Panther v. Trauman
Panther v. Trauman
Opinion of the Court
The trial court has certified for the determination of this court questions as follows;-
*102 “(1) When two farmers in this state agree between themselves to erect and maintain each a certain part of a partition fence dividing their land, and one of them keeps swine on his premises, and the other none, and without express agreement as to the kind of fence to be kept, or whether to be hog-tight- or not, they each maintained a rail fence for sixteen years under said agreement, of their respective parts of said fence, can one of them, without a previous agreement, but with notice to the other, change from a tight rail fence which he has erected and maintained, and which needs repairing and rebuilding, because old and rotten, to a post and barbed wire fence, composed of good posts, not more than one rod apart, with the lower barbed wire not more than twenty nor less than sixteen inches from the ground, and the upper wire not more than fifty and not less than forty-eight- inches in height, recover damages from the one who keeps swine upon his premises, with the knowledge of the other, for waste committed by such swine passing under said fence upon the premises of the one who erected the new fence, the herd law of the state being in force in Des Moines county!
‘‘(2) Can a party whose duty it is to erect and maintain a partition fence, when he knows the other keeps swine upon his premises, change the fence composed of rails to one composed of posts and barbed wire, under which the swine could pass, with notice, but without a previous arrangement with the adjoining owner or order of the fence viewers, recover damages from trespass of such swine in going upon his premises under said fence!”
It will be noticed that the agreement certified did not specify the kind of fence which should be maintained; that the one actually maintained for sixteen years had become old and decayed, and needed repairing and rebuilding, and that the one erected to take
It is contended by the appellant that the effect of the agreement, coupled with the fact that a tight fence was maintained under it by plaintiff for sixteen years, required him to maintain that kind of a fence so long as both parties improved the adjoining inclosures in equal shares, unless they should agree to do otherwise. We find no authority for such a conclusion in the agreement. In the absence of specifications or other means for determining the kind of fence contemplated1, it will be presumed to have been any one which should meet the requirements of the statute. We conclude that the questions certified must be answered in the affirmative. The judgment of the district court is, therefore, affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ferdinand Panther v. Fred Trauman
- Status
- Published