Locke v. Skow
Locke v. Skow
Opinion of the Court
James J. Skow sued Joseph L. Locke in county court for the unlawful possession of real estate and had judgment for the restitution thereof on March 20, 1900. Locke caused to he executed, filed and approved in the county court a bond for the purpose of perfecting an appeal to the district court. The bond, after reciting the judgment, contained these conditions: “Now, therefore, we * * * do promise and undertake to the said James J. Skow that
Four questions are discussed and urged as a reason why the judgment of the district court should be reversed: First, that the petition does not state a cause of action; second, the alleged bond is not a statutory bond; third, it contains none of the elements of a common law bond, that there was no mutuality, and that by the action of the defendant in error it was prevented from becoming effective in securing a trial on appeal; and, fourth, that the sureties are not liable because the consideration which influenced them to sign failed, that is, the alleged bond did not procure for Locke a trial de novo.
It is said that the petition is insufficient because it does not appear from the allegations that a judgment was rendered in the district court that could be satisfied by payment, and the case of German Nat. Bank v. Beatrice Rapid Transit & Power Co., 69 Neb. 115, is cited in support of that contention. A comparison, however, of the bond in that case with the one now under consideration discloses a marked difference in the language and conditions of the two bonds. The condition of the bond in the case cited being: “Now, if the said Beatrice Rapid Transit & Power Company shall prosecute this appeal with effect, and without unnecessary delay, and shall pay whatever judgment may be rendered by the court upon dismissal or trial of said appéal, then the above obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect.” And it was held that because the petition did not show a judgment rendered in the appellate court requiring payment, the petition did not state a cause of action; while in the case at bar the bond contained a provision that, in case judgment was rendered against the' defendant, the principal and his sureties Avould pay a reasonable rent for the use and occupation of the premises to the plaintiff. From the nature of the action such a promise furnished the principal consideration for permitting the defendant to remain in possession of the premises, and had the case been tried
There is some claim that the petition is insufficient because it does not show a delivery of the bond and an acceptance on the part of the obligee. The question of delivery is purely one of intention. Did the obligors intend the instrument to become operative as a bond? To hold that they did not would be to discredit the evidence furnished by their own acts in procuring the same to be approved. That the bond was accepted, and the course of the obligee influenced and controlled thereby, is conclusively shown by the fact that he refrained from asserting his right to the possession of the premises involved in the litigation until the dismissal of the appeal in the district court] The contention that the petition does not state a cause of action cannot be sustained.
The remaining questions may be disposed of together. It is not important that the bond is not a statutory bond, because the obligation would be good at common law unless the plaintiff in error is estopped from maintaining an action thereon, and it is seriously urged that he is so estopped by reason of the fact that the appeal to the district court was dismissed on his own motion. In United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. v. Ettenheimer, 70 Neb. 147, it was held that “one who executes a bond under circumstances that would estop him to assert its invalidity
“If the defendant obtained no other benefit of his attempted appeal, he, at least, Avas enabled to present the question to this court, and in the meantime retained the possession of the premises in dispute. The object of the undertaking was to protect the plaintiff against two sources of possible injury: (1) he would be subjected to expenses in the district court, which Avould be unnecessary if the judgment already rendered should finally stand as the law of the case; (2) he Avould, Avhile the proceedings were pending, be deprived of the possession of the premises which had been aAvarded to him by the judgment of the justice.”
The order dismissing the appeal in the forcible detention proceedings Avas a judgment within the meaning of the bond, and we hold that there Avas both a consideration for the bond and a breach of the conditions thereof; that the judgment of the district court Avas right, and Ave recommend that it be affirmed.
By the Court: For the reasons stated in the foregoing opinion, the judgment of the district court is
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Joseph L. Locke v. James J. Skow
- Status
- Published