Coffin v. Johnson

20 Colo. App. 567
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 15, 1905
DocketNo. 2468
StatusPublished

This text of 20 Colo. App. 567 (Coffin v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coffin v. Johnson, 20 Colo. App. 567 (Colo. Ct. App. 1905).

Opinion

Gunter, J.

[568]*568Plaintiff in error sued to hold Johnson, Shear and Reynolds as trustees of certain mining property, and certain shares of stock, and for other relief. Defendants had a decree. Therefrom the case is here.

The complaint is quite lengthy. Its material averments are: Plaintiff and one Smith located the New York mining claim, this location conflicted with the Last Chance and Annie Rooney lodes. The owners of the Last Chance brought suit to protect their right to the area in conflict. Other litigation involving the title of plaintiff and Smith was threatened. Plaintiff and Smith were without means to defend their claim. They authorized Timmons, an old friend'of plaintiff, in whose judgment and integrity she had great confidence, to contract with some one for the defense, and, so empowered, he contracted with Byron E. Shear. By the contract Shear was to provide funds for the defense of the title, the development of the property, and the obtaining of a patent, and upon his performance plaintiff and Smith were to convey to him an undivided one-half interest in the claim. This agreement was in writing and drawn by defendant Johnson, who had been employed by defendant Shear to carry on the litigation covered thereby. At the making of the contract Johnson advised the conveyance of the claim by plaintiff and Smith to some one á non-resident of this state and a citizen of another state. This he represented was for the purpose of giving the federal court jurisdiction of litigation involving the claim. A deed was made, and, as advised by Johnson, to A. L. Shear, a resident of New York state and the father of Byron E. Shear. Before the making of this contract and deed Byron E. Shear, Timmons and defendants Johnson and Reynolds had formed a partnership for the acquisition of mining property, and had [569]*569conspired together to secure for the partnership the interest of plaintiff in this particular claim for practically a nominal consideration. They hoped to accomplish this through the friendly relations known to exist between Timmons and the plaintiff and her husband. In furtherance of this scheme, through the aid of Timmons and Johnson, the contract and deed were secured, the Shears taking the interest covered by the contract and deed for the use of said partnership. Plaintiff was at the time, and until the institution by her in November, 1893, of an action to obtain relief from the contract and deed, ignorant of the said partnership and conspiracy, and was ignorant that Johnson, Timmons or Reynolds had any interest in said contract or deed. Shortly after making said contract, suits were instituted by Johnson in the name of A. L. Shear in the United States circuit court to assert the rights of the owners of the New York lode against the claims of the owners of the Last Chance lode. In furtherance of their scheme to acquire the interest of plaintiff in the New York lode for a nominal consideration Johnson and his partners concealed from her the condition of the litigation thus instituted to assert her rights, and repeatedly represented to her that the results thereof were very uncertain, and that the claims of the owners of the Annie Rooney lode were of a grave character, and frequently impressed upon her the wealth, influence and litigious character of such adverse claimants. In furtherance of their scheme Johnson and his partners instigated one Cole to bring suit against plaintiff and Smith to recover under a grub-stake contract an undivided one-third interest in the New York lode. This suit they represented to plaintiff raised serious questions against her claim. Prom time to time Timmons, Johnson and Reynolds suggested to plaintiff that she could sell her remaining interest, [570]*570an undivided one-fourtli; that if she failed to do-so, she might, through said adverse claims, lose it entirely. Timmons pretending to he plaintiff’s friend, and deeply interested in her welfare, advised her to sell. Eelying on his representations, and those of her attorney, Johnson, and induced by them, plaintiff conveyed her remaining interest in the New York lode to Timmons for the use, as she understood, of Shear, at much less than its value.

All of such representations were false, and known by said partners to be so when made. There was no merit in any one of the claims hostile to the title of plaintiff and Smith, and such fact was known to Shear, Eeynolds, Johnson and Timmons before the sale of plaintiff’s last interest. Prior to this conveyance the differences with the Last Chance and the Annie Eooney owners ha.d been settled, or favorable negotiations had been entered upon, which fact, as to such hostile claims, was carefully concealed from plaintiff by Johnson, Timmons, Eeynolds and Shear.

The deed conveying the last interest of plaintiff to Timmons for the use. of Shear was made April 30, 1892. June 16, following, the litigation with the owners of the Last Chance claim was formally settled and the area in conflict conveyed by Johnson, Eeynolds and Shear to The New York and Chance Mining Company — Johnson, Eeynolds and Shear receiving shares of stock in that corporation for the interest in the New York lode thus conveyed. Upon this interest in the stock dividends had been paid. Title to part of the New York lode is still in Johnson, Shear and Eeynolds.

Plaintiff seeks to hold Johnson, Shear and Eeynolds ás trustees of one-half óf the part of the New York lode yet in their names, and for one-half the certificates of stock issued to them for their interest [571]*571in the New York lode conveyed to the above company, also for other relief.

It is thus alleged that, by the contract of October 21, 1891, plaintiff agreed through her agent, Timmons to sell an undivided one-fourth interest in the New York lode to a partnership composed of this agent, Timmons, her attorney, Johnson, Shear and Reynolds, that she was then, and long thereafter, ignorant of the existence of'the partnership, or that Timmons, Reynolds or Johnson was to any extent interested in the contract; that this contract and the deed to A. L. Shear were procured in furtherance of the' pre-existing scheme of the said partners to defraud plaintiff of her interest in the New York lode. It is further alleged that, by this, fraudulent concealment of the facts which it was the duty of her attorney, Johnson, and the other members of the partnership to impart to plaintiff, and by fraudulent representations, she was induced to make, for a nominal consideration, the deed of April 30, 1892, conveying the remaining interest held by her in the New York lode. It is contended that the contract and deed of October 21, 1891, should be set aside because procured through fraud, and because the contract was not faithfully observed; that the deed of April 30, 3.892, should be set aside because obtained through fraud.

The material allegations of the complaint were denied by the answer. The case was tried to the court, which found the issues for defendants, specially finding:

“No partnership was formed on October 21, 3891, between the defendants, or any of them, or any contract with reference to an ownership in the New York lode mining claim, other than an agreement made between the defendants, Byron E. Shear, I. L. Johnson and one Colin Timmons, relative to the em[572]*572ployment of counsel, and the taking of steps to protect the title of the'New York lode mining claim, made in October, 1891; that the defendant* Eeynolds, did not become interested in the New York lode mining claim until between the tenth and fourteenth days of December, A. D. 1891.”

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Bluebook (online)
20 Colo. App. 567, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coffin-v-johnson-coloctapp-1905.