Bearden v. Hodge

273 S.W.2d 207, 1954 Mo. LEXIS 802
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedDecember 13, 1954
DocketNo. 43545
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 273 S.W.2d 207 (Bearden v. Hodge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bearden v. Hodge, 273 S.W.2d 207, 1954 Mo. LEXIS 802 (Mo. 1954).

Opinion

DALTON, Judge.

The plaintiff below and the defendants Mildred L. Hodge and Mildred L. Hodge, administratrix of the estate of David F. Hodge, deceased, have appealed from a decree determining the extent of plaintiff’s title to described real estate in Stoddard County, fixing liens thereon for improvements and awarding third party defendants damages against defendant Mildred L. Hodge for breach of warranty.

On this appeal, plaintiff-appellant complains particularly of that part of the decree subjecting plaintiff’s interest in the described real estate to certain liens for improvements, while defendants-appellants complain of the adjudication of title in plaintiff and of the judgment in favor of third party defendants.

Without quotation marks we shall adopt portions of an opinion prepared in Division One by Coil, Commissioner, and we shall continue to refer to the parties as plaintiff and defendant. Except as hereinafter stated, John A. Hodge is the common source of title.

John A. and Mollie Hodge had two sons, David F. and Hickman. Hickman died in 1926 leaving plaintiff as his sole heir. David died in 1947 leaving a widow (defendant Mildred L. Hodge) but no descendants. Third-party defendants Killian, husband and wife, were the grantees in a warranty deed dated January 1, 1944, wherein David F. and Mildred Hodge purportedly conveyed fee simple title to lot 21 in Asher-ville. Other defendants and third party defendants either disclaimed any interest or defaulted.

John A. Hodge died intestate in October 1937, survived by his widow Mollie, his son David, and his granddaughter, the plaintiff. He died owning the land in controversy, except lot 21 which he and his wife had owned by the entirety. There was no administration of his estate. Mollie, his widow, died in September 1942. There was no administration of her estate. There was no change in the title to the involved property prior to Mollie’s death.

The land in controversy for our purposes is best described as three separate tracts to which we shall refer as the “122-acre tract,’’ the “house and barn property,” and lot 21. The “122-acre tract” is unimproved farm land; the “house and barn property” [210]*210includes a 6-acre tract on which there is a house, a 3-acre tract on which there is a barn, and an unimproved 90' x60' “east” lot; lot 21 is a town lot. The “house and barn property” is contiguous to the “122-acre tract” except that a county road runs between the house and barn, and the two properties were operated as a farm.

In August 1934, John A. and Mollie Hodge executed their deed of trust to W. L. Tucker as trustee for Ralph and Nora Wammack, conveying the following described property to secure a $750 note: “The Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section Ten (10); The Northeast Quarter of the Northwest Quarter of Section Fifteen (15), the Southeast Quár-ter of the Northwest Quarter of .Section Fifteen (15) except 7 acres off of the east side thereof and a strip of land containing about 9 acres on the east side of the southwest quarter of the northwest, Quarter, of Section Fifteen (15), all in Township Twenty-six (26), Range Eight (8) East, and containing in the aggregate 122 acres, more or less, and being the home place of the grantors.” The land particularly described above included, the “122-acre tract”, only...

In O.ctober 1943 (subsequent to the déaths of John A. and Mollie Hodge), the deed of trust was foreclosed. David F. Hodge purchased at foreclosure for $875 and received a trustee’s' deed to himself and his wife (defendant) as tenants by the entirety. Both the trustee’s advertisement of sale and the trustee’s deed described the 1‘122-acre tract” only. The description in neither the advertisement nor the deed contained the words “and being the home place of the grantors.”

Defendant contends that the deed of trust conveyed to the trustee the “house and barn property” as well as the “122-acre tract” because of'the words “being the home place of the granto'rs” and that the trustee’s deed conveyed title to her and David to both the “122-acre tract” and the “house and barn property.”

There was evidence to the effect that the “home place” by general reputation included the “house arid barn property” as well as the “122-acre tract.” The evidence further showed that the “122-acre tract” was of small value at trial time; one of plaintiff’s witnesses thought the 122 acres would sell for $2,000. There was other evidence of a much lower value. There was no dispute that the 122 acres was extremely poor land.

Plaintiff contends that, irrespective of what the deed of trust conveyed, the fact remains that the trustee advertised and sold at foreclosure only the “122-acre tract” and that his deed to David F. Hodge and his wife (the defendant) as tenants by the entirety, conveyed only the 122 acres. Defendant contends, on the contrary, that, taking into consideration all the circumstances in evidence, it was the intention of the holder of the deed of trust and the trustee to sell, and of the purchaser to purchase, the “house and barn property” as well as the “122-acre tract”; that the trustee believed that the 122.,acres described in the advertisement and in the deed of trust in fact included the “house and barn property.” Defendant has not affirmatively sought a reformation or correction of the trustee’s deed. She contends,'.in substance, that in this equity suit the intention of the parties should be given effect in order to arrive at a proper result.

'The circumstances in evidence to which defendant points are these: that the “122-acre tract”' was of relatively small value and the house and barn were in poor condition at the time of-foreclosure; that shortly after the purchase by David Hodge at foreclosure, David and defendant executed a new deed of trust to the same beneficiary and the same trustee securing a note for $1,200, and that that deed of trust described the “122-acre tract” only; that $875 of the new loari was Used to pay- the old indebtedness and that the additional $325 was used to make improvements on the house; that defendant and her husband, subsequent to foreclosure, immediately went into possession of the “house and barn property” and claimed ownership under the trustee's deed and expended their funds in making improvements on the “house and barn property.” Defendant urges that it is unreasonable to believe that the holder of the [211]*211first deed of trust, having covered in it the “home place” (which she says included the “house and barn property,”) would make a new deed of trust for a relatively substantially larger amount to permit improvements to be made on the house, if he had not intended to take, and thought he was obtaining, a deed of trust on the “house and barn property” as well as the “122-acre tract”; and that the beneficiary would not have loaned additional money on the relatively worthless “122-acre tract” alone. Defendant says the holder of the note intended, and all the parties to the transaction intended, that the 122 acres specifically de-sdribed included the “house and barn property.”

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Bluebook (online)
273 S.W.2d 207, 1954 Mo. LEXIS 802, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bearden-v-hodge-mo-1954.