Opinion ID: 1142497
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: did the chancellor err in failing to grant unto weyerhaeuser company judgment against w.h. greenlee, jr. and rosa l. greenlee for attorney fees, court costs and other costs of prosecuting the defense of this action which came about after weyerhaeuser had acquired the timber from appellants greenlee by warranty timber deed?

Text: All court costs were in fact charged to the Greenlees by the trial court but no award of attorney fees was made. When there is no contractual provision or statutory authority providing for attorney fees, they may not be awarded as damages unless punitive damages are also proper. Central Bank of Mississippi v. Butler, 517 So.2d 507, 512 (Miss. 1987). In this case there is a statutory provision for attorney fees. That Weyerhaeuser acquired the timber warranty deed from Rosa Greenlee is undisputed. W.H., Jr. admitted that he, too, was liable by virtue of the deed which conveyed the timber, the granting clause of which reads as follows: ... do hereby convey and warrant unto Weyerhaeuser Company (a Washington Corporation) all merchantable pine timber and all merchantable hardwood timber twelve inches in diameter outside bark at the point of severance... . The effect of the word warrant in a conveyance, with no restrictive words, embraces all five covenants known to common law, i.e., seisin, power to sell, freedom from incumbrance, quiet enjoyment and warranty of title. Mississippi Code Annotated § 89-1-33 (1972). In Howard v. Clanton, 481 So.2d 272 (Miss. 1985), this Court interpreted § 89-1-33 (1972) to provide that a purchaser under a warranty deed could recover reasonable attorney fees and other expenses of adjudicating title, not to exceed the price he paid for the land, when the seller breached covenants embraced by the warranty deed and the purchaser was not divested of the land while adjudicating title. Although Howard involved a warranty deed for land while the case at bar involves a timber warranty deed, the same reasoning applies. It is uncontested that the Greenlees conveyed the timber to Weyerhaeuser Co. by warranty deed; therefore, they were brought within the confines of § 89-1-33 (1972). Howard, 481 So.2d at 275. As the Greenlees were not sole owners of the land bearing the timber they sold by warranty deed, they breached the covenants of seisin and of power to sell. Howard, 481 So.2d at 276. If not divested of title to the timber, Weyerhaeuser Co. would be entitled to attorney fees. Id. Only one-half of the timber deeded to Weyerhaeuser Co. belonged to the Greenlees to begin with, but Weyerhaeuser has been ordered to pay half the amount it paid for the timber to the Mitchell/Millers, for their share of the timber harvested. Nowhere in the opinion or decree does the chancellor say Weyerhaeuser Co. is divested of title to the timber. Pursuant to Howard, Weyerhaeuser is entitled to collect from the Greenlees reasonable attorney fees and other court costs, not to exceed the price paid for the timber, which was forty-two thousand seven hundred fifty-two dollars ($42,752.00). Court costs were properly charged to the Greenlees by the chancellor. Other costs of prosecuting the defense of this action are not addressed by Weyerhaeuser in its brief and therefore will be disregarded on appeal. The record before us contains insufficient evidence for this Court to determine a reasonable attorneys fee; therefore, this issue must be remanded to the Chancery Court. Although the amount to be awarded is discretionary with the trial judge it must be supported by credible evidence. Young v. Huron Smith Oil Company, Inc., 564 So.2d 36, 40 (Miss. 1990).