Bartlett v. Cleavenger

14 S.E. 273, 35 W. Va. 719, 1891 W. Va. LEXIS 102
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 19, 1891
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 14 S.E. 273 (Bartlett v. Cleavenger) 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
Bartlett v. Cleavenger, 14 S.E. 273, 35 W. Va. 719, 1891 W. Va. LEXIS 102 (W. Va. 1891).

Opinion

English, Judge :

At the September rules in the year 1888 Josiah Bartlett filed his bill in the Circuit Court of Barbour county against Geo. G. Cleavenger, Chasteen Cleavenger, Zadock Cleaveu-ger, and C. G. Cleavenger, in which-he alleged that on the 13th day of August, 1888, he recovered a judgment before a justice of said county for two hundred and twenty four dollars and thirty cents, with interest from that day, and three dollars and ten cents costs, against George G. and C. G. Cleavenger, on a note executed by said George G. Cleavenger with C. G. Cleavenger as surety; that at the [721]*721time said note was executed the defendant George G. Cleavenger was the owner of a very valuable tract of land lying in said county, containing one hundred and seventy eight acres, but that on the 27th day of October, 1885, he, by deed of that date, conveyed the same to the defendants Chasteen and Zadock Cleavenger for the pretended consideration of four thousand and live dollars; and plaintiff charged that said deed was executed for the purpose of delaying, defrauding, and hindering the creditors of the said George G., and especially the plaintiff, in the collection of their debts ; that said George G., Chasteen and Zadock Cleavenger are-brothers, and were all participants in said fraud; that no valuable consideration was paid for said land, and that plaintiff had the right to have said deed set aside, and said land sold and his debt paid out of the proceeds ; and that to deny him relief in the premises would be to his great wrong and injury. All of which is contrary to equity, and he prayed that said deed might be set aside, and said land sold aud the plaintiff’s judgment might be paid out of the proceeds of such sale, etc.

On the 7th day of March, 1889, the defendants, Chasteen and Zadock Cleavenger, filed separate answers to the plaintiff’s bill, disclaiming any knowledge or notice of plaintiff’s judgment other than that derived from the certified copy thereof filed with plaintiff’s bill, admitting the purchase of the one hundred and seventy eight-acre tract of land mentioned in the plaintiff’s bill on the 27th day of October, 1885, for the sum of four thousand and five dollars; denying that said consideration was a pretended consideration, or that said deed was executed for'the purpose of delaying, defrauding and hindering the creditors of the defendant George C. Cleavenger, and especially the plaintiff, in the collection of their debts — the said Chasteen Cleavenger, in his answer, claiming that the purchase of said tract of land was a perfectly fair, honorable business transaction, and the consideration mentioned in said deed was in fact paid to the last farthing; that he and his brother purchased said laud jointly ; that he assumed the payment of and paid off certain debts owing by said George G. to one Humphrey McDonald of five hundred dollars, [722]*722and other debts owed by said George G. to various parties to the sum of two hundred and seventy two dollars and seventy three cents, aggregating seven hundred and seventy two dollars and seventy three cents; and that he paid to said George G. Cleavenger, on the day said deed was executed, the sum of one thousand two hundred and twenty nine dollars and seventy seven cents, making a total of two thousand and two dollars and fifty cents paid to said George G. for respondent’s share of said land ; and that Zadock Cleavenger assumed the payment and in fact paid a note executed by said George G. to one Thomas Bailey for six hundred and seventy two dollars, and paid in cash to said George G. at the time of the execution of said deed one thousand three hundred and thirty dollars and fifty cents, aggregating two thousand, two dollars and fifty cents, the amount paid by Zadock for his share of said land, so that every dollar was paid for said land, and was a valuable consideration therefor, and in fact all that said land was worth’; that he knew nothing of the existence of plaintiff’s debt at the time of the purchase of said land, or until long thereafter, and that it would be doing him great injustice to set aside his deed to said land after having paid therefor its full value, and having the peaceable possession thereof for nearly four years; that he purchased said land in good faith', without any intention of hindering the creditors of the defendant George G. Cleavenger from the collection of any debts he might be owing, etc.

The defendant Zadock Cleavenger also claimed that said purchase was a square business transaction, and his statement of the manner in which he paid two thousand, two dollars and fifty cents — his half of said purchase-money — • corresponds with the statement contained in the answer of his co-defendant- Chasteen Cleavenger. lie also disclaims any knowledge of the existence of the plaintiff’s debt, and claims that he purchased said land in good faith, with no intention of delaying, defrauding, or hindering the creditors of said George G. or the plaintiff in the collection of their debts. Tie admits that he, George G., and Chasteen are brothers, but claims that he is prepared to show the truth of every allegation contained in his answer.

[723]*723To these answers the plaintiff replied generally.

George G. Cleavenger also answered the plaintiff’s hill, admitting the recovery of the judgment by himself as set forth in the bill, and the sale and conveyance of said one hundred and seventy eight-acre tract of land to his co-defendants, Chastoeu and Zadock Cleavenger, at the price of four thousand and five dollars, on the 27th of October, 1885 ; denying that said sum was a pretended consideration which was not paid in fact, or that said deed was made with the intention or purpose of hindering, delaying and defrauding the creditors of respondent, and especially the plaintiff, in the collection of their debts against respondent; claiming that the sale was bona fide, and that the purchase-money was paid to him by said purchasers in the manner and at the time stated in their answers; that said sale was a fair, square business transaction, and that he used nearly all of the purchase-money received by him from said purchasers in liquidating his debts to various parties.

On the 10th day of September, 1889, the First National Bank of Grafton filed its petition in said chancery cause, representing that it was a creditor of the said George G. Cleavenger; that on the 16th day of June, 1885, he, together with F. A. Cleavenger and M. S. Cleavenger, executed a note for one thousand five hundred dollars, dated the day and year aforesaid, and payable six months thereafter to the plaintiff; that it recovered a judgment in the Circuit Court of Taylor county on the 26th day of March, 1887, against said F. A., George G., and M. S. Cleavenger for the sum of one thousand six hundred and twenty three dollars, with interest from that date and tweuty one dollars and twenty six cents costs, and that the.same remains wholly unpaid; that the same was docketed in the clerk’s office of the county court of Barbour couuty on the 7th day of April, 1887, as provided by law.

Said petitioner further alleges that said George G.Cleaven-ger was, on the 27th day of October, 1885, the owner of a valuable farm lying in said county, worth twenty five or thirty dollars per acre, upon the faith of which the -said debt was created by petitioner ; that on that day the said George C. Cleavenger, for the purpose of defrauding, hin[724]

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Bluebook (online)
14 S.E. 273, 35 W. Va. 719, 1891 W. Va. LEXIS 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bartlett-v-cleavenger-wva-1891.