American Fruit Growers, Inc. v. Jackson

PRESTON, J.

This is a suit by plaintiff corporation against the defendant Calvin E. Jackson, as sheriff of Orange

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County, defendant Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland being also included as surety on his official bond. The cause of action is for conversion of personal property, known as farm equipment, after plaintiff had made third party claim therefor in the regular way. The sheriff justified his seizure and detention of the property by virtue of a writ of attachment in his hands sued out in an action wherein the Irvine Company was plaintiff and H. J. Osborne was defendant. In other words, the property was seized by the sheriff under the said writ of attachment as the property of said Osborne. The court made findings against the claim of this plaintiff thereto, except as to three head of livestock found to be of the value of $240, giving plaintiff judgment only for this amount, with a small sum as damages for their detention. Plaintiff has appealed from the whole of the judgment and is here insisting that the findings, denying its claim to said property, are as a matter of law unsupported by the evidence.

We heartily concur with plaintiff in this contention. The learned judges of the district court of appeal were not unanimously in accord in the case. Their majority opinion held the findings properly supported, while Mr. Justice

pro tem.

Walter Perry Johnson, dissenting in an elaborate but learned and convincing opinion, held the evidence insufficient to support said findings. We would adopt this dissenting opinion were it not for the fact that we think the case does not merit such elaborate consideration. We shall, however, quote from it the following:

"Osborne leased from the Irvine Company certain farm lands which had previously been under lease to Roy D. Trapp, who had died. Part of the assets of Trapp's estate consisted of the equipment in question, which plaintiff purchased in September, 1920, for $10,000. Under date of September 1, 1920, plaintiff and Osborne entered into their agreement whereby, among other things, plaintiff agreed to let Osborne have the use of this equipment in his farming operations, and to advance him also "such money as he might need for his crops; and Osborne in turn agreed to deliver his vegetables to plaintiff for sale on commission. The agreement further gave Osborne an option until July 1, 1921, to purchase the equipment at the cost price to plaintiff.