Roberts v. Norris

67 Ind. 386
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1879
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 67 Ind. 386 (Roberts v. Norris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roberts v. Norris, 67 Ind. 386 (Ind. 1879).

Opinion

Worden, J.

This was au action of replevin for a certain mare, buggy and harness, brought by the appellee, Norris, against the appellant, Roberts, before a justice of the peace, and appealed to the circuit court.

Before the justice, the defendant pleaded in bar of the action, in substance, that, before the bringing of the action, the plaintiff had brought an action of replevin for the same property, against the defendant, before a j ustiee of the' peace of the county, which had been taken by appeal to the circuit court of said county, where the cause was tried upon its merits, and the defendant obtained a judgment against the plaintiff for a return of the property and for costs, which judgment was in full force, etc.

To this answer the plaintiff replied, in the circuit court:

1. By a general denial; and,

2. In substance, that on the 21st day of March, 1874, the defendant, Roberts, executed to the plaintiff a mortgage on the property in controversy, to secure the payment of one hundred and eighty dollars evidenced by a [388]*388note payable eight months after that date, which mortgage was duly recorded, etc.; that, on the trial of the former action in the circuit court, tlie plaintiff gave the mortgage in evidence, to prove the allegations in his complaint therein, that he was entitled to the possession of the property. He also gave evidence upon the said trial of that action, that, on the day before the note fell due, he made a demand upon the defendant for the delivery of the property, and the refusal of the defendant to deliver it; that on said trial he offered no evidence whatever of a demand of the property after the maturity of the note; that, in fact, no demand was made by the plaintiff upon the defendant for the delivery of the property, after the maturity of the note, and before” the rendition of the former judgment; that, by reason of the plaintiff’s failure to make a demand upon the defendant for the delivery of the property, after the maturity of the note and before the commencement of the former action, he was not entitled to maintain that action, it having been prematurely brought; that the only claim upon, or right to, the property which the plaintiff attempted to set up in the former action, was based upon the moi’tgage; that after the rendition of the former judgment, and after the maturity of the note, the same remaining unpaid, and before the commencement of this suit, on, etc., at, etc., the plaintiff demanded of the defendant the delivery of the property, which was refused by the defendant; that the plaintiff’s right of action herein is based upon the mortgage mentioned, and the demand by him made upon the defendant for the delivery of the property, after the maturity of the note, and after the rendition of the former judgment, but before the commencement of this action.

The mortgage is set out in full in the reply, and contains the following stipulation:

“ The said Milton Roberts is to retain possession of [389]*389said property until said debt becomes due, and, upon default of payment of said money, shall deliver the said property to the said Edward Norris.”

The defendant filed a demurrer to the second paragraph of the reply, for want of sufficient facts, but it was overruled and exception taken.

On the day after that on which the demurrer to the reply was overruled, the record shows that the parties came, and that the defendant stood upon his demurrer, and thereupon.the court rendered judgment for the plaintiff'.

The appellant has assigned error upon the ruling of the court in overruling the demurrer to the replication, and in rendering judgment for the plaintiff'upon the overruling of the demurrer.

"We proceed to consider these supposed errors.

The plaintiff’s theory qf the case is, that he could not have maintained replevin against the defendant for the property, without having made a demand upon him therefor after the maturity of the note, and before the commencement of the action ; and that, as he failed in the first action for the want of a proper demand, he is not estopped thereby to bring another action, having in the mean time made the proper demand.

It would seem that, if no demand was necessary in order to the maintenance of the action, the plaintiff is estopped by the former judgment, because his right to maintain the action in that case was as perfect as in the present one; and if the plaintiff was defeated in the former action by any misapprehension of law as to the necessity of a demand, and took no steps to set aside' or reverse the judgment, he is bound thereby, and can not maintain another action for the same cause. But if a demand was necessary, and if the plaintiff was defeated in the former action for the want of such demand, a different question is presented. "We therefore proceed to inquire whether a demand was necessary.

[390]*390We may observe that the action of replevin will not lie, unless the goods were wrongfully taken, or are unlawfully detained. 2 R. S. 1876, p. 88, sec. 128. It was stipulated in the mortgage, as we have seen, that the defendant was to retain possession of the property until the debt became due; hence the demand made before the debt became due was as unavailing as if no demand at all bad been made. But it was also stipulated in the mortgage, that, in default of payment of the money when it became due, t'he defendant should deliver the property to the plaintiff.

We do not, for the purposes of the question under consideration, attach much importance to the stipulation for the delivery of the property in default of payment of the debt when it became due, because, on default of such payment, the plaintiff became entitled to the possession without such stipulation. By the mortgage, the legal title to the property vested in the plaintiff, and he would have been entitled to the immediate possession, had the mortgage not provided that the defendant was to retain possession until the debt became due. Broadhead v. McKay, 46 Ind. 595. If the property had been delivered to the plaintiff, such delivery would not have freed it from the equity of redemption. Landers v. George, 49 Ind. 309.

It is clear that there Avas no wrongful taking of the property by the defendant, the mortgage providing that he should have possession until the debt became due. And it seems to us that his detention of the property after the debt became due did not become unlaAvful, so as to put him in the position of a wrong-doer, until the plaintiff had made a demand of the property.

It is clear that trover would not lie in such case, without a demand and refusal. 1 Chitty Plead., 16th Am. ed., top p. 176-7. “A demand and refusal,” says the above author, “ are necessary in all cases where the defendant became, in the first instance, lawfully possessed of [391]*391the goods, and the plaintiff is not prepared to prove some distinct actual conversion.” See, also, 1 Addison Torts, Dudley & Baylies’ ed., p.398. We see no substantial difference, so far as the necessity of a demand is. concerned, in such case, between an action of trover and one of replevin. The case of Lewis v. Masters, 8 Blackf. 244, which was an action of replevin, recognizes the necessity of a demand in such case, before action brought. The court said:

“ It appears to us that if they ” (the goods) “ had been tortiously taken, they must be considered, prima facie,

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Bluebook (online)
67 Ind. 386, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberts-v-norris-ind-1879.