Riley v. Hallmark
Riley v. Hallmark
Opinion of the Court
This is a case of a trial of the right of property. The appellant, J. V. Riley, by filing the affidavit and bond, claimed 12 bales of cotton, which the appel-lee, Hallmark, had levied upon by writ of attachment. C. F. Veach was a tenant on a farm belonging to the appellant, Riley, and appellee, Hallmark, had instituted a suit against him, in the justice court for debt, issuing and levying attachment upon cotton, Riley claiming the same in this suit upon an agreement with Veach that the cotton was to be gathered and delivered to him as security for debt. At the time of the levy 5 bales of the cotton had been ginned, and cotton to the amount of 7 bales had been gathered and was in the field at the time of the levy. Upon the submission of special issues the jury answered that the 5 bales of cotton were in the possession of Riley, and that the 7 bales, in the field, were in the possession of Veach, the tenant. There is no claim in this record that Riley, as the landlord of Veach, the tenant, was entitled to the cotton by virtue of any landlord’s lien. As to the 7 bales which the jury answered were in the possession of Veach, the tenant, appellant assigns error that there is no testimony to sustain such a verdict, and that the possession of said cotton was really his possession.
Upon reading this record, we are convinced that reasonable minds might differ upon the question of delivery and change of possession; hence the testimony is not conclusive against the contention of appellee.
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“You are further charged that possession need not he actually physical possession, -hut if the right of possession exists, possession will be presumed.” '
The jury might have understood that if the contract of pledge existed, the right of possession thereunder would give appellant possession by presumption, without any element of delivery whatever, which is clearly not the law.
We find no such injury, under the present rule, on account of the introduction of testimony, complained of by appellant, as will cause the reversal of this case, and it is accordingly affirmed.
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Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.