Landers v. Touchstone
Landers v. Touchstone
Opinion of the Court
W. C. Touchstone foreclosed his alleged special lien as landlord for supplies furnished his tenant, H. B. Landers, which was levied upon crops grown upon the rented lands. Landers in due time filed his counter-affidavit, setting forth that no such lien as that alleged in favor of the plaintiff existed, and that the obligation proceeded upon was a common-law debt for borrowed money, evidenced by a promissory note. Subsequently, and before the trial was entered upon, Landers, by way of further defense, filed an additional affidavit setting up that he had been adjudicated a bankrupt and had received his final discharge in bankruptcy from the Honorable S. H. Sibley,
As we view the ease, it is unnecessary to decide the question as to whether the debt was dischargeable in bankruptcy, etc., since a review of the evidence shows conclusively that the landlord did not have a special lien upon the crops raised upon the rented lands, by virtue of the Civil Code (1910), § 3348, which gives a special lien to a landlord for supplies, money, etc., furnished by the landlord to make the crop. The evidence adduced upon the trial shows, that in March, 1920, the tenant purchased, on his own credit, from the Farmers’ Union, $250 worth of guano, to be used in making the crops on the rented land. Subsequently, on May 8, after a portion of the fertilizer had been used, the tenant obtained or borrowed from his landlord $250 to pay for the guano, giving to the landlord his plain unconditional promissory note for this sum. The tenant was a member of the Farmers’ Union, the landlord was not. These facts were not contradicted. The undisputed evidence of the tenant, as well as that of another witness, was that only members of the Union could buy fertilizer therefrom. The tenant testified also, without contradiction, that he purchased the fertilizer upon his own credit. The landlord testified: “Landers (the tenant) did not buy the guano from me, nor did I buy it for him, but I furnished the money to pay for it with. He bought the guano from or through the Farmers’ Union. I was not a member of the Farmers’ Union. I let Landers have the money to pay for the guano on the 8th day of May, 1920. The guano was bought three or four weeks before that, I think, but am not sure just when it was bought.”
The facts narrated above were, in substance, the evidence upon which the court, sitting without the intervention of a jury, found that the landlord had a special lien on the crops. We think the
Also, the uncontradicted evidence shows conclusively that the tenant purchased the guano from or through the Farmers’ TTnion on his own credit. This being true, the landlord had no special lien, for, as was held in Elliott v. Parker, 94 Ga. 620 (20 S. E. 106), “a landlord cannot take a lien for supplies already furnished to his tenant by a third person on the tenant’s credit.” See also the case of Brimberry v. Mansfield, 86 Ga. 792 (13 S. E. 132), in which it was held: “ A landlord has no lien for supplies which
While it is true that such a question is generally one for determination by a jury, the uncontradicted facts in the case under review demanded a finding that the tenant was the real purchaser of the fertilizer in question, since he bought it from the Farmers’ Union on his own credit; and the furnishing of the money, three or four weeks thereafter, by the landlord to enable the tenant to pay promptly for the guano was not necessary to make the crop; and, therefore, the finding in favor of the landlord was contrary to law and the evidence.
Judgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.