fault found by any of the parties with what he did in relation to the cattle, we will assumcj that what be did was within the implied scope of his general employment to take charge of the ranch and feed and herd the cattle placed thereon. At the time Hoff took charge of the ranch McDaniel was the owner of several head of cattle involved, and subsequently he purchased othejr cattle and placed them with the herd on the ranch. After the cattle were turned over to Hoff he took general charge and care of them, meeting such emergencies as arose in the business, and, providing feed and shelter for the cattle as required. McDaniel, the ownejr, lived in Pontotoc county across the Canadian river, a distance of 23 or 24 miles from the ranch, and did not visit the same more than *7 twice from April, 1913, to January, 1914, during the time Hoff had charge thereof. In the month of August, while Hoff was still in charge, Are broke out on the ranch, and burned up all the grass, and thereafter the cattle were herded by Hoff on open range with the knowledge of McDaniel. The mortgage executed by the plaintiff in error herein was made by McDaniel in Juncj, 1913, several months after Hoff took charge of the herd, and purported to cover all the cattle in his charge. At the time this mortgage was executed Mr. Estill, president of the mortgagee bank, asked Mr. McDaniel if the cattle were in charge of a good man, and Mr. McDaniel told the president that the cattle were and would remain in charge of Mr. Hoff, who was an experienced cattleman and cowboy. During the fall and winter grazing upon the ranch became short, and, Mr. McDaniel making no adequate provision for paying for of procuring feed for the herd elsewhere, Mr. Hoff performed these duties, and during this time, from about October or November, until January, when the cattle wer^ taken by the bank, he had several conversations with the officials of the bank as to ways and means of protecting, caring for, and feeding the cattlej. In January, Mr. McDaniel still neglecting to provide for feeding and caring for the herd, or to meet the obligation of the bank, the cattle Werej taken in replevin by the bank, with the result hereinbefore stated.'

Counsel for plaintiff in error present thejir grounds for reversal in some 14 or 15 assignments of error, but in their brief they say:

“The underlying principle in support of all these assignments of error is this: That un-def the undisputed evidence in this case the defendant B. G. Hoff was not an agister, but a hired hand, and as such has no lien upon the cattle involved in this action.”

They further say:

“Possession being the basis of such lien, it necessarily follows that a servant whose custody of property is only the possession of his mastejr cannot claim a lien.”

In support of the contention thus stated they cite Boston & Kansas City Cattle Loan Co. v. Dickson, 11 Okla. 680, 69 Pac. 889, and several cases of the same class from other states. As neither of thej sections of the statute construed in the eases relied upon are similar to the sections now under consideration, viz., sections 115 and 176, supra, this case is not rulejd by cases of that class. We think the uneontradict^d evidence shows that Mr. Hoff is entitled to the lien 'he claims under th^ statutes invoked by him. Clearly Mr. Hoff was a person employed in feeding, grazing, and herding domestic animals, within the meaning of section 175, supra, and he was also a. person who furnished or provided to the owner of domestic animals com, feed, forage, or hay for their sustenance under, section 176. In both of these capacities he is entitled to a lien. Undejr the first section the lien is for the amount due him for his personal services in feeding, grazing, and herding the cattl^', and under the second section for the amount due him for providing for the owner of such domestic animals feed, forage, hay, etc. In Lytell v. Bank, 65 Or. 243, 132 Pac. 518, a statute not dissimlar to our section 175, entitled “An act giving herders a lien on animals herded” was under discussion. The court, after a full discussion of the decisions, construing statutes giving liens to ag'istejrs and their class, among them Boston & Kansas City Cattle Loan Co. v. Dickson, supra, held that:

“L. O. L. 7484, 7485, declaring that any herder of sheep, or any one to whom they are intrusted for care and attention, under-contract therejfor with their owner, has-thereon a possessory lien for the amount due. on the contract, and may retain possession of them till it is paid, not professing to amend sections 7451, 7452, giving a lien to ‘any person who shall pasture or feejd- any-live stock, or bestow any labor, care or attention o,n the same at the request of the owner,’ but passed by the Legislature nejxt after a decision that they gave a lien to agisters only, and not to servants of the owner, will ha construed as a remedial statute, and, in view of the mischief to be remedied to give a lien to a herder for wages, though he is not strictly in possession of the animals for which he cares, it being intended he may retain custody of theim until his wages are paid.”

The lien provided for by our statute is not designated a possessory lien, as in Oregon, nor is it, by the terms of the statutej, dependent upon possession.

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

Related

Opinion No. (1986)
Oklahoma Attorney General Reports, 1986
Agristor Credit Corp. v. Unruh
1977 OK 215 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1977)
Leger Mill Co., Inc. v. Kleen-Leen, Inc.
1977 OK 64 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1977)
Ahlswede v. Schoneveld
488 P.2d 908 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1971)
Fletcher v. Bank of Meeker
1962 OK 192 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1962)
Williams v. Bumpers
1952 OK 90 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1952)
Eastwood v. Glover
1925 OK 505 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1925)
Interstate Cattle Loan Co. v. Warren
222 P. 138 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1924)
National Bank of Republic of Salt Lake City v. Drulas
214 P. 24 (Utah Supreme Court, 1923)
Mead v. Bockorny
191 N.W. 626 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 1922)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1918 OK 376, 174 P. 286, 71 Okla. 6, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 840, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-bank-of-commerce-v-mcdaniel-okla-1918.