Crooks v. Jenkins

100 N.W. 82, 124 Iowa 317
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJune 10, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 100 N.W. 82 (Crooks v. Jenkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crooks v. Jenkins, 100 N.W. 82, 124 Iowa 317 (iowa 1904).

Opinion

Ladd, J.

1. mortgages: ñensr.lty ° Patterson was in occupancy of the land in controversy as a tenant when Mrs. Jenkins, his daughter, purchased it, and thereafter paid rent to her until she conveyed the property to him in April, 1897. After receiving the deed, he paid the interest on two mortgages on the property — one of $1,000 and another of $200 and also the taxes, but no rent, save as these items were to be so applied. This deed was mailed to Patterson by Mrs. Jenkins from Boone, and in a few days was followed by a letter from her stating, in the words of Mrs. Patterson, that “ she had sent us this deed and security for what they owed us — what we would pay on the place. This letter was to tell us this deed was for security for what we was putting, in the place.” At.the close she said, “ Put'away this letter for no one knows what may turn up.” On cross-examination she declared that .the letter said, “We have sent you a deed to secure your interest and what .we owe you in the place,” and that “ this was word for word what was in the letter.” Notwithstanding the admonition to preserve it, the communir cation was lost. Mrs. Jenkins, who wrote it, testified that it advised her father and mother “ they could hold that for the $75. We didn’t owe them any more money. * * * I never said anything .to them at any time about holding it for any other money. * * * I had said in the letter the deed would be security for the $75. I never changed that agreement.” No one else pretends to state the contents of the letter, and, from what we have set out, it is apparent that the object disclosed was to- secure an existing indebtedness. True, the. subsequent conversations between the parties tended to enlarge the debt to be secured by the deed, but all these [319]*319occurred after plaintiff’s mortgage had been executed and recorded. The indebtedness was then but $75, and] in making an agreement thereafter, if any there was, with' respect to future advances for interest and taxes, the parties were charged with notice of this mortgage, and such payments made subject thereto. In other words, the lien of plaintiff’s mortgage attached to Mrs. Jenkins’ equitable title, subject to existing incumbrances, but not to any that the parties by contract, oral or written, might thereafter choose to create.

II. Prior to taking the mortgage, the plaintiff, with Jenkins, examined the property, and testified that while there he met Patterson, and that the latter, upon inquiry, declared he was only a tenant there, and had no interest; that the property belonged to his daughter.” Jenkins- claims to have gone into the house, and upon his return to have asked Crooks if he had found out who owned the place, when Patterson' said he had just informed Crooks that he had no interest there, save to pay rent. On the other hand, Patterson denied having any talk with them, and Mrs. Patterson swore that when they were there her husband was away. She further-explained that Jenkins came to the house and inquired if the deed had been recorded, and, upon being informed that it had not, left with plaintiff, whom she did not meet., Jenkins concealed from the latter the execution of the deed, because, as he explains, it was none of his business. The record suggests no motive on the part of Patterson for falsely representing that he had no other interest in the premises than as tenant, and we are inclined to concur with the trial court in its conclusion that he did not do so.

2' o»Sla-nd°:H ”tfce.uct!re III. The plaintiff took the mortgage without notice of the deed to Patterson, other than the possession of the premises afforded. The doctrine that a purchaser of real estate —. and a mortgagee has been held to be such — takes the same charged with notice of the equities of a person, other than the vendor, in possession • at the time of the purchase, is not questioned. O’Neill v. Wilcox, [320]*320115 Iowa, 15. But like other general rules, this has its exceptions. Thus, when possession is consistent with the record title, it is presumed to be under such title, and is not notice of outstanding, unrecorded equities. Rogers v. Hussey, 36 Iowa, 664; Brown v. Wade, 42 Iowa, 647; Bonnell v. Allerton, 51 Iowa, 166; May v. Sturdivant, 75 Iowa, 116. This is on the ground that, having given notice to the world of his estate in land by a proper record of a conveyance to himself, a possession justified by said recorded title is to be presumed to have been under such title, and is not notice of any other which lie-may have subsequently acquired, but which, through neglect,- he has failed to record. Dutton v. McReynolds, 31 Minn. 66, 16 N. W. Rep. 468. So, too, where a vendor remains in possession after a conveyance, such possession, unless long continued, is not notice to subsequent purchasers of any rights reserved inconsistent with his conveyance. Sprague v. White, 73 Iowa, 670; Koon v. Tramel, 71 Iowa, 132. Such possession.is to be presumed to be continued by the sufferance of the purchaser. Appellant contends that there is still another exception, to the effect that possession begun under one kind of right is not notice of another or different interest subsequently obtained by the occupant, unless circumstances direct the purchaser’s attention to the change of title, and thereby, operate as actual notice. The authorities ordinarily cited by text-writers cannot be said to sustain this proposition. In Smith v. Miller, 63 Tex. 72, Miller appears to have been in possession by contract of purchase from the owner, Collins.' The latter subsequently conveyed the land to Whitsell, of whom Miller leased it, and subsequently leased it of Whit-sell’s grantee, Mrs. Smith, against whom Miller afterwards attempted to plead-the contract of purchase first mentioned; and it was held that he had by his own acts divested his possession of those attributes which.would cause it to 'put pur-" chasers upon inquiry. By becoming tenant of Whitsell and Mrs. Smith, he renounced his claim to the land as purchaser.. The syllabus to. the case is not in accord with the decision. ■ [321]*321All that was decided in Bush v. Golden, 17 Conn. 594, was that possession of a way across a dannby tenants in common was not notice of any. special reservation or right 'in either, as against a mortgagee of the entire tract. The point involved in Kendall v. Lawrence, 22 Pick. 540, was the sufficiency of the evidence of possession. In Dawson v. Danbury Bank, 15 Mich. 489, the principle as to the continued possession of a vendor after his conveyance was applied to a salé and deed under a decree of foreclosure of a mortgage executed by him. In Williams v. Sprigg, 6 Ohio St. 585, the acts of possession by the tenant were held insufficient to put a purchaser on inquiry. In Red River Valley L. & I. Co. v. Smith, 7 N. D. 236 (74 N. W. Rep. 194), an excerpt from Leach v. Ansbacher, 55 Pa. 85, to the effect that where a party in possession holds a lease, and a purchaser knows it, he may attribute the possession to the lease, and the possession is not constructive notice to him of outstanding equities, was quoted, with apparent approval; but in Anderson v. Brinser, 129 Pa. 376 (11 Atl. Rep. 809, 18 Atl. Rep. 520, 6 L. R. A. 205), the expression is disapproved, and declared not to have been essential to a decision of Leach’s Case. Indeed, we have discovered no case holding .that the notice charged by the- possession of a tenant is limited to rights incident to his tenancy.

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Bluebook (online)
100 N.W. 82, 124 Iowa 317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crooks-v-jenkins-iowa-1904.