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77 Ala. 288

Martin v. Blanchett

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided December 15, 1884

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1884-12-15

Btatxvtory Attachment by landlord, for Adva/nces. Appeal from the Circuit Court of Barbour. Tried before the TIon. IT. C. Speake.

Relies on Crommelin v. Thiess & Co. · Comer v. Sheehan · Cooper v. Hornsby

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1884-12-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 14 later decisions — most recently May 1967

14 state decisions

60188418901900191019201930194019501960decided

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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SOMERVILLE, J.

¶1The charge of the court was clearly erroneous. Admitting that the contract of renting between the parties was void under the statute of frauds, as a parol agreement for a lease for the term of one year, to commence in futuro, within the principle decided in Crommelin v. Theiss & Co. (31 Ala. 412); the defendant, nevertheless, went into possession of the premises, occupying under his verbal contract, and paid his rent to the plaintiff; and this act of recognition of *290the relation of landlord and tenant created a tenancy, and operated to impart validity to an agreement, otherwise deemed void, because not in writing and signed by the party sought to be charged. — Singer Manufacturing Co. v. Sayre, 75 Ala.; Crawford v. Jones, 54 Ala. 459; Nelson v. Webb, Ib. 436. The record shows, moreover, that the statute of frauds was not specially pleaded, the only plea being the general issue. The benefit of the statute, therefore, was not available, but was waived. — Shakspeare v. Alba, 76 Ala. 351; Cooper v. Hornsby, 71 Ala. 62; Comer v. Shehan, 74 Ala. 452, 458; Harris v. Miller, 71 Ala. 26.

¶2The contract of the defendant to pay for the advances made to him by the plaintiff was a valid legal promise, upon which an action would lie, and for the amount of which the plaintiff was entitled to the landlord’s lien secured by section 3467 of the present Code, and the act amendatory thereof, approved February 12, 1879, with the remedy by attachment thereby afforded for its enforcement.

¶3Reversed and remanded.

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