Larson v. Taylor

SHAW, J.

Action to recover damages for the alleged eviction of plaintiff from the possession of premises which she held under a lease from defendants, who appeal from an adverse judgment.

It appears that on June 11, 1919, defendants executed a lease to plaintiff of forty acres of land for a period of five years, at the term rental therein specified of six thousand dollars, to be paid in installments of one hundred dollars per month. On the same date a contract was executed between the parties whereby defendants sold to plaintiff a dairy herd of cows, together with other personal property, for the sum of four thousand two hundred dollars, payment of which plaintiff promised to make in installments of one hundred dollars or more per month, and to secure which she executed a chattel mortgage upon the property so purchased by her. It was agreed that all moneys realized by her from the sale of products from said cows, as well as that received from the sale of livestock disposed of, should be paid monthly, which sums, less fifty dollars per month which they were to pay plaintiff, were to be applied upon the rent due upon said lease, and any balance paid upon plaintiff’s note so secured by the chattel mortgage. The dairy stock and other personal property were by defendants delivered to plaintiff, who, on the date mentioned,

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entered into possession of the real estate and continued therein until September 5, 1919, a period of about four months, during which time defendants received checks for the milk products sold amounting during the period to the sum of three hundred dollars, which was applied to the rental of the property, under the terms of the lease; in addition to which, and from other sources, plaintiff paid them six hundred dollars upon the contract of sale of the personal property. Defendants, however, failed to pay plaintiff the sum of fifty dollars per month from said creamery checks, as they had agreed to do.

The court found that on June 28, 1919, defendants entered upon the land and plowed about four acres thereof, as a result of which the alfalfa pasturage thereon was destroyed; and that on September 5, 1919, without the consent of plaintiff, they seized all of the dairy stock and personal property so purchased by plaintiff from defendants and for the payment <of which she had executed the chattel mortgage, and converted the same to their own use; that by reason of the nonpayment of the fifty dollars per month to plaintiff as stipulated in said contract, without which she had no means of subsistence, and the destruction of said four acres of pasturage on said premises on June 28, 1919, plaintiff was deprived of the beneficial use of said premises.