Bryan v. Bishop

302 S.W.2d 524, 227 Ark. 949, 1957 Ark. LEXIS 524
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 3, 1957
Docket5-1292
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 302 S.W.2d 524 (Bryan v. Bishop) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bryan v. Bishop, 302 S.W.2d 524, 227 Ark. 949, 1957 Ark. LEXIS 524 (Ark. 1957).

Opinion

Paul Ward, Associate Justice.

This is a suit brought by the vendor of a parcel of land against the vendee for a breach of the sales contract by the latter, asking for judgment for the balance of the purchase price, and that the land be sold if the judgment is not paid. Prom a decree in favor of the seller, comes this appeal. The principal question relates to the description of the said parcel of land.

On October 13, 1954 Helen M. Bishop (appellee) entered into a written contract to sell Edna W. Bryan (appellant) a parcel of land described as follows:

“A part of the NE % of NE 3/4, 16-20-26, described as follows, to-wit: Commence at the SE corner of said forty; thence North 107 feet for a- place of beginning; thence West 154 feet; thence North 189 feet; thence East to the West line of Spangler tract; thence South to'the point of beginning. . . .”

The total purchase was $4,500, of which $500 was paid as earnest money, $1,250 was to be paid on or before November 1, 1954 “and upon approval of title by buyer”, and the balance at the rate of $50 per month including interest at 6 per cent. The contract further provided: “Upon payment of the $1,250, as aforesaid, seller will have abstract of title brought to date, showing good, merchantable title”; A deed, the contract, and the abstract were to be placed in escrow; It was provided that “When the entire balance is due is paid then the deed, abstract and other papers are to be turned to buyer”; (We consider the word is, above, as surplusage and meaningless) ; Failure of the buyer to meet any installment when due entitled the seller to declare the entire balance due, and to bring suit on 10 days notice, and; The buyer was to pay the taxes and keep the property insured, there being a house on the parcel of land.

Sometime before November 1, 1954 appellant made the $1,250 payment and took possession without making any objection to the title or the description. She made a $50' payment on December 1, 1954, and January 1, 1955, moved out of the property, secured a renter, and collected the rents.

When no further monthly payments were made by appellant the parties, on June 10, 1955, executed an extension agreement whereby appellant was to make certain small payments on furniture and interest, and payment on the principal balance of the purchase price was extended for a period of 6 months.

Although appellant was either occupying the property or was collecting the rents thereon, no further payments were made on the purchase price, and on December 12, 1955 appellee filed suit against appellant asking for judgment of the balance of the purchase price, that said judgment be declared a lien on the land, and if not paid that the property he sold by a special commissioner. Service on appellant was by publication. She did not appear in the trial court but later filed an answer and an appeal to the Supreme Court. In the meantime the trial judge set the decree aside, and this court sanctioned a new trial on the merits in a per curiam order dated May 7, 1956.

In her answer appellant admits the execution of the contract and agrees that she made only the payments heretofore set out, amounting in all to $1,850. In her cross complaint and in her amended cross complaint she makes, in substance, the following allegations: Appellee breached the sales contract on November 1, 1954 and continues said breach to this date; Appellee failed to make the warranty deed and furnish an abstract of title showing a good and merchantable title as provided in the contract; Appellee does not have good title to the property in question, and; The description to appellee’s property is defective. Her prayer was that she be allowed to recover the money she had paid to appellee together with a reasonable attorney fee. In the alternative appellant asked that she be allowed a reasonable time to pay the balance due appellee and that appellee be required to furnish her a good and merchantable title.

After the introduction of testimony by both sides the trial court, on September 24, 1956 found the issues in favor of appellee and rendered judgment against appellant for the balance of the purchase price together with interest, all in the amount of $2,997.32. It is further ordered that said judgment should be a lien on the lands in question which should be sold by a special commissioner if the judgment was not paid within 30 days.

For a reversal appellant relies on three separate grounds, to-wit: 1. Appellee did not furnish an abstract showing good and merchantable title as agreed to in the contract of sale; 2.' The court erred in failing to require appellee to execute and tender a warranty deed conveying the lands in question to appellant, and; 3. The judgment is excessive. We shall discuss the above questions in the order mentioned.

1. We cannot agree with appellant on the first assignment for the reasons hereinafter mentioned. In the first place, we are unable to tell from the testimony at what time appellee delivered the abstract to appellant, if in fact it was ever delivered. We do gather from the record however that the abstract was in the hands of the escrow agent and could have been obtained by appellant by asking for the same. In the second place, we have concluded that appellant has waived many rights that she had under the terms of the written contract. Although the terms of the contract are somewhat vague there is no doubt but that appellant could have had the abstract carefully examined before she made the $1,250 payment which was apparently due on or before November 1, 1956. Instead of doing this however appellant went into possession of the property for a few months and when she moved away she put a renter in charge and collected the rents. During this period of time no complaint seems to have been made by appellant regarding the abstract, the deed, the title or the description of the property. Even after the extension agreement was executed on June 10, 1955 no objections were made by appellant before the first foreclosure suit was filed. In fact the record does not disclose any demand by appellant upon appellee for the deed or the abstract, or any objection to the title or the description prior to April 11, 1956 when appellant’s first, answer and cross complaint were filed. Appellant cannot now complain about appellee’s failure to present her with the abstract and deed. A similar question was presented in the case of Sturgis v. Meadors, 223 Ark. 359, 266 S. W. 2d 81, where the court said: “Appellant looked over the land and therefore knew what she was buying. Appellant stopped payment on the check before appellees had time to perfect their title and thereby rendered further efforts useless on appellees ’ part. ’ ’ Here appellant had stopped making payments and had entered into possession of the property.

Iii addition to the above appellant earnestly insists that the description contained in the contract is indefinite and that appellee has not shown that she is able to convey the land to her by a definite description. Most of the testimony and most of appellant’s arguments revolve around this point. As above stated appellant has already waived her right to insist on the correction of mere irregularities in the description that can be cured. If appellant had any such objections and had made the same known to appellee, appellee would have been entitled to a reasonable time in which to make the corrections.

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Bluebook (online)
302 S.W.2d 524, 227 Ark. 949, 1957 Ark. LEXIS 524, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryan-v-bishop-ark-1957.