Yarbro v. Gentry

433 S.W.2d 381, 245 Ark. 602, 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1250
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 11, 1968
Docket4684
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 433 S.W.2d 381 (Yarbro v. Gentry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yarbro v. Gentry, 433 S.W.2d 381, 245 Ark. 602, 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1250 (Ark. 1968).

Opinion

J. Feed Jones, Justice.

This is an appeal from the Madison County Chancery Court and it is difficult to determine from the record before us, exactly what this case is about. Apparently the pleadings, exhibits, testimony and arguments in this case, were as confusing to the chancellor as they are to us.

The record reflects that on June 17, 1964, the appellee, Gentry, filed a complaint in the Madison County Chancery Court alleging that on March 6, 1959, he entered into a contract with the appellant, John E. Yarbro, under the terms of which he sold to Yarbro certain personal property on which he retained a lien for the purchase price which had not been paid. Although the complaint recites that a copy of the contract was attached to the complaint as exhibit “A”, no exhibit “A” appears in the record before us and no contract is attached to the complaint. The complaint alleged that the contract was a security arrangement in that Gentry had a first lien on all of the property contained and described in the contract. The complaint alleged that the defendant, Yarbro, was in default in the terms of the contract, and that the plaintiff elected to foreclose the security transaction. The complaint then prayed judgment against Yarbro in the sum of $10,923.59, plus interest from April 1, 1964, and that if the judgment be not paid within the time fixed by the court, the property be sold at public auction in the manner and under the terms to be fixed by the court. In the alternative, the complaint prayed that if the court should find “this is not a security contract,” the court order said contract canceled and that the defendant be ordered and directed to deliver to the plaintiff all of the property called for and described in the contract, together with costs.

Following the complaint in the transcript, appears a separate mimeographed copy of a sheet of paper containing a list of various items of machinery. At the bottom of this list of items a deletion appears in the mimeographing process, leaving the last item on this mimeographed list as follows: “One lease contract, dated February 4, 1952, covering the following described real estate:

“The NE Quarter of the SW Quarter of Section 19, Township 17, Range 25, including the location of the two [2] rock quarries.”

No lease contract, or copy thereof, appears in the entire record. This mimeographed sheet has a notation in the margin “Ex. #1” and on the bottom of this sheet appears a notation as follows: ‘ ‘ This was marked exhibit No. 1 for the defendant-petitioner, to the testicony of Mr. Gentry.” Preceding this notation there is also what appears to be a reporter’s notation, and one with which we heartily agree, as follows: “This was not attached to any pleading, so do not know where it is supposed to be placed in this record.”

It would only prolong this opinion to point out all the inadequacies of the record, but it appears that on June 9, 1965, the chancellor signed an order which was recognized and treated by the parties at the time, as a judgment for Gentry against Yarbro in the amount of $11,657.99 and for a foreclosure of a lien against property. This order recites as follows:

“It is, therefore, ordered, adjudged and decreed that the equity of redemption of defendant and all persons claiming under, through or from him in and to the said property, to-wit: Be and the same hereby is forever barred and foreclosed as well as any rights, equities, title or interest of any such persons to any property into which any part of the value of the above described property has been transformed by ‘trade-in,’ ‘set-off’ or in any other manner.”

This order then directed the sale of the property by the sheriff and directed the disposition of the proceeds from such sale toward the satisfaction of the judgment.

On July 2, 1965, the chancellor signed an order reciting that by the order of June 9, he had found for the plaintiff in the amount of $11,657.99 upon a contract and vendor’s lien set forth in the complaint and the sheriff of Madison County was ordered to proceed to execute on the judgment, and apply the proceeds from sale “First, to the payment of all costs accrued in this action; Second, to the costs and expenses of said sale; Third, to the amount found due to plaintiff aforesaid, with interest and costs as aforesaid, and with attorney’s fees in the amount of 10% of the total amount recovered for plaintiff.”

The next item in the transcript of record before us is an instrument titled “Writ of Execution” directing the sheriff of Madison County as follows:

“You are commanded that of the estate of John E. Yarbro, you caused to be made the sum of $11,-657.99 which Joseph A. Gentry, late in our court, recovered against him for debt with interest thereon from the 18th day of May, 1965, to June 9, 1965, at the rate of 5% per annum and from June 9, 1965, to date of the decree, which is the basis of this Writ of Execution at the rate of 6% per annum; also, attorney’s fee in the amount of 10% of the total amount recovered and the costs of said Joseph A. Gentry in this suit expended; and that you have said sums of money within sixty (60) days to render to the said Joseph A. Gentry his debt, interest and the costs aforesaid.
“The execution herein is as to that property which was the subject of a contract between Joseph A. Gentry, plaintiff, and John E. Yarbro, defendant, dated March 6, 1959, more specifically the following property, to-wit:”

Then follows a list of machinery and equipment but no lease on real property is mentioned in this instrument. This instrument does show a date of July 3, 1965, and was apparently signed by the clerk of the chancery court of Madison County, but it bears a reporter’s notation “no filing mark on this paper.”

The record indicates that a public sale was carried out by the sheriff of Madison County at which eighteen items of the personal property contained in the writ of execution were offered for sale, and that Gentry offered the highest and best bid at the sale and purchased the items for $100,00 which was credited on his judgment against Yarbro. This accreditation is only evidenced by an unsigned, and apparently unfiled, bill of sale form prepared with the intention that the sheriff would sign it on September 3, 1965.

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Related

Richardson v. State
2014 Ark. App. 205 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2014)
Lewis v. Lewis
502 S.W.2d 505 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
433 S.W.2d 381, 245 Ark. 602, 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yarbro-v-gentry-ark-1968.