51 Ark. 19 | Ark. | 1888
It appears to have been conceded on the trial that the defendant was a wrongdoer and liable tó the plaintiff for the conversion of the property in question. The controversy turned on the rule of damages. The rule is that wherever the defendant has a legal or equitable interest in or claim upon the specific property for the conversion of which he is sued, the recovery against him is limited to the actual net amount of the plaintiff’s interest, although the possession is wrongly assumed or retained. This fully indemnifies the plaintiff, and leaves the balance of value in the hands of him who is entitled to it, thus settling the whole controversy in one suit.
The jury in this cause found, in effect, that the mortgagor’s neglect of his crop had worked a forfeiture by the terms of the mortgage, and that the right to take and sell the property for the defendant’s benefit existed at the time it was exercised. It was only for the improper method of exercising his rights that the defendant was mulcted in damages. It is obvious, therefore, that the value of the property at the time of the conversion, and not at some subsequent period, should govern.