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66 Ala. 306

Jones v. Pullen

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided December 15, 1880

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1880-12-15

Tried before the Hon. W. B. Woos. This action was brought by Robert M. Pullen, against Rufus S. Jones, to recover certain personal property, described as “ one steam-engine, boiler and fixtures, one grist-mill and fixtures, one saw-mill and fixtures, one bolting-cloth and. smutter attached to said mill, and one log-wagon,” with damages for its detention ; and was commenced on the 10th October, 1877.

Relies on Taylor v. Kelly · Miller v. Jones' Adm'r · Lucas v. Daniels

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1880-12-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 18 later decisions — most recently April 1955

18 state decisions

6018801890190019101920193019401950decided

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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STONE, J.

¶1The present suit is a statutory action for the recovery of chattels in specie. — Code of 1876, § 2942. The plaintiff made the necessary oath, and the sheriff took pos*310session of the property under the writ. The defendant neglecting or failing to give bond for the delivery of the property, if cast in the suit, the plaintiff gave bond, under section 2943 of the Code, and .received the possession of the property sued for. The .plaintiff was, therefore, in possession of the property when the cause was tried; and, succeeding in the action, there could be no reason for assessing its value, either separately or in gross. It could have accomplished no result whatever, and the defendant was in no sense injured' by the failure.—Miller v. Jones, 29 Ala. 174; Rambo v. Wyatt, 32 Ala. 363; Lucas v. Daniels, 34 Ala. 188; Rose v. Pearson, 41 Ala. 687.

¶22. The term of the agreement of compromise, that it (the compromise) should be of none effect, if Jones failed to pay the notes, was a stipulation for the benefit of Pullen, which he alone could assert. -Failing to assert it, Jones could not, by his own breach of promise, claim that the contract was annulled. By asserting a right of action under the substituted contract, Pullen elected to be bound by it.—Stone v. Gover, 1 Ala. 287; Bass v. Gilleland, 5 Ala. 761; Barbour v. Brookie, 3 J. J. Marsh. 512.

¶33. There is nothing in the objection, that plaintiff fails to show a right to maintain the present suit. “ The title to vest in said Pullen, until said sum of money is paid,” is the language of the notes executed by Jones. This gave him the right to the possession, and will support the present action.—Martin v. Reed, 11 Com. Bench, N. S. 730; Langton v. Waring, 18 Com. B., N. S. 315; Tucker v. Wilson, 1 P. W. 261; Roper v. Lane, 11 Allen, 571.

¶44. The third charge given .is objectionable in form, but it did no injury. The court ought to have construed the recital in the notes, as giving to plaintiff the right to maintain this suit, if the notes were not paid.Taylor v. Kelly, 31 Ala. 59; Price v. Mazange, Ib. 701.

¶5Affirmed.

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