Walton v. Mattson

• Decision Date: 05 March 1912
• Citation: 22 N.D. 532,135 N.W. 176
• Parties: WALTON v. MATTSON et al.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

22 N.D. 532

135 N.W. 176

WALTON

v.MATTSON et al.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Jan. 23, 1912.

Rehearing Denied March 5, 1912.

Syllabus by the Court.

Where the trial court, on motion made, could have directed a verdict for the amount of the jury's verdict as returned, omitting all matters to which error can be assigned, defendants have nothing upon which to predicate error on appeal.

Defendants converted $1,720 worth of crop belonging to plaintiff, and, after allowing them in full for all claims thereon, the verdict is for less than the balance remaining, and, the record being free from prejudicial error, the judgment is affirmed.

Appeal from District Court, Eddy County; E. T. Burke, Judge.

Action by Joseph Walton against M. Mattson, Jr., and another, copartners as Mattson & Ofstedahl. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendants appeal. Affirmed.Maddux & Rinker, for appellants. J. A. Manly and John Knauf, for respondent.

GOSS, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment entered on verdict in an action for conversion of grain. Plaintiff Walton was the owner of a farm leased to one Warner for a series of five years, by written lease in usual form, providing that the title to all grain grown thereunder each year should remain in the plaintiff until after final division to be made in accordance with the terms of the lease. This action concerns the crop for the year 1908. On leasing the land in 1906, Walton sold horses to Warner, taking a chattel mortgage thereon to secure the selling price, $1,140. About half of this indebtedness remained due and unpaid. As additional security to the mortgage, a provisionwas made in the lease, further securing its payment out of the crop to be grown thereunder.

[2] No division of grain was had in 1908, the tenant selling all of it to the defendants. This crop consisted of 1307 bushels of wheat and 202 bushels of barley, the highest market value of which between the time of conversion thereof and the verdict was established at $1,720. Defendants purchased this grain with full knowledge of plaintiff's rights therein. They attempt to defend by setting up their ownership of four liens, viz, a thresher's lien for $195, a seed lien for $297, a woman's labor lien for $120 earned during her employment at house work as a domestic, and a farm laborer's lien for $78, making a total lien claim of $690, by virtue of which special property interest they defend in part against plaintiff's recovery; also, it is admitted that...