Sullivan v. Demas, 124 Vt. 397

Summary

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed the dismissal of an ejectment action and a judgment for costs in a related deficiency action. The court held that the parties had treated a diner as personal property by including it in a chattel mortgage, so ejectment did not lie for its recovery. The court also affirmed the judgment for costs after the plaintiffs waived their claim for money damages, curing any uncertainty in the judgment.

Holdings

1. The dismissal of the ejectment action was affirmed because the Demases did not brief or support with authority the contention that the dismissal was erroneous, and therefore presented no reviewable question.
2. The record indicated that the diner had been treated by both parties as personal property and therefore did not support an ejectment action for its recovery.
3. Even if the finding that the second sale was valid were unwarranted, it would not justify reversal because the finding did not pertain to an essential element of the ejectment action.
4. The judgment for the Sullivans in the deficiency action was affirmed because the Sullivans waived their claim for money damages, thereby removing the uncertainty challenged by the Demases.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Demases established reversible error in the dismissal of their ejectment action concerning the diner.
2. Whether the trial court's judgment for the Sullivans for costs in the deficiency action was void for uncertainty and indefiniteness.
3. Whether the trial court's finding that the second chattel-mortgage sale was valid, despite being sloppily conducted, required reversal.

Disposition

affirmed