Philipson v. Mullanphy
Philipson v. Mullanphy
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Muilanphy, in the Court helow, brought his action against Philipson, for a set of rollers and a frame set up and used in a brewery to grind malt for the brewery.
The assignment spoken of here, made by Simon Philipson to Mullanphy, is not clearly shown: but we will suppose it to be the deed of Joseph and Simon Philipson to Mullanphy, which is simply a deed of land and the appurtenances, &c., thereto belonging without any mention of a brewery. By the evidence in the cause, it appears that about the year 1815 or 16, Simon Philipson sent the rollers in question from Philadelphia, to Joseph Philipson in St. Louis, and that Joseph had then on the land a brewery; that he put them up in the brewing establishment for the purpose of grinding matt; that Simon Philipson, when he sent them, made no explanation as to the property of them, and that the said rollers were put up in a mill house in a frame, which frame was not nailed to any part of the house, hut that it was fastened and steadied by wedges and braces to some parts of the house, and that the said rollers were put in motion by a shaft from a large wheel, used for a mill in grinding; that this shaft went through a partition wall, so that the rollers and frame were in an apartment separate from the large wheel, and that the whole was capable of being taken away without, in the least, injuring any part of the other machinery. It appears, that before these rollers were put up, the malt grinding was done by stone, and afterwards by the rollers, though not always so; that they were sent by Simon Philipson to Joseph Philipson to be tried, and that they answered well, and have been, in Europe, used for fifteen years past, as the best contrivance to grind malt for breweries. That when the land was sold to Mullanphy, the said malt mill was then
In the case before the Court, Philipson leased every thing belonging to the brewery ; thi.^ mill then belonged to the brewery ; he, therefore, leased it also, and had not a right to carry it away, no matter by whom put there. If it is what the law properly denominates a fixture, the question to be considered is, what is a fixture? A fixture may be defined to be a thing personal in its nature, but appended to the inheritance, or affixed thereto, so that its separation therefrom would injure or prejudice the inheritance. 3 Bac. 63. If a man erect a furnace in the middle of a floor, though it does not depend on any wall, yet it goes to the heir with the land, and not to the executor, as a chattel; for it is to be esteemed parcel of the house, there placed, on purpose by the ancestor, to he carried, as the law would carry it. (Ibid.) This is the law with respect to heirs and executors. With respect to landlord and tenant, the law is, that the tenant may take away many things, which properly are fixtures, which lie put there for the purposes oi carrying on some trade. In these eases the lessee is considered as the principal, and the implements of carrying on as merely accessary to the trade.
In this case, the inheritance consisted of land, and a brewery thereon. The brewery was the object of the lease, and not the mere land. This malt mill was necessary for the enjoyment of the brewery, though it might he enjoyed without it, but not so well; it was a part of the milling machine erected on the land for the use of the brewery. If a man sell a mill which has a bolt for making flour, he cannot, under pretence that it can be severed from the house without injury, take it away. It is incident to the principal, yet there may be a mill wilhout it.
In the case before the Court, the malt mill was erected in a permanent manner, as much so as was necessary for its use; it constituted a part of the brewing implements ; it was, in fact, a part of the mill belonging to the brewery. It is evident it was put there to be enjoyed with the inheritance ; its purpose and use are ascertained to be for the better enjoyment of the inheritance.
It is said this case is like the case of Mullanphy and Hunt, decided at St. Charles. This is a mistake. In that case, it did not appear for what purpose the kettle was put into the furnace; it might have been for the most temporary purpose. Beside, a kettle is a tiling personal in its nature ; but a rolling malt mill is no more personal in its nature than any other form of mill. The mode of its operation does not make it any less a mill. It was most clearly not a moveable mill, to be used every where and any where. These rollers performed the office of mill stones. A mill stone, fixed up for grinding, cannot be taken by tlie executor. 3 Bac. 63. And why should the rollers that are substituted for them? As well might this man have taken the large wheel from which these rollers received motion, under .the pretence that he originahv
The case in 6 Johnson, p. 5, has been cited and relied on to prove, that a bark millstone may be taken away as a thing not a fixture. The case was, where A, sold land to B., having thereon a tannery and bark mill, with a stone to grind the bark: at the time of the sale the mill stones were verbally excepted from the sale of the land, and afterwards a sale of the stone was made to another. This sale of the stone was holden good, not on the ground that the mill-stone was not a fixture, but on the ground that a verbal exception of the stone was sufficient to prevent it passing with the land.
Upon the whole of this case, we think it entirely unlike the case at St. Charles, of Hunt and Mullanphy, and that the judgment of the Circuit Court ought to b<* affirmed.
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