Davidek v. Wyoming Investment Co.

291 P.2d 1072, 75 Wyo. 68, 59 A.L.R. 2d 482, 1956 Wyo. LEXIS 1
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 4, 1956
DocketNo. 2699
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 291 P.2d 1072 (Davidek v. Wyoming Investment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davidek v. Wyoming Investment Co., 291 P.2d 1072, 75 Wyo. 68, 59 A.L.R. 2d 482, 1956 Wyo. LEXIS 1 (Wyo. 1956).

Opinion

[72]*72OPINION

Harnsberger, Justice.

Mary M. Davidek, plaintiff, instituted her action in ejectment and to cancel deeds which conveyed two adjoining lots in the city of Cheyenne against defendants, Wyoming Investment Company, Percy Spatz, Eva E. Spatz, C. H. Wunnicke, doing business as Mountain Motors, and Mountain Motors. After other pleadings and interlocutory orders, plaintiff filed an amended petition to which defendants made answer. Thereupon plaintiff filed her motion for judgment on the pleadings and defendants filed their motion for judgment upon the ground that the amended petition failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. Considering these motions, the court found the amended petition failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, sustained defendants’ motion, and gave judgment that plaintiff take nothing by her petition. It is from this judgment that plaintiff appeals.

Omitting the caption, description of the property and the prayer, the amended petition is as follows:

“Comes now the plaintiff, Mary M. Davidek, and for cause of complaint alleges that she is the owner of and entitled to the possession of the following described real property, to-wit:
% Hí ‡ H* Hí
“II.. That the said Plaintiff is next of kin and the only surviving heir at law of the late Elizabeth Goldacker, who died intestate, March 13th, 1948, or thereabout, [73]*73at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and, the late Lillian Brun-strom, mother of Plaintiff, who died intestate at the Wyoming State Hospital, on the 8th day of September, 1951, the said decedents being at the time of decease tenants in common or fee simple owners of the above described property.
“III. That the said Lillian Brunstrom and the said Elizabeth Goldacker were the sole heirs at law of Ellen Goldacker, who died allegedly intestate at Cheyenne, Wyoming, May 28, 1920, and, was the fee simple owner of the hereinbefore described property at the time of her decease on said date, and that at the time of her said death a law enacted at the time of statehood governed notices and citations in cases of probate of wills, being Section 6687, providing Notice to Heirs and reading as follows:
“‘6687 — Notice to Heirs: Copies of the notice of the time for the probate of the will must be addressed to the heirs of the testator resident in the state, at their places of residence, if known to the petitioner, and deposited in the post office, with the postage thereon prepaid, at least ten days before the hearing. If their places of residence be not known, the copies may be addressed to them and deposited in the post office at the County seat of the County where the proceedings are pending. A copy of the same notice must in like manner be mailed to the person named as executor, if he be not the petitioner; also, to any person named as co-executor, not petitioning, if their places of residence be known. Proof of mailing the copies of the notice must be made at the hearing. Personal service of the notice at least ten days before the day of hearing is equivalent to mailing.’
“IV. That a petition for letters Testamentary, filed in the District Court of Laramie County, Wyoming, on or about November 24, 1920, by Elizabeth Goldacker and, recorded in Probate Docket 4, Page 443, of said County, stated that the said Lillian Brunstrom was an heir at law of Ellen Goldacker, the testator of the will thereby offered for probate.
“That said petition and other probate records of Wyoming, disclose the fact that the said Elizabeth Goldacker who was a sister of the said Lillian Brun-strom, should have known, what was a fact, that the [74]*74said Lillian Brunstrom was an incompetent and a patient of the Wyoming State Hospital and other records of her commitment show that said petitioner knew of her commitment and presence in that institution, but the said petitioner stated in her said petition for letters that she did not know whether Lillian Brun-strom, said her at law, was at that time alive.
“That it appears from said record in Probate No. 4— 443 in this court in the matter of the Estate of Ellen Goldacker, Deceased, that the deceased Elizabeth Gold-acked, aunt of this petitioner, then allegedly was acting as the executrix of the will of the said Ellen Gold-acker had thereafter represented to this court then sitting in probate, that the said Elizabeth Goldacker was the sole heir at law of the said Ellen Goldacker and therefrom it appeared to the court that no such notice to heirs as is outlined in Paragraph III of this petition was necessary because of non-existence of heirs to be notified, that it appears in said record that their existence and residence within the state was not only a fact but such fact was known to said petitioner at the time, and, such was a fraud upon the court and the rights of the heirs of said estate and the plaintiff in this suit, and, thereby the said heirs were prevented from having their day in court.
“V. That the probate aforesaid was completed without any attempt of any kind being made to notify said incompetent or her lawful guardians, or, the institution in which she was at the time confined, as was then required by law to be done; that no attempt was made to ascertain the whereabouts of said incompetent, and, no copies of the notice of the time for said probate were addressed to or deposited in the post office at Cheyenne, Wyoming, where the proceedings to probate were then pending; and, that due to such total failure of notice and a petition wholly contrary to the facts regarding the status of said incompetent, in the probate of the will of the said Ellen Goldacker which was admitted to probate on March 18, 1921, no conveyance of title to the hereinbefore described property was thereby made; and, at the time of her death on March 13, 1948, the said petitioner, Elizabeth Goldacker and said incompetent, Lillian Brunstrom, were owners of the fee simple title of said property as co-tenants and, the [75]*75hereinafter described deed of Elizabeth Goldacker to Eva E. Spatz did not convey their joint interest in said property.
“VI. That upon the second day of August, 1932, the said Elizabeth Goldacker entered into a written contract with one Fred Carlson, since deceased, whereby the said Fred Carlson or his successors were to pay to her in installments the sum of Twenty Dollars per month toward the purchase of the hereinbefore described property, and upon her death he would receive a deed then placed in escrow with the Stock Growers National Bank of Cheyenne, Wyoming, conveying full title to the said premises; provided, however, that all amounts due for rent, taxes, water rents and light bills, would be kept paid by the said Fred Carlson or his successors in interest at all times, and, said property would be kept free and clear of liens of every kind whatsoever, and on said second day of August. 1932, said Fred Carlson also assigned his rights in said contract to one Eva E. Spatz.
“VII.

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Related

Davidek v. Wyoming Investment Co.
308 P.2d 941 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1957)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
291 P.2d 1072, 75 Wyo. 68, 59 A.L.R. 2d 482, 1956 Wyo. LEXIS 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davidek-v-wyoming-investment-co-wyo-1956.