Atkinson v. Beckett

12 S.E. 717, 34 W. Va. 584, 1890 W. Va. LEXIS 109
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 17, 1890
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 12 S.E. 717 (Atkinson v. Beckett) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atkinson v. Beckett, 12 S.E. 717, 34 W. Va. 584, 1890 W. Va. LEXIS 109 (W. Va. 1890).

Opinion

Lucas, President :

This is an appeal from a final decree of the Circuit Court of Ritchie county, prosecuted by seven appellants, creditors, under a deed of trust executed by W. L. Jackson, to one G. S. Yeach, to secure certain debts, and indemnify certain indorsers of sundry notes, payable in the first Rational Bank of Parkersburg. The record embraces no less than six suits, which woi’e, however, so connected as to make it proper to consolidate them and hear them together. The [586]*586final decree, entered op. tlie 28th day of June, 1888, disposed of the principles and adjudicated the interests arising in all of these cases. This appeal, however, covers but a small part of the ground gone over in the several cases, and I shall only recite so much of the record as is necessary to understand the opinion and decision now about to be rendered.

On the first Monday in May, 1883, partners, under the style of Atkinson & Piersol, filed their bill against 'William Beckett and other appropriate parties, as defendants, for the purpose of enforcing a judgment of three hundred and seventy five dollars against a farm of two hundred and twenty six acres in Bitchie county, owned by said William Beckett. As incident to the relief sought, they asked to have set aside, as fraudulent and void, a conveyance of said farm by said William Beckett to his son William B. Beckett. As this deed has been set aside by the decree of the Circuit Court, and as it was entirely proper to do so, and neither the grantor nor grantees seem to be aggrieved thereby, and have not petitioned for an appeal, I will make no further reference to that deed or its character. As further incident to the relief prayed, the bill proceeds to chai’ge that on the 16th day of November, 1882, a deed of trust was executed by William L, Jackson to George S. Yeach, trustee, for the purpose hereinbefore stated; that on the 16th day of November, 1882, subsequently, said Beckett purchased of said Yeach, trustee, the whole stock of goods, etc., which had been conveyed in the trust-deed for the sum of five thousand four hundred ninety nine dollars and ninety eight cents, that being the exact amount of the debt secured, and in payment said Beckett executed to said Yeach, trustee, two notes for the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars each, payable at the First National Bank of Parkersburg sixty days after their date, and five other notes of a similar character for seven hundred seventy four dollars and eighty eight cents each, payable after date, one in six months, one in nine months, one in twelve months, ope in fifteen months, and one in eighteen months. To secure the payment of which said several notes, William Beckett on the 16th day of November, 1882, executed [587]*587a deed of trust to L. N. Tavernier, as trustee, on tlie said tract of two hundred and twenty six acres in Ritchie county.

The hill further charges that said Beckett turned over to said Veach, the trustee, two thousand two hundred dollars worth of said goods, and that said Veach sold them to one D. S. Miller, and that by this arrangement said Miller became liable for and agreed to pay the said sum of two thousand two hundred dollars on the notes of said "William Beckett, mentioned in said deed of trust on the two hundred and twenty six acres, and that said Veach, trustee, agreed to release and cancel so much on the notes secured by said trust. The bill charges, further, that said Beckett reconveyed to said Veach, trustee, a stock of dry goods and groceries, a large part, if not all of them, constituting a remaining part of the stock sold by Veach, trustee, to said Beckett on the 16th day of November, 1882.

The complainants charge that the result of these transactions was to discharge and fully satisfy Beckett’s notes to Veach, as above described, and to relieve and discharge the said tract- of two hundred twenty six acres from the lien of said deed of trust. The bill then proceeds to allege that Washington Smith had sold said two hundred and twenty six acres to said Beckett originally, and in the deed reserved a vendor’s lien to indemnify himself, his heirs, etc., in any loss or damage he might sustain by reason of any defect in, or failure of title to, or deficiency of, said land or any part thereof. The deed then proceeds to set out sundry judgments on the lien docket of Ritchie county against said Beckett, about which there is no dispute. The bill, in form and substance, is a general creditors’ bill, - and the prayer is that William Beckett, grantor, and William B. Beckett, grantee, etc., be made parties, and make discovery as to the consideration of the alleged fraudulent deed; that the same W cancelled and annulled : and that so much of said William Beckett’s land may be sold as may be necessary to pay off the complainants’ judgment, and the debts and judgments of his other creditors. They further pray that Washington Smith may be required to disclose what amount, if any, is due him from said Beckett by reason of [588]*588tlie vendor’s lien retained by liim as aforesaid, and for further and general relief.

Subsequently, on the 22d day of October, 1885, Daniel Gould, Jonah Gould, S. L. Gould, O. S. Jones, Thomas Murphy, "William Craft, and "Warren Bowen, who are the parties prosecuting this appeal, filed their answer and petition in the case of Atkinson & Piersol v. "William Beckett et cd. They represent that they are beneficiaries of the third class of creditors secured by the said deed of trust from W". L. Jackson to G. S. Veach, trustee. They charge that all the debts of the first class have been paid off, but they are not informed if anything has been paid on the second class of debts. They allege that they are now the owners of the several debts secured to them respectively in said Jackson’s deed of trust, and set out the respective amounts. They represent, further, that shortly subsequent to the date of said trust-deed to Veach, trustee, and, after the said trustee took charge of the property conveyed, he did, on the 16th day of November, 1882, convene most, if not all, the creditors secured in said trust-deed, and obtained their consent to a sale in bulk of the said stock of goods and merchandise mentioned in the trust to said William Beckett, and took his notes therefor, as set out in the bill, and hereinbefore described. They charge that the first two notes for four hundred and fifty dollars each have been paid off, but that the remaining six, amounting in the aggregate to four thousand six hundred forty nine dollars and twenty eight cents, remain totally unpaid by Beckett or anybody for. him. They charge that the trust on the two hundred and twenty six acres securing these notes is valid and binding on the real estate conveyed to secure them, and pray to have the said land subjected to the satisfaction of said notes. They deny and disavow all knowledge in regard to sebsequent sales by Beckett to Miller, or Beckett to Veach, or that they have ever consented to any such arrangement, which tended to relieve Beckett of his liability to pay said notes. They represent that they were induced to consent to the sale of the goods in gross to Beckett by Veach, the trustee, solely on account of the character of the security offered by Beckett, and because [589]*589tliey "believed it to be tlie best disposition of the goods, considering sucli security, that could be made, etc.

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Bluebook (online)
12 S.E. 717, 34 W. Va. 584, 1890 W. Va. LEXIS 109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atkinson-v-beckett-wva-1890.