Stockburger v. Aderholt
Stockburger v. Aderholt
Opinion of the Court
With respect to the 80 acres described in the second count of the complaint, it was not shown that either plaintiff or defendants had any title other than by possession, and under the evidence it was clearly a question for the jury to determine whether plaintiff had prior actual possession of the land, and whether defendants’ entry thereon to cut the timber, and their actual cutting of the timber, was an unlawful invasion of that possession.
Under the fourth count, the evidence showed, as a matter of legal conclusion, that plaintiff had granted away all the timber measuring 10 inches and up at the stump, by a deed executed to one Watkins in 1906, to be removed by the grantee within five years, and that plaintiff had never reacquired the title thereto. As to such timber, in the absence of title, he could not recover the statutory penalty, even though he may have been in actual possession at the time of the cutting. Shelby Iron Co. v. Ridley, 135 Ala. 513, 33 South. 331, and cases therein cited.
Nevertheless, plaintiff’s testimony shows that about 200 of the 632 trees cut on this land were of smaller size than 10 inches at the stump, and hence were not included in the ‘ grant to Watkins; so that there was ample support in the evidence for a verdict of $1,050, irrespective of the trees not owned by plaintiff. All of those issues of fact were properly submitted to the jury under appropriate instructions from the court.
As to the first and fourth counts, which are respectively for trespass and the statutory penalty for trees cut on what is called the “government 40,” while the evidence of plaintiff’s possession or title is not as satisfactory as it might be, we think that it was a question of fact for the 'jury. Our conclusion is drawn from the entire testimony of plaintiff, which is too voluminous for analysis and discussion in this opinion. The tendency of the evidence is to show that defendants’ servants entered upon this 40> in the course of their employment, and cut a number of saplings, and injured the soil in the construction and use of wagon roads over its surface, and also cut some larger trees, all of which, it is inferable from the evidence, was known to and approved by defendants.
Whether or not the cutting on either of the tracts separately counted on in the complaint was willfully and knowingly done, under the conditions and circumstances shown, was a question of fact for the jury, and cannot be pronounced upon by us as a question of law. For the foregoing reasons, all the general, affirmative instructions requested by defendants as to the several counts of the complaint were properly refused.
We do not overlook the contentions of appellants’ counsel as to the state of the testimony bearing upon the issues of fact, but we are unable to agree with those contentions after an impartial consideration of the entire evidence.
Finding no reversible error in the .record, the judgment will be affirmed.
Affirmed.
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Reference
- Full Case Name
- STOCKBURGER Et Al. v. ADERHOLT
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published