Burkhalter v. DeLoach

155 S.E. 513, 171 Ga. 384, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 360
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedOctober 20, 1930
DocketNo. 7763
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 155 S.E. 513 (Burkhalter v. DeLoach) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burkhalter v. DeLoach, 155 S.E. 513, 171 Ga. 384, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 360 (Ga. 1930).

Opinion

Hines, J.

On April 30, 1925, Epsy McQueen, by her deed in consideration of the sum of $50 and of love and affection (with covenants hereafter stated), conveyed to Mannie DeLoach, her granddaughter, a described tract of land, all her money, notes, and accounts, which she then owned or might own at the time of her death, and all her household and kitchen furniture then located in her house, one mule, and all her cattle and hogs upon the land conveyed, the grantor reserving to herself a life-estate in all the property so conveyed, and providing that this conveyance “is made to the said Mannie DeLoach because she is my granddaughter and I have reared her, and she is now living with me and taking care of me, and is to continue to do so as long as I live.”

[385]*385The deed thus created a covenant binding the granddaughter, who was living with and taking care of her grandmother at the date of the execution of the conveyance, to continue to live with and care for her grandmother so long as the grandmother lived. Lindsey v. Lindsey, 62 Ga, 546, 550; McCardle v. Kennedy, 92 Ga. 198 (17 S. E. 1001, 44 Am. St. R. 85).

In case of a covenant which is the sole consideration of an absolute deed of conveyance, a breach thereof, coupled with insolvency of the covenantor, will authorize a decree of cancellation of such instrument, although the instrument contains no condition upon the happening of which the estate is to determine. Wood v. Owen, 133 Ga. 751 (3) (66 S. E. 951); Wyatt v. Nailer, 153 Ga. 72 (4) (111 S. E. 419); Fletcher v. Fletcher, 158 Ga. 899 (124 S. E. 722).

After the execution of the deed just referred to, the granddaughter was, in the latter part of the year 1925, severely whipped by persons whose identity is not disclosed in the record, inferentially for the purpose of driving her from the home of her grandmother. In fear of great bodily harm, the granddaughter left the home of her grandmother. She afterwards returned in July, 1926, to live with and care for her grandmother. Within a week after her return a letter was found on the porch of the grandmother’s home, in which she was threatened with further bodily violence if she did not leave; in consequence of which, and under fear of further violence, she again left her grandmother’s home. The grandmother in both instances consented for her to go, deeming this course to be best for the safety of her granddaughter, and furnishing her the means of defraying her expenses in going; and thereafter the grandmother expressed her wish and desire that the granddaughter should have her property, such wish and desire being expressed as late as the fall of 1928. The grandmother lived until February, 1929, and never sought to cancel or rescind the conveyance before her death. On evidence of the facts just recited, the jury was authorized to find that the grandmother had waived any forfeitue by the granddaughter of her title to the property conveyed, by reason of her failure to live with and care for her grandmother as long as the latter lived. Wood v. Oiven, supra. Forfeiture resulting from the breach of a covenant may be waived, and a waiver will result from circumstances as well as express language [386]*386to that effect. Where the waiver extends to the whole forfeiture, all benefit to be derived therefrom is gone. Moss v. Chappell, 126 Ga. 196, 205 (54 S. E. 968, 11 L. R. A. (N. S.) 398); Jones v. Williams, 132 Ga. 782 (3) (64 S. E. 1081); City of Barnesville, v. Stafford, 161 Ga. 588 (4) (131 S. E. 487, 43 A. L. R. 1045). If the grandmother waived the forfeiture arising from the failure of the grandmother to live with and care for her during her life, her administrator can not set up such forfeiture after her death; and this is especially so where the duty to live with and care for the grandmother was only a part of the consideration for the conveyance. Wilkes v. Groover, 138 Ga. 407 (2) (75 S. E. 353).

Where the expressed consideration of the deed from the grandmother to the granddaughter embraced the further covenant that the granddaughter was to pay all the expenses of the last illness of the grandmother, give her a decent burial, and erect a plain and fitting tombstone over her grave, the failure of the granddaughter to pay these expenses, to give the grandmother a decent burial, and to erect such tombstone over her grave, did not, under the facts of this ease, work a forfeiture of her right to the property conveyed by the deed. In four grounds of their motion for new trial the defendants, after quoting certain testimony of various witnesses and of the plaintiff, contended that the plaintiff was not entitled to recover the property of her grandmother, for the reasons (1) that she did not continue to live with and care for her grandmother after the execution of the deed; (2) that the plaintiff did not pay all the expenses of the last illness of the grandmother, give her body a decent burial, and erect a plain and fitting tombstone over her grave; (3) that she is insolvent, was insolvent at the time of the execution of the deed, and has been so ever since; (4) that the grandmother desired and wanted plaintiff to return home and' live with and take care of her, and was worried because she did not; (5) that the conduct of the plaintiff herself was the cause of her being whipped and having to leave temporarily, that the grandmother consented for her to go away for a short time in order that public sentiment might cool sufficiently for her to return, but that the grandmother did not consent for her to stay away indefinitely, or relieve her of the performance of the requirements in the deed; and (6) that there had been a complete breach by the plaintiff of the covenants in the deed, for which the grandmother was not [387]*387responsible, for which breach neither the grantor nor her heirs can recover any damages because of the insolvency of the plaintiff. Under the rulings stated above, these grounds of the motion for new trial and other facts appearing in the record do not require the grant of a new trial.

The court charged the jury “that that is a condition subsequent, that condition in this deed; and the failure of Mannie De-Loach to comply with that condition in the deed would amount to a forfeiture of her right to hold that property described in that deed, unless you should find from the evidence that Epsy McQueen waived or released Mannie DeLoach from the performance and carrying out that condition in the deed; and if Mrs. Epsy McQueen, either by express agreement or by an implied waiver, waived that condition in the deed requiring Mannie DeLoach to continue to live with her as long as she lived and take care of her, then I charge you that she would have had the right to waive it and release Mannie De-Loach from that; and if she did that, then her failure to carry out that condition in the deed would not amount to a forfeiture and loss of her rights to the property in question.” The defendants excepted to this charge, upon the ground that the court erred in the use of the language, “and if Mrs. Epsy McQueen, either by express agreement or by an -implied waiver, waived that condition in the deed, . . then her failure to carry out that condition in the deed would not amount to a forfeiture . .

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

Related

Boxwood Corp. v. Berry
241 S.E.2d 297 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1977)
Continental Insurance v. Weekes
232 S.E.2d 80 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1976)
Carter v. Tatum
212 S.E.2d 439 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1975)
Isom v. Schettino
198 S.E.2d 713 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1973)
Hunt v. Parker
145 S.E.2d 483 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1965)
Dillard v. Brannan
121 S.E.2d 768 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1961)
Doyle v. United Finance Co.
102 S.E.2d 637 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1958)
Sutton v. McMillan
97 S.E.2d 139 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1957)
Dumas v. Dumas
52 S.E.2d 845 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1949)
Cooper v. Mims
49 S.E.2d 824 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1948)
Mims v. Cooper
46 S.E.2d 909 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1948)
Hogan v. Brogdon
22 S.E.2d 54 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1942)
Arrington v. Arrington
7 S.E.2d 665 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1940)
Schneider v. Smith
7 S.E.2d 76 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1940)
Harrell v. Parker
198 S.E. 776 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
155 S.E. 513, 171 Ga. 384, 1930 Ga. LEXIS 360, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burkhalter-v-deloach-ga-1930.