Rohrer v. Lockery
Rohrer v. Lockery
Opinion of the Court
We need not consider the extent of the right of the vendor in a land contract who holds the legal title, though only in trust for the security of unpaid purchase money and for the equitable title of the vendee, to vindicate those rights against a mere stranger who wrongfully invades them, as by appropriating timber from the land. Bartz v. Paff, 95 Wis. 95, 69 N. W. 297; Foster v. Lowe, 131 Wis. 54, 60, 110 N. W. 829. It is very clear that when, by consent of the vendor and vendee, who together own the whole title, the timber on such land becomes severed therefrom, it may be dealt with as personal property. Hence, whether the so-called agreement for the cutting was valid or not, when the severance took place the logs became personal property. It was then entirely competent for Levi Bergstrasser, however absolute his title either to the logs or the land from which they were cut, to deliver them to plaintiff on any terms he saw fit. Evidence tends to prove that he did deliver them by his agent and employee, George Bergstrasser. The purpose of such effective delivery may be ascertained from the previous conduct of the parties, whether or not that conduct would have constituted a valid executory contract. Taylor v. Young, 61 Wis. 314, 21 N. W. 408; Taylor v. Thieman, 132 Wis. 38, 111 N. W. 229; Voss v. Voss, 134 Wis. 52, 113 N. W. 1097; King v. Graef, post, p. 548, 117 N. W. 1058.
By the Gourt. — Judgment reversed, and cause remanded for a new trial.
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