Valley Bank v. Hillside Packing Co.

STEPHENS, J.,

pro

tem.

This action was tried before the court without a jury, judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff and defendant appeals. To the appeal plaintiff has not seen fit to respond, either orally or by brief.

Anna R. Close and Hattie N. Peckham borrowed $1,000 from plaintiff on a promissory note and secured such note with a mortgage on an orange crop. This was duly recorded. The mortgagors subsequently received advances from the defendant (appellant here) in different sums, amounting in all to $504.43. Concerning these advances appellant’s secretary and bookkeeper testified: “We loaned Mr. and Mrs. Close the money in order to pick and haul their crop. We advanced altogether $504.43. . . . We did not know that there was any crop mortgage upon this fruit, and it was with that understanding that the fruit was delivered to the house. . . . My understanding at that time was that the crop was clear and that the advances would be made as a first lien.” We are not informed as to the nature of this claimed lien, nor of facts which would enable us to determine whether it was a lien at all. The fruit was delivered to defendant’s packing-house and sold, bringing a net return of $727.29; $505.48 of this was applied in cancellation of the sums advanced, leaving the sum of $221.81 subject to the order of court. It appears indisputably from the evidence that the respondent bank, after loaning the money, authorized the delivery of the crop to any packing-house, leaving the selection thereof and the circumstances of the handling of the fruit with the mortgagors.

[740]

Appellant contends that the crop mortgage lost its vitality when the crop was removed from the premises, and that, therefore, the judgment is wrong and should be reversed.

As this subject has been fruitful of much litigation and lack of clear understanding, it is perhaps justifiable that the history of the crop mortgage law should be sketched here.

The first legislature of the state enacted the following: “No mortgage on personal property hereafter made shall be valid against any other persons than the parties thereto, unless possession of the mortgaged property be delivered to and retained by the mortgagee.” (Stats. 1850, chap. 114, sec. 17.) Under this statute no crop mortgage was good save between the parties thereto, unless legal title to the land upon which the crop was growing was transferred to the mortgagee.