Ballard v. Stephens

• Decision Date: 26 November 1890
• Citation: 8 So. 416,92 Ala. 616
• Parties: BALLARD v. STEPHENS.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

8 So. 416

92 Ala. 616

BALLARD v. STEPHENS.

Supreme Court of Alabama

November 26, 1890

Appeal from circuit court, Randolph county; J. R. DOWDELL, Judge.

This was an attachment suit, brought by the appellant against the appellee, and sought to recover for rent and advances due plaintiff from the defendant. In the affidavit, made out by the plaintiff to obtain the issuance of the writ of attachment, the affiant stated that the said Stephens was a tenant of the affiant, and that the amount sued for was due for rent and advances, under section 3471 of the Code, and that the said defendant and tenant was about to remove from his premises without paying the amount so due for rent and for advances; and, in the affidavit, the affiant stated the several amounts due for rent and advances. The defendant interposed a plea in abatement, alleging, as a ground for quashing the attachment, that it did not sufficiently appear from the affidavit of the plaintiff what was the relation of the plaintiff and defendant; that it did not sufficiently aver that the relation of landlord and tenant existed between them; and that a portion of the claim was for advances; and it does not sufficiently appear from the affidavit for what purposes these advances were made. On the hearing of the plea, the court, as is stated in the judgment entry found in the record, overruled a demurrer to the plea, and sustained the plea in abatement, and ordered the attachment quashed and judgment was entered for the defendant. The plaintiff appeals, and assigns the ruling of the court on the pleading and the judgment rendered as error. Code Ala. §§ 3056, 3061 provide as follows: "Sec. 3056. A landlord has a lien which is paramount to and has a preference over all other liens on the crop grown on rented lands for rent for the current year, and for advances made in money, or other thing of value, either by him directly or by another at his instance or request, or for which he became legally bound or liable at or before the time such advances were made, for the sustenance or well-being of the tenant or his family, or for preparing the ground for the cultivation, or for cultivating gathering, saving, handling, or preparing the crop for market, and also on all articles advanced, and on all property purchased with money advanced, or obtained by barter in exchange for articles advanced, for the aggregate price or value of such articles and property." "Sec. 3061. The landlord, or his assignee, may have process of attachment for the enforcement of his lien for rent and advances, or either, when such rent and advances, or either, as ...