Hall v. Hilling Et Al‪.‬

Claim and Delivery ? Pleading and Proof ? Plaintiff must Prevail on Strength of Own Title not upon Weakness of That of Opponent ? Farm Lands ? Landlord and Tenant ? Right to Crop After Termination of Lease. Claim and Delivery ? Pleading and Proof. 1. In a claim and delivery action plaintiff must plead and prove by a preponderance of the evidence ownership or right of possession of the property in himself and that defendant is wrongfully in possession thereof, and may recover, if at all, only on the strength of his own title rather than upon the weakness of that of his adversary. Same ? Landlord and Tenant ? Farming Land on Shares ? Expiration of Term ? Crop Grown Thereafter Under Oral Agreement ? Circumstances in Which Lessee Entitled to Share of Crop as Against Permittee Under Grazing Agreement. 2. In a claim and delivery action involving a quantity of grain stipulated to have been of the value of $725.96, it appeared that the farm lands upon which the grain was grown had been leased to defendant for the term of three years on a crop-sharing plan, with the proviso that, if the owner should sell the land, immediate possession should be given him by the tenant, but that the lessee should be allowed to harvest any crop which had been planted and be paid for any work done in preparing the land for the succeeding year. At the expiration of the term he was orally advised by the agent of the owner "to go ahead and farm the place the same as he always did," thus in effect orally extending the term through the threshing season, in reliance upon which he planted a crop. The owner in the meantime had granted a grazing permit to plaintiff at a rental of $50 per annum, who in addition to grazing, also planted a crop. Neither the plaintiff nor defendant lived upon the tract. Held, that in view of the facts, circumstances and conduct of the parties, the judgment of the court in favor of defendant tenant was correct.