T. R. Miller Mill Co. v. Ralls

192 So. 2d 706, 280 Ala. 253, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 907
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedSeptember 1, 1966
Docket3 Div. 139
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 192 So. 2d 706 (T. R. Miller Mill Co. v. Ralls) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
T. R. Miller Mill Co. v. Ralls, 192 So. 2d 706, 280 Ala. 253, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 907 (Ala. 1966).

Opinions

[255]*255COLEMAN, Justice.

From judgment for defendant, rendered on jury verdict in action for trespass to land by cutting timber, the plaintiff appeals.

Motion to Dismiss.

Appellee moves to dismiss the appeal on the ground that appeal was not taken within the time allowed by law.

Judgment for appellee was rendered on the 19th day of September, 1962, and appellee contends that appellant was required to appeal within six months thereafter. Appeal was not taken until March 14, 1964.

Within thirty days after rendition of judgment, appellant filed motion for new trial and on October 10, 1962, the trial court continued the motion to the 19th day of November, 1962, on which day the court continued the motion to December 31, 1962.

On December 31, 1962, the cause was submitted on the motion and taken under advisement.

On December 26, 1963, the court overruled the motion.

Appeal was taken within six months after the date of the judgment overruling the motion for new trial.

If a motion for new trial has been duly filed, considered, and overruled, the time limited for taking an appeal from the original judgment dates from the judgment overruling the motion for new trial. Local 204 of Textile Workers Union of America v. Richardson, 245 Ala. 37, 15 So.2d 578; Harden v. United States F. & G. Co., 267 Ala. 321, 101 So.2d 302.

Appellee argues that the submission and taking under advisement of a motion for a new trial operates to keep the motion alive only until the end of the term, citing: Childers v. Samoset Cotton Mills, 213 Ala. 292, 104 So. 641; and Greer v. Heyer, 216 Ala. 229, 113 So. 14.

The two cases last cited were decided prior to amendment of Section 6667, Code 1923; now § 114, Title 13, Code 1940; by Act No. 56, Extra Session 1936, page 32. Prior to amendment, Section 6667 prescribed the dates for beginning and ending of terms of the circuit courts. As amended, the statute provides that the circuit courts shall be open “at all times,” and abolishes the matter of terms of court. Williams v. Wicker, 235 Ala. 348, 179 So. 250.

In the Wicker case, supra, appellee insisted that a motion for new trial had lapsed because the motion had been carried over into another term, and, therefore, that no valid judgment could be rendered on the motion. This court said that the motion was timely filed and continued to date of submission when it was taken under advisement; that this submission and taking the motion under advisement operated to keep the motion alive until the end of the term, as in Greer v. Heyer, supra, and kept the [256]*256trial of the motion constructively in progress until judgment was rendered on the motion.

So in the instant case, after the motion was duly continued to the date it was submitted and taken under advisement, the motion was kept alive and the trial of the motion was considered as constructively in progress until judgment was rendered on December 26, 1963, overruling the motion.

The record here contains adequate showing of continuance, submission, and judgment on the motion; Holman v. Baker, 277 Ala. 310, 169 So.2d 429. The time for taking appeal ran from the judgment on the motion, December 26, 1963 ; and, within six months thereafter, appeal was taken. Because the appeal was taken within the time allowed by law, the motion to dismiss the appeal is due to be and is overruled.

On the Merits.

Plaintiff sued defendant for cutting trees on the east half of southwest quarter of Section 16, Township 4 North, Range 13 East, in Conecuh County.

Defendant pleaded not guilty. Defendant’s contention is that the trees he cut were on his own land, which is the west half of southwest quarter of said section. The disputed question is the location of the east boundary of defendant’s eighty acres, that is, the line which divides the west half from the east half of the southwest quarter of Section 16.

The plaintiff formerly owned the entire section 16. In 1923, plaintiff conveyed the west half of southwest quarter of section 16 to E. N. Amos, through whom defendant derived title.

The testimony of plaintiff’s president is to the effect that the southwest corner of Section 16 was marked as early as 1911 or 1912; that, in 1923 when defendant’s eighty was sold to Amos, the witness sent one George W. Kirkland “to lay out the lines”; that the southeast corner of defendant’s eighty “was set” by Kirkland; that the east line of defendant’s eighty has been marked since 1923; that the witness saw that the corner was there; that “the trees were marked to show that the corner was there and they are old marks and there’s not any question that that corner was set there in ’23 and it’s been there until it’s been removed recently”; that, in 1951, plaintiff cut timber “right up to that line”; that, in 1951, defendant’s mother owned defendant’s eighty and sold the timber on it to Anthony Lumber Company, which “recognized the line and cut to the line” that plaintiff had marked; that plaintiff "cut it all” when it sold to Amos; that, after ’27, plaintiff went on its own land lying east of and adjoining defendant’s eighty to get poles and piling; that plaintiff “stumped” its own land; and that plaintiff’s land was cut “up to the line in ’51.”

Plaintiff’s forester testified that he had been looking after “this land” since .1943; that about a year later, Ed Ralls, who was defendant’s father as we understand it, took the witness to defendant’s southeast corner and showed it to witness; that it “was just a lightwood corner”; that the line was marked up to the northeast corner of defendant’s eighty, and the line was never questioned up until the difficulty.

Plaintiff’s evidence is to the effect that the trees cut by defendant were trees which stood east of the marked line on a strip of plaintiff’s land which was about one hundred forty feet wide lying immediately east of the marked east boundary line of defendant’s eighty as contended for by plaintiff.

No witness testified that he had made or had been present at the making of any survey to locate the line marked by plaintiff or the corners at the north or south end of the line.

Plaintiff’s forester, Ezell, testified that concrete markers were put at the north and south ends of the marked line in 1951 or 1952. On direct examination, he testified [257]*257to effect that he himself placed the concrete markers as follows:

“Q Now this corner there is the one you put there in 1951 is it not? I mean the concrete marker?
“A Yes sir.
“Q The lightwood knot had been there before?
“A Yes sir.
“Q And about the same time did you put the corner at the northeast corner, the concrete marker?
“A Yes sir.
“Q What date was that now?
“A I don’t know exactly, along about ’51, about the time we were doing that logging in there.
“Q And that southeast corner was plainly marked there at that time?
“A Yes sir and a big pine tree was a witness there.

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T. R. Miller Mill Co. v. Ralls
192 So. 2d 706 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1966)

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Bluebook (online)
192 So. 2d 706, 280 Ala. 253, 1966 Ala. LEXIS 907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/t-r-miller-mill-co-v-ralls-ala-1966.