Church v. Roemer

• Decision Date: 20 June 1972
• Docket Number: No. 10904,10904
• Citation: 94 Idaho 782,498 P.2d 1255
• Parties: Don CHURCH, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Lawrence ROEMER and Audene Roemer, husband and wife, Defendants, and Simplot Industries, Inc., a corporation, Defendant-Respondant.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

Page 1255

498 P.2d 1255

94 Idaho 782

Don CHURCH, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Lawrence ROEMER and Audene Roemer, husband and wife, Defendants and Simplot Industries, Inc., a corporation, Defendant-Respondant.

No. 10904.

Supreme Court of Idaho.

June 20, 1972.

Rehearing Denied July 20, 1972.

William J. Langley and Webb, Pike, Burton & Carlson, Twin Falls, for appeallant.

Hawley, Troxell, Ennis & Hawley, Boise, for respondent.

DONALDSON, Justice.

This action was brought to recover payment of a debt and to foreclose a farm laborer's lien. The plaintiff-appellant Don Church was hired by Lawrence Roemer to harvest potatoes grown on land leased by Roemer, part of which land was owned by the defendant-respondent Simplot Industries. Although the J. R. Simplot Company-as contrasted to the separate corporation of Simplot Industries-is not a party to this lawsuit, it is involved in the facts of the case. Roemer had contracted to sell all of his potatoes to the J. R. Simplot Company. Church completed his harvesting work in November of 1967 and delivered the harvested potatoes to the J. R. Simplot Company. The J. R. Simplot Company paid for these potatoes by writing out checks to the order of Roemer, Simplot Industries, and a third party not involved in this action (Farmers Financial Service Co., which had a security interest for fertilizer supplied by Simplot Industries). These checks were deposited in a checking account maintained at the First Security Bank, on which account checks could be drawn only with the signatures of both Roemer and an agent (Mr. Balderama) of Simplot Industries. Simplot Industries had helped Roemer obtain a 'line of credit' from the First Security Bank, and in order to protect itself, Simplot Industries required that Balderama cosign all of Roemer's checks for farming expenses.

In late November, 1967, Roemer was prepared to pay Church in full for the services he rendered in harvesting potatoes on the land leased to Roemer. But Church, for tax reasons, requested that payment be deferred until January of 1968. Roemer replied that Church would have to check with Balderama, whereupon Church met with Balderama and Roemer and renewed his request. Balderama did not testify at the trial. Roemer testified that Balderama said such a deferral 'would be all right' and that 'Balderama agreed that the payment be deferred until after the first of the year.' The plaintiff-appellant Church testified that Balderama 'agreed that the money was there at that time and would be after the first of the year.' This testimony was supplemented by that of a third party present at the time (Mr. Dougherty, who is not a party to this suit), who testified that Balderama said that 'the money was there and it was all right to wait until after the first of January to get the money.' Relying upon this testimony, the appellant contends that Balderama's statements had the effect of binding Simplot Industries to pay the appellant for the work he ahd done at Roemer's request.

At the time of the November meeting of Roemer, Balderama, and Church, the bank account from which farm expenses were paid contained some $29,000. On December 30, however, the First Security Bank appropriated almost $20,000 of the funds in this account in order to satisfy the debt owed to it by Roemer (which had arisen when the bank loaned money to Roemer, pursuant to the request of the respondent Simplot Industries); this left a balance in the account of only $8,732. Thereafter, a check was drawn for $8,650 in favor of the J. R. Simplot Company in payment for seed and fertilizer previously furnished to Roemer; presumably, this check, like all the others drawn on this account, was signed not only by Roemer but also by Balderama, the agent of Simplot Industries. This left a balance of only some $80 in the account.

After January 1, 1968, the appellant requested payment, which was refused, and in February of 1968, he filed a farm laborer's lien for the amount of his claim for harvesting services; as required by I.C. § 45-302, ¹ this lien was filed within ninety days of the completion of the work for which the claim was made. At the same time, the appellant commenced this suit against Roemer and Simplot Industries. ² It was stipulated at the pre-trial conference that the appellant had provided Roemer with services worth $19,943.53. In June, 1970, the case was tried before the district court sitting without a jury.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant Roemer because the appellant's claim for harvesting services was among the debts discharged when Roemer was granted a discharge in bankruptcy in January, 1969. The propriety of this summary judgment is not questioned by the appellant. In July, (1970, after the conclusion of the trial in the district court, the appellant submitted a motion to add the J. R. Simplot Company as a party defendant; this motion was denied on the basis that the evidence produced at trial established that the appellant's lien did not attach to the harvested potatoes received by the J. R. Simplot Company. Judgment was entered in favor of the respondent Simplot Industries, and this appeal followed.

Relying upon the testimony as to what took place when he met with Balderama in November of 1967, the appellant Church contends that the trial court erred in finding that Balderama did not enter into any agreement on the part of Simplot Industries to pay the obligation of Roemer due the appellant. Findings of fact shall not be set aside on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous; in applying this principle, regard must be given to the special opportunity of the trial court to judge the credibility of those witnesses who appear personally before it. I.R.C.P. 52(a). Because there is substantial evidence to support the challenged finding, it will not be disturbed by this Court. I.C. § 13-219; Weaver v. Pacific Finance Loans, 94 Idaho 345, 487 P.2d 939 (1971); Duncan v. Davis, 94 Idaho 205, 485 P.2d 603 (1971); Dalby v. Kennedy, 94 Idaho 72, 481 P.2d 30 (1971). Since the trial court in effect found that the respondent's agent did not promise to pay (with Simplot funds) the debt due appellant, it is unnecessary to decide whether the doctrine of promissory estoppel ³ rendered the alleged promise enforceable; similarly, it is unnecessary to decide whether the alleged promise falls within an exception to the statute of frauds.

The appellant contends that Simplot Industries was engaged in a joint venture with Roemer and for that reason may be held liable for his debts. The respondent submits, however, that the issue of joint venture was never raised, argued, or decided at trial and, therefore, should not be considered on appeal. In his reply brief, the appellant suggests that the issue was raised sufficiently at trial and that the court's findings indicate that it considered the issue of joint venture; contending that the court specifically found that such a relationship did not exist, the appellant points to the following conclusion of the court:

'The agreements between Lawrence Roemer and defendant Simplot Industries, Inc., * * * did not create a relationship by which the defendant Simplot Industries, Inc., became liable for indebtedness incurred by Lawrence Roemer * * *.'

After reviewing the record, we are inclined to agree with the respondent's position that the issue of joint venture was not tried n this case. In this regard, it is significant that although the appellant filed objections to the trial court's findings and conclusions, together with a motion to amend and make additional findings and conclusions, the appellant did not object to the court's failure to make any finding with respect to joint venture, nor did the appellant request a conclusion of law to the effect that a joint-venture relationship between Roemer and Simplot Industries gave rise to the latter's liability for the debts incurred by the former. In any event, even if we accept the appellant's contention that the joint-venture issue was raised and determined in the respondent's favor, the appellant still cannot prevail, because there is sufficient evidence in the record to support a finding in favor of the respondent on that issue. Whether a relationship of joint venturers exists is primarily a question of fact for the trial court to determine from the evidence and the inferences to be drawn therefrom. Lepel v. Lepel, 93 Idaho 82, 456 P.2d 249 (1969); Stearns v. Williams, 72 Idaho 276, 240 P.2d 833 (1952). Since the trial court's finding that such a relationship did not exist is not clearly erroneous, it must not be set aside on appeal. I.R.C.P. 52(a).

Relying on the lien filed under I.C. § 45-302, ⁴ the appellant contends that the respondent Simplot Industries is liable for conversion because it controlled the disposition of the potatotes harvested by the appellant and because it appropriated the proceeds of the sale of the crop. However, the uncontroverted evidence indicates that at no time after the appellant had completed his harvesting work did Simplot Industries ever have the harvested potatoes in its possession; in fact, as part of his labor, the appellant himself delivered the crop directly to the J. R. Simplot Company or to storage facilities leased by that company. The respondent did nothing to injure the appellant's security interest in the harvested crop and, under such circumstances, may not be held liable for conversion. Hansbrough v. D. W. Standrod & Co., 49 Idaho 216, 286 P. 923 (1930); cf. Adair v. Freeman, 92 Idaho 773, 451 P.2d 519 (1969). In regard to the alleged conversion of the proceeds of the crop sale, a reading of I.C. § 45-302 discloses that it was not the intention of the legislature to give a farm laborer a security interest in the proceeds derived from a sale of the crop. That section states, inter alia, that a laborer is 'deprived of his lien' if the vendor fails to make a statement, upon the vendee's demand,...