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151 Ala. 458

McGowan v. Lynch

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided July 2, 1907

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1907-07-02

Heard before Hon. A. H. Alston. Trover by W. T. Lynch against Mike McGowan for the conversion of a mare. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. The verdict was not such as would justify the judgment that was rendered. — Tisclale v. A. & JS. Lbr. Go., 131 Ala. 456; Moody v. Keener} 1 Port. 218.

Relies on Moody v. Keener · Tatum v. Manning

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Corrected and affirmed · Decided 1907-07-02

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently February 1920

3 state decisions

10190719101920decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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McCLELLAN, J.-

¶1The action is trover, and the jury returned, and the judgment was rendered on, the following verdict: “We, the jury, find for the plaintiff for the calico pacing mare valued at $40, and assess $10 -damages for the detention and use thereof.” The assessing of damages for the detention and use was erroneous, -and *459is surplussage in tlie verdict as rendered. — Tatum v. Manning, 9 Ala. 149. While the verdict in this instance is very inart-fully expressed, yet, applying the rule of utmost favor always extended verdicts, and exempting, as should he done, this verdict from the strict construction to which pleading's are subject (Moody v. Keener, 7 Port. 233), to sustain the judgment, we think it sufficiently states the finding of the jury in this action.

¶2In trover ordinarily the measure of damages is the value of the chattel at any time between the conversion and the time of trial. Such being the rule in ordinary cases, this verdict must be read under its influence, and all reasonable intendments and a reasonable construction are to be given it. — 39 Am. & Eng. Ency. Law, pp. 1022, 1023, and notes. Observing these considerations, the verdict must be taken as finding for the plaintiff on the issues of conversion vel non, and that the damages attending that finding are the value of the animal in suit; the term “valued” being indicative of the purpose and conclusion of the jury to assess $40 as the damages to which the successful plaintiff was entitled.' — Peters v. Johnson, Minor, 100; Moody v. Keener, supra.

¶3The judgment is corrected, in so far as damages are assessed for detention and use, and, as corrected, is affirmed.

¶4Corrected and affirmed.

Haralson, Dowdell, and Anderson, JJ., concur.
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