Auxvasse Milling Comany v. Cornet
Auxvasse Milling Comany v. Cornet
Opinion of the Court
— This is an action of replevin for corn. The sheriff seized five hundred and seventy bushels in the possession of defendant. The latter gave bond and retained the property. The com was planted, cultivated and gathered by one Beagles, the tenant of one Raferty. Beagles executed his note to Raferty for $160, the amount of the rent, and the lease expressly reserved a landlord’s lien on the crops to secure the note. After the corn was planted and before it was gathered, Beagles executed and delivered to plaintiff a mortgage on the growing crop to secure a note due from Beagles to it amounting to $231.45. It was stipulated in the mortgage that the transfer was made subject to Raferty’s lien for the rent. After the corn had been gathered, to-wit, in December, 1898, Beagles, with the sanction of Raferty, sold to defendant 237 bushels of the corn at 29 cents per bushel, and the proceeds of the sale were paid to Raferty, and by him applied as a credit on the note for the rent, leaving a balance due thereon of $91.27. At that time Beagles removed from the state, and he delivered to Raferty’s agent the remainder of the corn, to be sold by him to satisfy the balance of the rent, and the surplus, if any, he was to pay the plaintiff as mortgagee. The agent sold the corn to defendant for $168.40. After paying the balance of rent there remained in his hands $77.18, which the agent tendered to plaintiff. The tender was declined and the present suit was instituted to recover from defendant both lots of corn. In addition to the foregoing facts the evidence tended to prove that the corn was sold to the defendant for a
“The court instructs the jury that the mortgage given by one Prank Beagles to plaintiff, upon which plaintiff relies for a recovery in this cause, was given subject to the lien of the landlord for rent on the premises on which the corn replevied was grown, for the year 1898, and that the said lien of the landlord had precedence over the said mortgage. And if the jury believe from the evidence in the cause that, for the purpose of paying said rent, said Beagles, at the sale, and with the consent of the landlord holding said lien, publicly sold or caused to be sold the shucked com, referred to in the evidence, to the defendant or to the defendant and Dr. McCall, and that the proceeds thereof were applied on said rent; and if the jury shall further believe from the evidence that the corn in the shuck which wtas replevied, referred to in the evidence, was by said Beagle turned over to his landlord for the purpose of having the same sold to pay the balance of said rent and that said landlord, for such purpose, did sell the said corn in the shuck to the defendant or to the defendant and Dr. McCall, their verdict shall be for the defendant, provided it shall further appear from the evidence that said sales of said com were made in good faith for the purpose of paying said rent and that at said sales it brought what it was at that time reasonably worth.”
Assuming the facts hypothetically stated in the foregoing instruction to be true, we can conceive of no theory upon which plaintiff can maintain its action. Raf erty had a land
It is insisted, however, that Raferty’s agent sold more corn than was necessary to pay the balance of rent. This is true, but under the circumstances the sale should not for that reason be avoided. If the corn had been in two separate pens and the sale of one had satisfied Raferty’s debt, then the sale of the other would not have passed the title, and the plaintiff could maintain replevin for it. Moore v. Railway, 31 Mo. App. 474; Jones, Chattel Mortgages, sec. 798. But we have no such case. The evidence is undisputed that the corn was stored in a single pen and there was no means at hand of weighing or measuring it in parcels. Therefore the sale was conducted in the only feasible way, and it had the effect of
It is useless to discuss the specific assignments of error. What we have said, meets all objections and leads to an affirmance of the judgment. The judgment will therefore be' affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- AUXVASSE MILLING COMANY v. W. E. CORNET
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published