Collins v. Gleason

91 P. 566, 47 Wash. 62, 1907 Wash. LEXIS 710
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 6, 1907
DocketNo. 6561
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 91 P. 566 (Collins v. Gleason) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. Gleason, 91 P. 566, 47 Wash. 62, 1907 Wash. LEXIS 710 (Wash. 1907).

Opinion

Crow, J.

This action was commenced on June 22, 1901, by John Collins, now deceased, against James P. Gleason, PI. S. Connor, and the Fidelity Trust Company of Seattle, a corporation, to compel the conveyance of certain lands in sections 25 and 30, township 21, north, range 5, E., W. M., in King county, Washington. The plaintiff in his amended complaint, dated October 2, 1902, alleged that Connor and Gleason were the president and secretary of the defendant corporation; that on or about January 22, 1901, an action, No. 31138, had been commenced by John Collins, as plaintiff, against the same defendants, to compel the defendants to transfer to him certain stock in the Fidelity Trust Company, or to reconvey certain property theretofore conveyed by him to such company; that the cause was afterwards settled, a written memorandum or agreement being made as follows :

“Seattle, Washington, May 3rd, 1901.
“Collins surrender 6240 shares, stock and trust certificate on Island County land.
“Fidelity Trust Company make special warranty to Collins for all real estate conveyed by him, to company, mortgage on tide land assumed by Collins and take property in mortgage. .Company also to convey to Collins one-half interest in Anacortes judgment. All monies now on hand belonging to corporation, except Colman money now in court, to go to plaintiff.
“Collins vs. Fidelity Trust Company to be dismissed, each party to pay own costs.
“Defendants to have Colman money now in court, and to have no other money from plaintiff.
“Defendants to pay no cost of receivership.
“Martin vs. Fidelity Trust Company to be dismissed without cost to either party.
[65]*65“Conner vs. Collins to be dismissed without cost to either party.
“Fidelity Trust Company vs. Colman to be dismissed without cost, and release of all claims against each other, growing out of any of said suits.
“Roberts & Leehey, Attorneys for Defendant.
“William Martin, Attorney for Plaintiff.”

that the plaintiff fully performed the agreement on his part; that the plaintiff had theretofore conveyed to the defendant company the land above mentioned, but that the defendant neglected and refused to reconvey it to him in pursuance of the terms of the written agreement. The defendants in their answer, after making certain denials, in substance alleged that the defendant company never authorized the written agreement; that it had never ratified the same; that the plaintiff was not entitled to any conveyance, and that the defendant company, by its answer, offered, by placing.all parties in statu quo, to rescind any action its officers had taken towards part performance of the written agreement. To this answer the plaintiff originally replied by denials only. On July 11, 1903, it having been suggested to the trial court that the plaintiff John Collins had died testate, an order was entered substituting Angie B. Collins, John Francis Collins, and R. L. Hodgdon, his executors and trustees, as parties plaintiff. On March 30, 1904, the substituted plaintiffs, with leave of court, served and afterwards filed a supplemental reply, in which they affirmatively alleged that theretofore, to wit, on May *7, 1901, John Collins, as plaintiff, instituted action No. 32452 aginst the Fidelity Trust Company of Seattle, one of the defendants herein, to compel specific performance on the part of the Fidelity Trust Company of the above contract, by requiring it to assign to Collins a certain lease from the state of Washington to the Fidelity Trust Company of a certain harbor area in King county, Washington, in said lease and in the pleadings of said action particularly described, [66]*66being lease No. 64, the said contract upon which said action was brought being the same contract and agreement set forth in the amended complaint and the answer in this action; that thereafter such proceedings were had in said cause No. 32452 that, on August 20, 1902, a final decree was entered in favor of the plaintiff Collins, requiring the defendant Fidelity Trust Company to specifically perform the contract by assigning the lease; that the Fidelity Trust Company appealed to the supreme court of the state of Washington; that on October 3, 1903, subsequent to the filing of the original reply herein, the supreme court affirmed said decree, and that all issues raised by the affirmative defense herein were raised in said cause No. 32452, and determined in favor of the plaintiff Collins. Upon these issues, trial was had, and after the plaintiffs had introduced their evidence and rested, the defendants declined to offer any evidence, but moved for judgment. The trial court thereupon, without making any findings of fact, entered a final judgment dismissing the action. The plaintiffs have appealed.

The appellants contend that the trial court erred in dismissing the action. The respondents contend, (1) that the act of the attorneys in making the memorandum of settlement was unauthorized; (2) that the same was never ratified by the Fidelity Trust Company; and (3) that, even if it was executed with full authority and subsequently ratified, this action cannot be maintained, as the appellants’ testator during his lifetime maintained one action to enforce the same agreement in which he obtained judgment, and that if the testator ever had any cause of action against the respondent company, as alleged in the complaint herein, the same was split by the former action, and the present one cannot be maintained.

The last point being conclusive of this case, the others will not be considered. It appears from the evidence, as well as the allegations of the supplemental reply, that action No. 32452 in the superior court of King county was instituted for [67]*67the purpose of securing the specific performance of the identical agreement upon which the present action is based, and that the decree entered therein, in favor of appellants’ testator, was afterwards affirmed by this court. Collins v. Fidelity Trust Co., 33 Wash. 136, 73 Pac. 1121. This is a subsequent and independent action, brought on the same contract. Although appellants’ testator heretofore compelled the respondent, the Pidelity Trust Company, to specifically perform the contract by assigning to him the tide land lease, they are now seeking to compel it to further specifically perform by conveying to them the' land in dispute. Appellants’ testator never had more than one cause of action on the contract. The failure of respondent to convey all the lands contemplated thereby was but one breach, which authorized one action only. For one breach of an indivisible contract there can arise but ‘ one cause of action, and if in such action the plaintiff does not demand the entire relief to which he is entitled, he cannot afterwards complain. If this action can now be maintained, the appellants can hereafter maintain any number of additional actions upon the same contract. The recent case of Kline v. Stein, 46 Wash. 546, 90 Pac. 1041, is controlling here.

Appellants contend that the respondents cannot claim they are estopped by the former judgment, for the reason that the respondents did not plead such former judgment. The appellants themselves pleaded it in their supplemental reply, and when they did so, the respondents demanded judgment upon the pleadings.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 P. 566, 47 Wash. 62, 1907 Wash. LEXIS 710, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-gleason-wash-1907.