Culley v. Taylor
Culley v. Taylor
Opinion of the Court
This action was tried in the district court for Sherman county upon a petition alleging that on or about the 28th day of October, 1894, the parties entered into an oral contract of lease by which the defendant in error Taylor, demised to the plaintiff in error Culley, a certain 35 acres of land lying in said county, for the term of one year beginning March 1, 1895, the lessee agreeing to. cultivate the premises to corn, and to pay as rent therefor one-third
As to what in fact occurred there is very little conflict in the evidence, and the trial court was abundantly justified in finding especially as matters of fact, as he did do, in substance: First, that an oral contract, substantially as set out in the petition, was entered into between the parties at the time alleged, and second, that at various times and up to the latter part of May, 1895, there were conversations between the parties, in which the existence of the contract was recognized, and in which it was understood between them that the plaintiff in error was to cultivate the land in substantial accordance therewith, and that in the last of these conversations it was agreed that the plaintiff in error might, if he should choose to do so, cultivate the land to millet instead of corn. It becomes, therefore, unnecessary to discuss the statute of frauds. It may be fairly said, however, that a contract made October 28th to cultivate a field of corn in the coming season is a contract to be performed within one year from its date. The land was not cultivated nor occupied by the plaintiff in error, nor by any one during the summer of 1895, except that late in the season the defendant in error caused the weeds on a part thereof to be mowed at an expense of $6, and that later she caused the same to be cultivated to winter wheat, substantially as alleged in the answer.
Upon the question of damages, the court admitted testimony as to what was the yield and value of corn raised during the year 1895, on other similar lands in the neighborhood, and found from such evidence that if the lands had been properly cultivated, they would have yielded twenty-five bushels per acre, of the value of fifteen cents per bushel, and assessed the total damages, including injury to the land from permitting it'-to lie idle and grow up to weeds, for which amount and costs of suit, judgment was rendered.
There is in our opinion no merit in the contention that
Upon the question of the measure of damages neither party cites any authority directly in point, nor have we, with the limited time at our disposal, been able to find any, but as at present advised, we are of opinion that the method adopted by the trial court is correct. The contract between the parties created a relation in the nature of a partnership in which one party was to furnish seed, time, labor and skill, and the other the use of the land upon which they were to be expended, and the gross produce was to be divided between them in the proportion named. We are of opinion, therefore, that the case falls within the principles of Bagley v. Smith, 10 N. Y., 489, which was an action for wrongful dissolution of a partnership, and in which damages were allowed for the loss of anticipated profits. About the item for damages to the soil from permitting it to lie uncultivated, there can he no reasonable doubt.
For the reasons stated in the foregoing opinion the judgment of the district court is
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Arminius Culley v. Sarah G. Taylor
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published