Collins v. Wassell

34 Ark. 17
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 15, 1879
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 34 Ark. 17 (Collins v. Wassell) 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
Collins v. Wassell, 34 Ark. 17 (Ark. 1879).

Opinion

Turner, Sp. J.

The original bill states, that on the thirteenth day of September, 1867, Noah H. Badgett, conveyed to his son, William B. Badgett, certain real estate situate in the city of Little Rock, and described as lots No. five (5) and six (6) and part of lot No. four (4) constituting a part of what is known as the Badgett Block, in trust, first: to rent or lease the same and to take and collect and receive the rents, issues and profits, and out of the same to keep the premises in good order and repair, and properly insured, and pay all taxes and assessments and charges that might be legally imposed thereon. And in trust, secondly, to pay the residue of such rents, issues and income, to Lucetta S. Badgett, wife of the said Noah PL, and mother of the said William B-. Badgett, upon her sole receipt, free from the contract and liability of her then or future husband. And it was further provided that upon the death of the said Lucetta S., the trust thereby created, should be deemed executed, and the said real estate, divested of the trust, belong in fee simple to the children and heirs at law of the said Lucetta S.

That on the fifteenth day of March, 1870, the said trustee died, and that no successor was appointed until in March, 1876, previous to which time Lucetta S. Badgett filed a bill in the Pulaski chancery court against her heirs, setting foith that there was a large amount of taxes then due upon the houses and lots; that she had no funds to pay the same, and that the whole was about to be sold. The matter was submitted to the direction and control of the chancellor, who ordered and superintended the sale of one of the lots to save the balance.

On the eleventh day of March, 1876, the chancellor appointed Charles S. Collins, trustee in place of William B. Badgett, deceased, and on the twenty-ninth of May, following, he filed the bill under consideration in behalf of his cestui que trust, and himself as trustee, against the said John Wassell;;the objects being to have an account taken of the rents and profits of the trust estate, it being alleged that the same had been improperly taken and diverted from the purpose of paying taxes and charges on the trust estate, and by the said Wassell appropriated to his own use, on a claim of a debt alleged to be due him from Noah H. Badgett and his wife, the cestui que trust, whereby the necessity arose of applying to the court of chancery for an order to sell a part of the property to save the residue, and to compel a return of the misapplied rents, or an appropriation of them to the benefit of the cestui que trust, by crediting them on certain notes held by the said John Wassell by assignment of E. Darwin Ayres, secured by a vendor’s lien on certain other real estate, it being the homestead of the said Lucetta S.

That on the twelfth day of July, 1872, the defendant, representing that it was for the benefit of her separate estate, induced the said Lucetta, the cestui que trust, to join her husband Noah H. Badgett, in the execution of a certain promissory note, payable to the defendant, for $1,000, due January 1, 1873, with interest at the rate of twenty-four per cent, per annum, and at the same time, as security therefor, to assign the rents, issues and profits of the trust estate to the said defendant, which note and assignment are exhibited with, and made part of, the bill.

That, contrary to said representations, no part of said $1,000 note was for the benefit of the separate estate of the cestui que trust; that the true nature of the transaction was concealed from the said cestui que trust; that, instead of being executed and delivered in consideration of a present advance for the benefit of her separate estate, said promissory note was made to embrace and take up certain previously-existing claims in favor of the defendant and the firm of Wassell & Moore, and against Noah II. Badgett.

That again, on the fifteenth day of April, 1874, the defendant induced the said cestui que trust to join in a certain other promissory note for $1,523.80, and to secure the same, induced her to make a certain other assignment of the rents and profits of the trust estate with power to collect the same after the note matured, which said last note and assignment are exhibited with and made part of the bill.

That notwithstanding at the time of the execution of said note and assignment, the defendant represented to said cestui que trust that the same was for an advance then made to her for the benefit of her separate estate, such representations were mainly untrue. That in fact the said sum of $1,523.80 was made up as follows: $554.55 was for interest on the first note for $1,000 three times compounded at the rate of 24 per cent, per annum. The sum of $429.25 was to take up a note of Noah H. Badgett to defendant, also bearing 24 per cent, interest per annum given in consideration that said defendant had discharged a certain judgment against him, and the balance of $540 was advanced in good faith and paid out on taxes against the trust estate for the year 1873, but that $300 of this amount was returned to the defendant by the said Noah Ii. in a few days, leaving the balance of $240 as the real amount advanced for the benefit of the cestui que trust. The note for $1,523.80 was du© on the first day of October, 1874, with interest at the rate of 2 per cent, per month from date until paid.

The last assignment has the following clause: “This assignment has no relation to one of date of 12th of July, 1872, which is still unpaid and in full force in all things. This being for a further advance.” That the defendant has collected the rents under his power down until the first day of April, 1876. An account in statement of nett receipts is filed with the bill and made an exhibit in the ease.

The defendant, Wassell, answers and says: That William B. Badgett never undertook or in any manner exercised any authority whatever under the said deed of trust, but on the contrary left the whole management and direction of said trust property to the care of the said Noah H. and Lucetta S., his father and mother; they renting out and controlling the same without the intervention of any trustee or other person in any manner or for any purpose whatever. That for a period of over eight years the said Noah II. and Lucetta S. exercised and controlled the occupation and disposition of the rents of said property, made all contracts for repairs, paid all taxes due thereon, rented the property and received the rents therefor.

The defendant denies that he made any representations to the said Lucetta to induce her to execute the note and assignment of July 12, 1872, but says the loan for which the note was executed was made at her express request. That she owed Wassell & Mooré a note of $200 for professional services in a suit concerning other property of her own, and agreed that said note with interest should be included in the note for the loan. The balance was handed to the said Noah TL He denies the charge of compounding and re-compounding interest That said assignments of rents gave the defendant the right to commence collecting the rent on the first day of January, 1873, but upon the earnest solicitation of the said Noah EL and Lucetta S. the defendant allowed them to continue to collect the rents until July 31, 1874, when defendant commenced collecting only upon a small portion of the rents assigned. That on or about the first day of April, 1874, the said Noah IT. and Lucetta S.

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Related

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590 S.W.2d 270 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1979)
Walker v. Arkansas Nat. Bank of Hot Springs
256 F. 1 (Eighth Circuit, 1919)
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154 S.W. 187 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1913)
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Bluebook (online)
34 Ark. 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-wassell-ark-1879.