Trimble v. Pollock

77 Ind. 576
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1881
DocketNo. 8497
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 77 Ind. 576 (Trimble v. Pollock) 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
Trimble v. Pollock, 77 Ind. 576 (Ind. 1881).

Opinion

Howk, J.

In October, 1877, the appellants, Elizabeth Trimble, Emma B. and Minnie M. Stafford, as the widow and heirs at law of Lewis B. Stafford, deceased, commenced this suit against the estate of William N. Stafford, deceased, in the Fountain Circuit Court. After the cause was put at issue, the appellee, Pollock, was appointed administrator de bonis non of the estate of said WilliamN. Stafford, deceased, and was substituted as defendant in the room and stead of the former administrators of said decedent’s estate. For the convenience of witnesses, the venue of the action was then changed to the Warren Circuit Court. The cause was there tried by a jury, and a verdict was returned for the appellants, the plaintiffs below; but, on the appellee’s motion therefor, a new trial was granted.

Afterwards, the cause having been again submitted to a jury for trial, and the appellants having introduced their evidence and rested, the appellee demurred to appellants’ evidence, and the appellants having joined in said demurrer, the jury were discharged from the further consideration of the cause. Thereafter, the court sustained said demurrer, and to this ruling the appellants excepted, and judgment was then rendered against them for the appellee’s costs.

In this court the appellants have assigned as errors the following decisions of the circuit court:

1st. In sustaining appellee’s motion for a new trial; and,

2d. In sustaining appellee’s demurrer to the appellants’ evidence.

In his brief of this cause, the appellants’ learned counsel say : “The only question we shall discuss arises under the second assignment of error, namely, the sustaining of the demurrer to appellants’ evidence.” This we regard as equiv[578]*578alent to an express waiver by the appellants of the first alleged error.

As necessary to a proper understanding of the questions presented by the second alleged error, we will give in this connection a summarized statement of the appellants’ evidence, as the same appears in the demurrer thereto.

The appellants first gave in evidence the deposition of Robert Leaverton, who testified that he knew Elizabeth Trimble and Lucinda Stafford, but did not know the other parties to this suit; that, in 1872 and 1873, he lived in Warren county, Indiana; that he knew Lewis Stafford in his lifetime, and, also, William N. Stafford; that, in 1872, he lived and worked on Lewis Stafford’s farm ; that Lewis Stafford died a short time after he moved on his place, he thought in February, 1872 ; that he made a contract for the rent of that place with and paid to William N. Stafford as the rent thereof, the sum of $337.13, in January and February, 1873 ; that he contracted to pay as rent for the farm for 1872 the sum of $390, and gave his notes therefor, with William Ribble as security, one payable January 1st and the other payable March 1st, 1873; that he expended $52.87, the balance of the rent not paid in money to William Stafford, in improvements on Lewis Stafford’s farm, on which he lived; and that he had burned the said notes which he had paid and taken up.

William Ribble testified as follows : “I know William N. Stafford ; I know plaintiff' Mrs. Trimble, who is the widow of Lewis Stafford, deceased, and the plaintiffs Emma and Minnie Stafford are his, Lewis Stafford’s, children ; In 1868 I moved on the land of Lewis, and lived there six years; I think Lewis died in February, 1872 ; I paid $260 per year rent; paid one year’s rent to William Stafford ; paid in two instalments, first in January, 1873, and second in March, 1873; this was for the year 1872, from March, 1872, to March, 1873; I paid the second $130 to William Stafford, [579]*579in Mrs. Trimble’s house, and William Stafford handed the money to her, Mrs. Trimble, after a little while, when she came into the room ; I do not know whether this payment was upon a note I had given to her or to him; I was only on the place two years after Lewis’ death; I only remember of paying William Stafford twice, and once was when ■he handed the $130 to Mrs. Tfimble, as I have stated.”

Charles Linburg testified : “I occupied Lewis Stafford’s land for a number of years, cash rent; I paid rent for the land, $275, to William Stafford, in his house ; I have a receipt for the rent I paid to William Stafford.”

“And it was admitted that William N. Stafford is dead, and that Davis Pollock is administrator, etc., and that William N. Stafford is the administrator of the estate of Lewis Stafford.”

This was all the evidence contained in the appellee’s demurrer thereto, and the question thereby presented for decision may be thus stated: Conceding all the facts, of which there was any evidence, to be true, and admitting all conclusions which can fairly and logically be deduced from those facts, were they sufficient to sustain the appellants’ cause of action and to entitle them to any relief? This is the legal effect of a demurrer to evidence; it admits all facts of which there- is any evidence, and all conclusions which can fairly and logically be drawn from such facts. Lindley v. Kelley, 42 Ind. 294; Strough v. Gear, 48 Ind. 100; Newhouse v. Clark, 60 Ind. 172; Fouch v. Wilson, 60 Ind. 64; Baker v. Baker, 69 Ind. 399; The Ohio, etc., R. W. Co. v. Collarn, 73 Ind. 261. In other words, it seems to us that, in passing upon and deciding a demurrer to the evidence, the court should consider not only the evidence which is embodied in the demurrer, but, also, all such fair and reasonable inferences as the triers of the facts might have lawfully drawn from such evidence.

[580]*580With this view of the evidence and the law applicable thereto, there can be no doubt, we think, that the appellants were the only heirs at law of Lewis Stafford, deceased; that, as such heirs, they were lawfully entitled to the rents of said decedent’s farm for the year from March 1st, 1872, .to March 1st, 1873 ; and that these rents for that year were paid to and received by the Said William N. Stafford, in his lifetime, as the agent of the appellants. Of the.i’ents so received by said William N. Stafford, the evidence showed that he had paid the sum of $130 to Mrs. Trimble, on the day of its receipt; but there was no proof that he had ever paid over or accounted for the residue of such rents or any part thereof. But it was admitted that said William N. Stafford in his lifetime was the. administrator of the estate of said Lewis Stafford, deceased; and, therefore, it is claimed that it must be presumed that the rents in controversy were received and accounted for by said William N.* Stafford as such administrator. This position, we think, can not be maintained. The rents of Lewis Stafford’s farm, accruing after his death, did not form any part of his estate, and did not go to his administrator, but they went by law and belonged to his heirs at law. William N. Stafford could not, as administrator of Lewis Stafford’s estate, charge himself as such administrator with the amount of such rents, nor subject said estate to any liability whatever therefor ; nor could he have escaped his liability to account for such rents to the decedent’s heirs at law, even if it had been shown that he had used such rents in the payment of the debts of his decedent’s estate. He could only receive such rents, under the law, either as the agent of, or in trust for, the heirs at law of Lewis Stafford, deceased, and in any event he was bound to account to such heirs therefor.

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Bluebook (online)
77 Ind. 576, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trimble-v-pollock-ind-1881.