205 S.W.2d 192 | Ark. | 1947
In her unlawful detainer suit against appellant, N. S. Garrott, appellee, Mrs. Leona W. Kendal, was by a jury verdict awarded possession of the lands, $7,560 for rent and $2,027.80 for "special damages." The trial court reduced the amount allowed for rent to $7,000 and entered judgment in favor of William L. Johnson Company, Inc., (which had purchased the lands from appellee Mrs. Kendal, after this suit was filed) against appellant and his surety for possession of the lands and in favor of appellee, Mrs. Kendal, for $9,027.80 damages. From that judgment comes this appeal.
Appellant urges here no objection to that part of the judgment below whereby appellee recovered possession of the lands.
These two grounds of reversal or modification of the circuit court's judgment are urged here: *211
1. That the award of $7,000 for rental was excessive.
2. That the award of $2,027.80 for "special damages" was unwarranted and excessive.
In the fall of 1945, appellee, as she testified, refused to rent the lands longer to appellant and entered into a written contract by which she rented same to W. W. Smith for 1946. Appellant, however, claiming he had an oral rental agreement with appellee for 1946, refused to surrender the lands, and cultivated same during the crop year of 1946.
Appellee served "notice to quit" on appellant on January 4, 1946, and on January 17, 1946, instituted this proceeding.
In order to retain possession pending trial appellant executed the statutory bond.
The testimony as to the rental value of the lands was in sharp conflict; but there was testimony of a substantial nature from which the jury might have calculated the rental value of the property to be $7,000 or higher. Therefore, we may not disturb the verdict in this particular.
The principal objection, as to this part of the verdict, is that item of $200 for attorney's fee was improper and should have been withdrawn from the jury.
In support of this contention appellant cites our holding in Oliphant v. Mansfield,
Appellee, acting within her rights, had rented the land for 1946 to Smith, and when appellant, by his wrongful detention, caused appellee to become liable to Smith for breach of her contract to deliver possession to Smith, appellant rendered himself liable for the damages recovered by Smith against appellee and all necessary expenses incurred by appellee in defending the suit. Appellee's outlay in discharging the judgment in favor of Smith and her expenses in defending the case must be held to be damages that proximately flowed from appellant's wrongful detention of the lands. There is no intimation in the record that the judgment of Smith was collusive or excessive or that the attorney's fee claimed by appellee was unreasonable. *213
It is finally insisted that the item of $200 for traveling expenses incurred by appellee in going to and from her home in Michigan to Crittenden county to attend to the Smith suit was not a proper item of damage. We think the damages allowable to appellee in this case are somewhat analogous to those recoverable on breach of warranty; and in the latter cases we have held that the covenantee is entitled to recover not only his attorney's fees but reasonable expresses incurred in a bona fide defense of an action against him. Beach v. Nordman,
It follows that the judgment must be so modified as to reduce appellee's recovery by the sum of $100 and as so modified it is affirmed.