Barnes v. Dewey

58 Ind. 418
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1877
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 58 Ind. 418 (Barnes v. Dewey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barnes v. Dewey, 58 Ind. 418 (Ind. 1877).

Opinion

Howe, J

The appellant, as plaintiff, commenced this [419]*419action against the appellees, as defendants, in the court below, on the 21st day of August, 1875. Afterward, at the November term, 1875, the appellant filed an amended complaint in this suit, in and by which amended complaint the appellant sought to obtain a review, by the court below, of a former judgment of said court, “ for material new matter discovered since the rendition thereof.”

The case at bar was decided against the appellant, by the court below, upon the ground that her amended complaint did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action; and the only question presented for our consideration, by the record of this cause and the assignment of errors thereon, is, also, the sufficiency of the facts stated to constitute a cause of action. We will, therefore, summarize the facts stated in said complaint.

The appellant alleged, in substance, that, on the 17th day of Eebruary, 1872, she, in her then name of Rosanna Sedenburg, filed her complaint against the appellees, as defendants, in the court below, setting out a copy of said complaint, in which she alleged substantially the following facts:

That, on May 6th, 1869, she was a married woman and wife of William Sedenburg, then living but since deceased, and was then the owner in her own right, in fee simple, of the undivided one-eighth part of eighty acres of land, particularly described, in Hamilton county, Indiana; that the appellee Catharine Dewey was the widow, and the other appellees were the children and heirs, of Amin W. Dewey, who, on the day last named, was living, but has since died; that, on said May 6th, 1869, the appellant was a person of unsound mind, and had not sufficient capacity to understand the nature of a contract and its effect; that said Amin W. Dewey, well knowing said fact, entered into an agreement with her husband, William Sedenburg, for the sale and conveyance to him, said Dewey, of her said real estate, for the sum, as she had since learned, of three hundred dollars; [420]*420that said Amin W. Dewey, as she had since ascertained, during the time she was insane and of unsound mind, and at or about the time she was declared, by a legally constituted commission, to be insane, and dangerous to the community by reason thereof if suffered to remain at large, well knowing all said facts, procured her to sign a deed of conveyance for said lands. And she averz’ed, that she could not produce a copy of said deed, because it was in appellees’ hands, and had not been recorded in the recorder’s office of said county; that she had since recovered from her insanity, and her reason had been restored to her; that no part of the pretended consideration for said deed had ever been paid to her; wherefore she asked that said deed be set aside, held for naught, and declared void, and for other proper relief;— That to said complaint, on March 15th, 1872, the appellees demuz’red for the want of facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action (setting out a copy of the demuz-rer), which demurrer was overruled by the court;— That the appellees then answered, in two paragraphs (setting out a copy of the answer), in substance as follows:

1. A general denial; and,

2. The appellees said that the appellant’s insanity continued only a short time; that she then recovered her reason, at which time said Amizi W. Dewey paid her the purchase-money of said real estate, and that the appellant and her then husband, William Sedenbuz’g, then ratified and confirmed said deed of conveyance:—

That appellant demurred to the second paragraph of said answer, for the want of sufficient facts therein (setting out a copy of said demurrer), which demurrer was overruled. And the appellant then replied, by a general denial, to said paragraph of answer (setting out a copy of said reply); and, for a second reply, she said, that, when said purchase-money was paid to her, and when she ratzfied said deed, she was a married woman, the wife of William Sedenburg (setting out a copy of said second [421]*421reply), that appellees demurred to said second reply, for the want of sufficient facts therein (giving a copy of said demurrer), which was sustained; that Celestia Dewey, an infant, answered by her guardian ad litem; that the cause was tried by a jury, who returned a verdict for the defendants, the appellees; that appellant’s motion for a new trial was overruled, and that a judgment was then rendered on the verdict, in favor of the appellees and against the-appellant.

The appellant then set out in her complaint, in this cause, the “ substance of all the evidence ” given on the trial of the original case. It is not necessary, that we should give a summary of the evidence thus set out, or to notice it even, further than to say, that it did not tend to show that appellant was insane at the time she executed the deed, mentioned in her complaint. There was no evidence whatever, that the appellant was ever adjudged to be of unsound mind, or that she was ever under guardianship as an insane person. After setting out the substance-of all the evidence,” on the former trial, the appellant alleged, in substance, in her complaint for review, that, since the rendition of said judgment, she had discovered “ material new matter ” in said cause, which she had used due diligence to obtain, but which could not have been, by reasonable diligence,-discovered by her before the rendition of said judgment, and that said new matter was as follows: That she could -prove, if permitted to open up and review said judgment; that said Amin W. Dewey, in his lifetime, "William Sedenburg, the appellant’s then husband, and Henry Hildebrand, the officer before whom said deed was acknowledged, at the date thereof, all being aware of appellant’s insanity, combined and confederated together, for the purpose of cheating and defrauding appellant out of her interest in said land, and for the purpose of procuring her signature to said deed, and by means of which collusion said parties did procure said deed;—said William Sedenburg, for the purpose of procur[422]*422ing for himself the proceeds of said land, said Amin ~W. Dewey, for the purpose of procuring the legal title to said land, and said Hildebrand, for the purpose of aiding said Sedenburg and Dewey, in the accomplishment of their said purposes; all of which said material new matter appellant averred to be true, as she believed, and that she could prove the same by certain persons named, whose affidavits she filed with and made part of her complaint; that, since the trial of said cause and rendition of said judgment, she had discovered proof positive as to her insanity on the day of the execution of said deed, and the circumstances thereof; that she could prove, that she was insane on that day, by certain persons named; that she believes said facts to be true, and could not, by reasonable diligence, have procured the same upon the trial of said cause; and that her complaint for review was filed without delay, after the discovery of said new matter. This complaint was verified by the appellant’s affidavit.

To appellant’s complaint the appellees answered in three paragraphs, as follows:

1st. A general denial.

2d.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Yuknavich v. Yuknavich
58 N.E.2d 447 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1945)
Trust & Savings Bank v. Brusnahan
147 N.E. 168 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1925)
Seisler v. Smith
60 N.E. 724 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1901)
Osgood v. Smock
40 N.E. 37 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1895)
Ketchum v. Breed
26 N.W. 271 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1886)
Hines v. Driver
100 Ind. 315 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1885)
McCauley v. Murdock
97 Ind. 229 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1884)
Debolt v. Debolt
86 Ind. 521 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1882)
Francis v. Davis
69 Ind. 452 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1880)
Alexander v. Daugherty
69 Ind. 388 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1879)
State ex rel. Cartwright v. Holmes
69 Ind. 577 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1879)
Whitehall v. Crawford
67 Ind. 84 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1879)
Collins v. Rose
59 Ind. 33 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1877)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 Ind. 418, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barnes-v-dewey-ind-1877.