Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Co. v. Tomlinson

49 P.2d 36, 183 Wash. 617, 101 A.L.R. 417, 1935 Wash. LEXIS 756
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 24, 1935
DocketNo. 25548. Department Two.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 49 P.2d 36 (Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Co. v. Tomlinson) 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
Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Co. v. Tomlinson, 49 P.2d 36, 183 Wash. 617, 101 A.L.R. 417, 1935 Wash. LEXIS 756 (Wash. 1935).

Opinion

Holcomb, J.

This litigation is the aftermath of a decision rendered by this court in Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Co. v. Tomlinson, 176 Wash. 178, 28 P. (2d) 299. In that decision, we held that the warehouse company was not entitled to maintain an action in ejectment and to quiet title against the Tomlinsons. The remittitur therein was filed in the clerk’s office of the court below on February 19, 1934. Prior to the filing of the remittitur, appellant filed an amended complaint in the action, as suggested in the previous decision, seeking in the amended complaint to foreclose its equitable mortgage.

J. I. Case Company, a corporation, which had not been a party to the original proceedings, filed first a complaint in intervention to foreclose a chattel mort *619 gage upon the crop raised upon the land. Frank P. Nealey, who summer-fallowed the land in 1932 as the agent and tenant of appellant, also filed a second complaint in intervention to recover the costs of producing the 1932-33 crop. Clyde H. Belknap, who, throughout the original proceedings and now, was and is the attorney of record for respondents Tomlinson, filed a third complaint in intervention to recover attorney fees and costs and to impress a lien therefor upon the crop in controversy. He had also obtained a bill of sale from the Tomlinsons of all their interest in the crop grown and harvested on the land in 1933.

After a trial to the court without a jury, after finding the corporate capacity of the parties which were corporations, the marital relation of defendants Tom-linson and the community capacity, that appellant had loaned to defendants Tomlinson the sum of $4,575, as found on the former appeal, no part of which had been paid and all remained due and owing, it made the following findings:

“That defendants failed and neglected to pay general taxes levied against the above described mortgaged premises before the same became delinquent, and that on February 23rd, 1932, plaintiff, Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Company, a corporation, paid such taxes with interest to date of payment in the total sum of four hundred sixty-one and 18/100 ($461.18) dollars; that defendants failed to pay interest due on the first mortgage on said premises as provided in said agreement that they should do, and on February 23rd, 1932, said plaintiff paid said interest in the total sum of seven hundred twenty and 70/100 dollars ($720.70); that defendants failed and neglected to keep fire insurance on the buildings on the mortgaged premises as required by the first mortgage thereon, and that on September 23rd, 1932, plaintiff paid the sum of eighty-five and 50/100 dollars ($85.50) premium on fire insurance policy thereon.
“That defendants, at all times since the commence *620 ment of this action, were and now are the owners in fee of the real estate hereinbefore described.
“That on or about September, 1932, plaintiff, Plaza Farmers Union "Warehouse & Elevator Company, a corporation, instituted the original action herein ag'ainst the defendants, as shown by the files herein, wrongfully alleging that it was the owner of the real estate here-inbefore described, and seeking the order of the court dispossessing the defendants, and quieting the title of said plaintiff to said real estate. That pursuant to the allegations contained in said complaint, and as an aid to accomplish their said purpose set forth in said complaint, said plaintiff obtained a temporary injunction, wrongfully restraining defendants from cultivating or seeding their said land. That thereafter an invalid judgment was obtained by the said plaintiff in the above entitled proceedings, Cause No. 91552, sustaining its original complaint, purporting to quiet the title of said plaintiff to said real estate,- and ordering the evacuation of said land by the defendants. That thereafter defendants appealed from said wrongful decision, and the supreme court, in January, 1934, reversed said decision. That during,all of said period, while said proceedings were pending, defendants were either in the complete or the partial and joint possession of said real estate and since the decision of said supreme court, have been in complete possession of all said real estate.
“That under said restraining order, and aided by said invalid judgment, plaintiff, through its agent or tenant, Frank Nealey, second intervenor herein, wrongfully seeded and harvested a crop of wheat upon defendants’ said land, amounting to 6,719.4 bushels.
“That defendants, prior to the harvesting of said wheat and the seizure by plaintiff, Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Company, a corporation, transferred and conveyed, for a valuable consideration, to Clyde H. Belknap, one-third thereof, and subject to the transfer of said one-third interest, made, executed, and delivered to J. I. Case Company, a corporation, first intervenor herein, a chattel mortgage upon the remaining two-thirds of said crop to secure the payment of two promissory notes aggregating $875.00 with in *621 terest thereon, upon which promissory notes there is a balance of $754.33 remaining unpaid.
“That the defendants have demanded of said plaintiff, the surrender and restitution to them of all of said wheat, but said plaintiff has wholly failed and refused to surrender any portion thereof.
“That the highest value of said wheat up to the date of trial was 71$ per bushel.
“That it is inequitable for plaintiff, Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Company, a corporation, to be permitted to proceed with said foreclosure proceedings until it has made complete restitution to Clyde H. Belknap, third intervenor, one-third of said wheat at 60$ per bushel, to J. I. Case Company, a corporation, first intervenor, the full amount of its indebtedness, to-wit, $754.33, plus $75.00 for its attorney’s fees herein, and costs in the sum of $4.00, and to the defendants, the value of two-thirds of said wheat at 71$ per bushel, less the amount due J. I. Case Company, a corporation, as aforesaid, and less the reasonable cost of raising said crop of wheat.
“That by virtue of the false and invalid title conferred upon plaintiff, Plaza Farmers Union Warehouse & Elevator Company, a corporation, by reason of said invalid proceedings and judgment, said plaintiff made application to the United States Government for what is known as the allotment for not planting a certain percentage of the acreage of said land to wheat. That plaintiff was not the owner of said crop, and was entitled only to the reasonable cost of producing said crop, and to no more, and defendants are the owners of said allotment, and entitled to the entire proceeds thereof.
“That the reasonable cost of producing said crop is as follows:
Plowing and summerfallowing.... $1,000
Seed wheat...................... 84
Seeding......................... 125
Sacks........................... 50

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Bluebook (online)
49 P.2d 36, 183 Wash. 617, 101 A.L.R. 417, 1935 Wash. LEXIS 756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plaza-farmers-union-warehouse-elevator-co-v-tomlinson-wash-1935.