O'Brien v. Ballou

Citations

• 116 Cal. 318
• 48 P. 130
• 1897 Cal. LEXIS 545

Syllabus

<p>Sale of Growing Crops—Delivery—Statute of Frauds—Harvesting of Crop—Duty of Purchaser. ■—Growing crops are chattels not susceptible of manual delivery until harvested, and a sale thereof is not within the statute requiring an immediate delivery and continued change of possession, but the sale passes title without a delivery of possession, though when the crop is harvested it is the duty of the purchaser to take immediate possession of the crop and retain such possession.</p> <p>Id.—Sale of Wheat Crop—Dominion of Purchaser—Attachment.— Where the vendor of a growing crop of wheat did not live upon the land where the wheat was grown, and exercised no dominion over it after the sale thereof, but the purchaser gathered and marked the wheat as his own in a manner sufficient to notify the public of his ownership, and exercised such dominion over it as is usual in such cases, the wheat cannot thereafter he lawfully attached as the property of the vendor.</p> <p>Id.—Purchase by Employee—Valid Sale.—The fact that the purchaser of the wheat was an employee of the vendor is a matter of slight impor. tance, where the evidence is sufficient to show a sale and purchase which were not void under the statute of frauds, and the verdict of the jury was in favor of the ownership of the wheat by the purchaser.</p> <p>Id.—Instructions—Continued Change of Possession.—Where the only question upon the evidence is whether the plaintiff took possession of the crop when harvested before the levy of the attachment, and the jury were, upou the whole case, instructed as to the necessity and continuous possession of plaintiff, an instruction that, if the jury find that plaintiff, in good faith, reduced the crop to his possession when harvested, and was in possession thereof when it was levied upon, their verdict should he for the plaintiff, is not subject to the objection that it ignores the continuous character of the possession necessary to satisfy the law.</p> <p>Id.—Misleading Instruction—D