| Show DAMAGES BY STOCK WE are in receipt of the following communication PAYSON april 1886 editor deseret news I 1 have a few questions to ask as to what farmers may do in regard to stock depredations as there are so many different opinions here on the points I 1 will name it is usual with us where a number of men own land in a field to appoint al committee to try and keep the field clear of stock they are supposed to get their pay for this from the parties whose stock they drive out of the field now the questions are these can anyone owning land in the field assess damages sustained by another man in the field or would he be considered an interested party assess damages or would they be debarred debarres de barred for the same sama reason now there are points to be considered in this if the committee cant assess damages and there is ia no one at work in the field they must come to town and hunt some one to do this and if anhof any of the field owners cant then they must come to town to get some one to assess damages no matter how many men are at work in ia the field if this is the case it puts the matter in rather an awkward position first if they drive the stock to town how snail shall those who go to appraise know that the stock held field have been there or whether the damage has been zone done by some other stock except on the word of this committee and if they should leave the stock in the field they would do more damage and likely get bloated on lucern by B answering these questions you wille will confer a great favor perhaps it would be a benefit to others about these joints points if you could answer through throng the NEWS I 1 will state that amar am a regular subscriber and have been a great many years and do not know how I 1 could do without it yours etc J D the whole question turns op on the interest which the field committee or any land owner nay may have in the property damaged or the damages to be as appraised and paid the law requires as an appraiser a disinterested male citizen over twenty one years of ape age the fact that a farmer owns land in a common enclosure or field noten not enclosed does not constitute him an interested te party when damage is done to a crop or portion of land in which he has no ownership if he be has no partnership in the land or the crop damaged he is not an interested party although he may own land land or a crop or have a partnership therein there n in the same field he might therefore lawfully appraise damages done by y stock to his neighbors property and if the owner or of the stock was not 81 satisfied with the appraisement the latter could under the law ot of 1886 choose another appraiser who with the first might make another 2 appraisal sall and if unable to agree call ita in a third the appraisal of the three to be final but if we understand our correspondent correctly the field committee expect to be paid for their labor out of the amount recovered from the owners of stock committing the depredations in t that at case neither of the committee could be considered disinterested within the meaning of the law for though the appraiser might have no interest in the property damaged yet he would have an interest in the amount to be recovered and therefore would not be a lawful appraiser we do not see that the difficulties raised by our correspondent are insurmountable one member of the committee is enough to go for a disinterested te person to appraise the damages it no one to is on the spot but the committee then it does not follo follow w because they cannot assess the damages that they cannot testify to the identity ident t of the t e stock that committed t the e trespass trec pass the a appraiser praise can determine t r wet the e damage Y done one th commit tee can pr prove ve what stock did the damage this ends the difficulty assumed so long as the appraiser has no ownership ersh 19 oy ov part ownership of the property e rt y dama a ma gedor interest in the amount to be recovered he is a lawful appraiser if a male citizen over twenty one years of age the law is just and we think its provisions are plain and simple its full fall text will be found in the DESERET of march 22 1886 |
