Fort Hall Indian Stockmen's Ass'n, Inc. v. Thorpe
| Decision Date | 22 June 1960 |
| Docket Number | No. 8838,8838 |
| Citation | 354 P.2d 516,82 Idaho 458 |
| Parties | FORT HALL INDIAN STOCKMEN'S ASSOCIATION, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joseph THORPE, Jr., Defendant-Respondent. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Anderson & Beebe, Blackfoot, for appellant.
Hugh C. Maguire, Ralph H. Jones, Pocatello, for respondent.
Appellant, Fort Hall Indian Stockmen's Association, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as Association) is an incorporated nonprofit cooperative association, organized and existing under the provisions of I.C. Tit. 22, Ch. 26. The principal purposes of the Association are to provide for its members grazing facilities, range rights, range and feeding management, bulls for breeding services, herders and riders. For the purpose of acquiring funds with which to pay the expenses of providing such services for its members an annual assessment is made against each member in proportion with the business done with each member by the Association. Each member is assessed according to the number of cattle he has grazing upon the area controlled by the Association.
Respondent had been a member of said Association in good standing for more than ten years prior to his voluntary withdrawal on May 20, 1957. He had paid all assessments levied up to and including the year, 1955. On March 13, 1956, the Association levied an assessment against its members on the basis of $7.25 per head of cattle sharing the facilities and receiving the services provided by the Association during 1956. During the season of 1956 the Association furnished its services to 928 head of cattle owned by respondent.
Respondent refused to pay said assessment levied on March 13, 1956, and appellant commenced this action to recover said assessment amounting to $6,728 and interest. The district court, sitting without a jury, found that although respondent is indebted to appellant for said assessment respondent is entitled to a credit or offset in the sum of $6,331 and entered judgment in favor of appellant and against respondent in the sum of $397. This appeal is from said judgment.
Other facts essential to an understanding of the contentions of the respective parties are that one of the expense items payable annually by the Association is the fee it must pay to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (hereinafter referred to as Agency) for a grazing permit relative to several thousand acres of land managed and controlled by said Agency.
Prior to 1956 the Association had paid the annual grazing fee during November or December of each year following the annual fall cattle sale which was sponsored by the Association for the benefit of its members. As a result of negotiations between the Agency and the Association a plan was adopted by the Association to create a fund whereby it could pay the grazing fees annually in advance and thereby conform to regulation requirements of the Agency. The exact date of the adoption of such plan is not definitely disclosed by the record, however it is clear that the plan was to be followed from 1951 to 1955, both inclusive, with a view of accumulating during said period sufficient funds so that the grazing fees payable in 1956 could be paid early in that year as per Agency regulations. Respondent contends that the specific purpose of the plan was to create a fund with which to pay the 1956 grazing fees in advance. He further contends that during said period and pursuant to said plan the annual assessments levied by the Association were in excess of what was necessary to defray its annual operating expenses and that a fund was accumulated with which the 1956 grazing fee amounting to $20,100.25 was in fact paid in advance on April 3, 1956. He further contends that by reason of having contributed his pro-rata share to said fund he is not further indebted to the Association and that the assessment here sought to be collected has been levied for the purpose of obtaining funds with which to pay the operating expenses of the Association for the year, 1957, and not for the year, 1956.
Appellant's assignments of error challenge, in a number of particulars, the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings and conclusions of the trial court. Although not all of the assignments are discussed in appellant's brief, we have examined the record as to each of them and we shall here discuss the assignments, which according to appellant's brief are most significant.
Appellant contends that the evidence does not support the finding by the trial court that during the period from 1951 to 1955 each member was assessed an amount in excess of appellant's annual operating expense and that by 1956 sufficient monies had been accumulated in a reserve fund for the purpose of prepaying the 1956 grazing fee.
The evidence clearly shows that prior to April 10, 1953, the monies and accounts of the Association were handled by the Agency. The superintendent of the Agency testified that the records of his office show that the sum of $933.50 was credited to the Association's grazing fee sinking fund for the year 1951 and that the sum of $5,193.20 was likewise credited to said fund for the year, 1952. On April 10, 1953, the money in the depository of the Agency belonging to the Association amounting to $6,127.50 was transferred to the Association and from that time on the Association handled its monies and accounts.
Under the terms of the grazing permit issued through the Agency to the Association covering the years from 1951 to 1955, both inclusive, it is provided as follows:
'This permit is issued with the understanding that the annual collections shown on the schedule on page 1 of the permit will be credited as follows:
The record does not disclose the exact amount of excess collected each year but it is clear that on February 29, 1956, the Association had accumulated cash in the bank in the amount of $40,236.36. The record is also clear that on April 4, 1956, the Association paid in advance the 1956 grazing fee amounting to $20,100.25.
Respondent who had been a member of long standing in the Association and had also served as a director was asked if he knew of his own knowledge from attending meetings, discussions with members of the Board of Directors and his participation as a member what the purpose of the Association was in levying an assessment in excess of the anticipated annual expenses and he testified that the purpose was to accumulate money with which to pay the herd and grazing fee in 1956. Notwithstanding the fact that the Association has nine directors not one was called to contradict such testimony. In this connection respondent is also corroborated by the testimony of the superintendent of the Agency, Mr. Owl.
Appellant contends that the Association could not, at the time the 1956 grazing fees were paid, make a distribution on a patronage basis for the reasons that 'there was no evidence that plaintiff was solvent, that it had sufficient assets to defray all expenses for the following year's operations.' The By-laws of the Association provide that any funds accumulated by the Association may be used by its...
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