Ferguson v. Pilling
| Decision Date | 13 January 1942 |
| Docket Number | 45672. |
| Citation | 1 N.W.2d 662,231 Iowa 530 |
| Parties | FERGUSON v. PILLING. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
J. J. Ferguson, of Council Bluffs, for appellant.
Dickason & Stowe, of Council Bluffs, for appellee.
Plaintiff brought an action at law for the collection of a rent note in the amount of $220, due April 1, 1939. This note was given in connection with the lease of certain farm lands, and in the suit brought plaintiff asked and obtained a landlord's attachment. On motion of the plaintiff the action was transferred to equity. The defendant entered a general denial and specifically counterclaimed for offsets and credits asserted under arrangements made with his lessor, one A. C Hilliard, agent. The court found for the plaintiff in the amount of $84.35, having credited defendant with a portion of the offsets and counterclaims plead and the further allowance of $29.60 which plaintiff admits should be given to defendant.
This case must of necessity be decided in part upon the facts presented and consequently a brief recital of the evidence is herein set out.
This action was brought by the administrator of the estate of May Belle Wheeler, as assignee of the rent note originally given by the defendant to A. C. Hilliard, agent. May Belle Wheeler, during her lifetime, was the owner of an undivided one-half interest in the land which was the subject of a lease and one Emma Opsal was the owner of the other undivided one-half interest in this land. Both of these parties resided in the state of California. During the last few years of the life of May Belle Wheeler the land had been rented through A. C. Hilliard, as agent. The land was originally leased to the defendant by Hilliard, as agent, for the period ending March 1, 1939, said lease being dated March 11, 1938. On December 17, 1938, there was endorsed on said lease, "by mutual consent and understanding this lease is extended from March 1, 1939 to March 1, 1940," and this endorsement was signed by "A. C. Hilliard" and "John Pilling." On this same date, towit, December 17, 1938, Pilling executed his promissory note to "A. C Hilliard, agent" for the sum of $220 due April 1, 1939 and covering the cash rent due for the rental period ending March 1, 1940. This is the note on which plaintiff brings his suit.
May Belle Wheeler died on March 16, 1939, and left surviving her three adult children and on November 10, 1939, J. J. Ferguson was appointed and qualified as administrator of her estate.
On November 1, 1939, there was served on John Pilling, the defendant in this action, and his wife, a notice of the termination of their lease on March 1, 1940, as provided by sections 10160, 10161 of the 1939 Code. There was also a partition action brought for the sale of the land covered by the lease heretofore mentioned and in that case there were proceedings for the obtaining possession of the land in question from the tenant, John Pilling. In that particular action a writ of possession was issued as directed by the court but the defendant John Pilling moved from the premises on or before March 1, 1940.
On March 29 1940, the plaintiff, administrator of the estate of May Belle Wheeler, commenced this suit for collection of the rent note. This note bore the following endorsement: Upon the trial of this action the court entered a decree to the effect that the plaintiff's recovery should be in the amount of $84.35 thereby allowing the defendant a recovery on a portion of his counterclaim for work alleged to have been done during the rental year of 1939-40 under the direction and authority of Hilliard as agent. The record discloses that any authorization given by Hilliard to do any work for which credit is asked was given after the death of May Belle Wheeler. The plaintiff has appealed from the holding of the court claiming that there is an...
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