Opinion ID: 1217773
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: award of hay crops

Text: Wright cut a sizable amount of hay from Cottonwood Dairy and stored it on a neighbor's farm around the time of the trial on the possession issue. The trial court awarded the hay to the Vickaryouses at the end of this first part of the trial. [24] Wright argues that even assuming he was a holdover tenant, the Vickaryouses were not entitled to the hay. The Vickaryouses argue that Wright failed to raise the point below, and that the hay crops were properly awarded to them. Wright did forcefully argue that the Vickaryouses were getting a windfall, in part because of the fertilizer he had used in planting the hay. In response to that argument, the trial court awarded Wright an offset for the fertilizer. But the Vickaryouses are correct that Wright never squarely raised the hay crop issue before the trial court. The record suggests that Wright assumed, along with the trial court, that the decision on possession of the land also determined who was entitled to the hay. This court, however, may notice a claim not raised below to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Holiday Inns of America, Inc. v. Peck, 520 P.2d 87, 90 (Alaska 1974). The clear weight of case authority supports Wright's position that a holdover tenant is entitled to crops as against the owner. [25] The reason is that the owner's remedy is the reasonable rental value of the property. An owner who receives rent and the crops from the land is receiving double recovery. [26] One court stated: But the risk assumed [by the holdover tenant] was not the loss of crops harvested, but that of responding in damages for the rental value of the use and occupation. For breach of a tenant's covenant to surrender possession at the expiration of the term, the landlord may recover the rental value of the premises during the time the possession is wrongfully withheld by the tenant... . The owners having this complete remedy for the recovery of their damages, should they also have an additional right to bring an action for the value of the crops produced and sold or consumed by the tenant? This question brings us to the crux of this lawsuit. There seems to be ample authority for the proposition that one who sows and harvests a crop upon the land of another is entitled to the crop as against the owner of the land, whether he came into possession of the land lawfully or not, provided he remains in possession until the crop is harvested. Smith v. Dairymen's League Co-op Ass'n, 186 Misc. 82, 58 N.Y.S.2d 376, 380 (1948) (citations omitted). [27] Vickaryouses' damages included rental value for Cottonwood Dairy in addition to the award of the harvested hay crops. Thus, the Vickaryouses received double compensation. In view of the substantial value of the hay, the clearcut legal proposition which entitled Wright to possession of the hay, the injustice of requiring Wright to compensate doubly the Vickaryouses, and Wright's raising of the related fertilizer claim, we find plain error in the trial court's award of the hay crops. On remand, the trial court shall reduce the Vickaryouses' damage award by the value of the hay crops.