Crone v. Crone

54 N.E. 605, 180 Ill. 599
CourtIllinois Supreme Court
DecidedJune 17, 1899
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 54 N.E. 605 (Crone v. Crone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Illinois Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crone v. Crone, 54 N.E. 605, 180 Ill. 599 (Ill. 1899).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Magruder

delivered the opinion of the court:

The proof shows, that the appellant,Thomas W. Crone, and his deceased son, Walter S. Crone, were partners for many years, during the lifetime of the latter, in the retail liquor business at No. 6 Dearborn street in Chicago. The saloon and business at the place named were sold out on July 6,1896, by Walter S. Crone for $6000.00, $1000.00 paid in cash, and $5000.00 in notes to his order. After his death the appellant, Thomas W. Crone, filed a bill against the present appellee and others, alleging that he was an equal partner in the saloon business with his son, and seeking to recover his share of the proceeds of the sale of the business, and of certain warehouse receipts, which were then in the possession of the appellee, Jennie Crone, and claimed by her. In the suit thus brought by appellant against appellee, a decree was entered in favor of the appellant, finding him to be the owner of an undivided one-half of the property involved in that suit. From that decree an appeal was taken to the Appellate Court, where the decree was affirmed, and the case was then brought to this court, where the judgment of the Appellate Court was affirmed. The cause is reported as Crone v. Crone, 170 Ill. 494.

The question of fact, involved in this case, is whether the lot and improvements thereon, known as 450 Warren avenue in Chicago and in controversy in this suit, were purchased with partnership money, belonging jointly to the deceased, Walter S. Crone, and his father, the appellant, or whether such premises were purchased with the individual money of the appellant alone. The court below found that the property was bought with partnership money. We are of the opinion, that this finding of the court below is sustained by the evidence, and do not deem it necessary to discuss the testimony in detail.

Inasmuch as the property was purchased with partnership funds, belonging to Walter S. Crone and the appellant, and the legal title thereto was conveyed to the appellant, it follows that there was a resulting trust in favor of Walter S. Crone, and the appellant held the legal title in trust for himself and for his son. Where two persons together advance the price of land, and title is taken in the name of one of them, a trust results in favor of the other in such proportion of the property, as is equal to the proportion of the consideration contributed by that other. (VanBuskirk v. VanBuskirk, 148 Ill. 9). Where two partners, having each an equal interest in a business, purchase land with partnership funds, and the title is taken in the name of one of the parties only, the latter will be regarded as an agent and trustee of the other. (VanBuskirk v. VanBuskirk, supra; Stephenson v. McClintock, 141 Ill. 604). In such case, when the property is paid for with partnership moneys, and the title is taken in the name of one partner, the other partner has the right to an interest with the partner, holding the title, the two interests being in the proportions of their respective ownerships in the monej^s paid for the property. (King v. Hamilton, 16 Ill. 190). It follows, that the decree of the court below was correct in directing an undivided one-half of the property to be deeded by the appellant to the appellee, inasmuch as her husband before his death had conveyed to her by deed or deeds his undivided one-half interest in the property.

It is, however, urged by counsel for the appellant that the deceased, Walter S. Crone, caused the property to be conveyed to his father by reason of an outstanding judgment against himself. This judgment is shown by the testimony to have been paid in 1892. (Crone v. Crone, supra). It is undoubtedly true, that, where a conveyance has been made for the purpose of hindering or delaying or defrauding the creditors of the grántor, equity will not interpose to restore to the grantor, or to his heirs, the title to the property so fraudulently conveyed. (Dunaway v. Robertson, 95 Ill. 419; Francis v. Wilkinson, 147 id. 370; McElroy v. Hiner, 133 id. 156). But we do not deem it necessary to discuss the question, whether this principle is applicable to the facts of this case or not, for the reason that no such issue is made by the pleadings.

Here, the appellee charges that the property was purchased with partnership funds of her husband and appellant. The only defense, set up in the answer of the appellant to this charge, is, that the property was purchased with the appellant’s own individual money. Therefore, the issue made by the pleadings is, whether the money paid for the property was furnished by appellant alone, or by the appellant and his son, Walter. The appellant does not in his answer allege, that he took the title to this property in his own name at the request of his son, in order to keep it from a creditor of the latter, nor does he so state in his testimony. The only evidence upon the subject is that of one of the witnesses, who says that he heard Walter S. Crone say in his lifetime, that he wanted the title to be put in his father because of the existence of the judgment above referred to.

This court has held, that such a defense as this cannot be set up under such a state of pleadings, as here exists. In Westlake v. Horton, 85 Ill. 228, the bill showed the execution of a mortgage to secure a bona fide indebtedness, and afterwards a deed absolute in form for the same purpose, and payment of the indebtedness, and asked for a satisfaction of the mortgage and a re-conveyance of the land, and the defendants in their answer denied full payment, and claimed that the deed was not a mortgage, but was given to carry out an absolute sale of .the property; it was there held that the defendants would not be allowed to make the point, that the mortgage and deed were executed to hinder and delay creditors, as a defense, bécause such defense had not been set up in the answer. In Westlake v. Horton, supra, we said: “What was in issue? What were the matters of contention between these parties? We are only to look to the bill and answer to ascertain, and it will not appear from either that the matter presented by appellant in his brief and argument was a contested matter. It nowhere appears in either, that these instruments of conveyance were executed to hinder and delay creditors, and with a fraudulent intent. It is not so averred in the answer. The answer grounds the defense upon a meritorious debt due from the complainant to the defendant, Westlake, and unpaid. * * * We have remarked already, that it was at no time pretended by appellant, or alleged by him, that these conveyances were made to hinder and delay creditors, but were to secure debts bona fide due and subsisting. That is the very ground of appellant’s defense, as he has set it up in the answer, and it is sustained by the proof.”

Here, the bill and answer presented jio such issue, as is involved in the question whether or not the conveyance was taken in the name of the appellant for the purpose of hindering or delaying or defrauding any creditor of Walter S. Crone. The rule in chancery is “that a defendant is bound to apprise the complainant by his answer of the nature of the defense he intends to set up, and that a defendant cannot avail himself of any matter of defense which is not stated in his answer, even though it should appear in the evidence.” (Johnson v. Johnson, 114 Ill. 611).

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Bluebook (online)
54 N.E. 605, 180 Ill. 599, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crone-v-crone-ill-1899.