Davis v. Robedeaux

1924 OK 68, 222 P. 990, 97 Okla. 86, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 1038
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 22, 1924
Docket11827
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 1924 OK 68 (Davis v. Robedeaux) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. Robedeaux, 1924 OK 68, 222 P. 990, 97 Okla. 86, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 1038 (Okla. 1924).

Opinion

Opinion by

THREADGILL, C.

In the trial court plaintiff in error was defendant and the defendants in error were plaintiffs, and the parties will be referred to in this opinion as they were there. The facts in the case were substantially as follows: On or about December 19, 1917, the plaintiffs brought suit against the defendant on the ground of fraud' to cancel a deed ' executed by Joseph Robedeaux and Lucy Robedeaux, his wife, to the defendant, bearing date October 25. 1917, the consideration being $2,-100, and the land described in the deed, S. E. % of section 30, T. 23 N., R. 2 E., situated in Noble county, Olcla. The petition alleged that Joseph Robedeaux was the allottee of this land and was an educated Indian of the Otoe Tribe of Missouri Indians; that at the time he and his wife signed the deed they thought or understood that (hey were signing a mortgage to secure a loan of $200; that a patent to this land was issued to the allottee by the United States government at Washington, D. 0., September 15, 1917, and was delivered to him November 27, 1917. On November 27, 1917, after the delivery of the patent to the allottee, the said allottee, joined by his wife, for a consideration of $2,600 deeded the said land to the plaintiff George L. Miller; that the money was placed with George A. Hoye, superintendent and special disbursing agent for the Indians, for the use and benefit of the allottee, to be delivered to him after the determination of the lawsuit.

At the time Miller obtained his deed he knew that the defendant had a deed on record to this land. On January 16, 1918, and before any plea or answer by the defendant, the plaintiffs Joseph Robedeaux and Lucy Robedeaux filed their dismissal in which they state they dismiss their cause of action for the reason there was no fraud in the transaction by which they sold the defendant the land in controversy and conveyed same to him by warranty deed, and they disclaim any interest in the controversy. and this dismissal was verified by Joseph Robedeaux.

On January 29, 1918, the defendant filed his answer to the petition, which consisted of a general denial, and pleading that he obtained the deed complained of for a valuable consideration, and denied any fraud or misrepresentation as alleged in the petition, and further stated that if the plaintiff George L. Miller obtained a deed to said land it was with full knowledge that the defendant owned the land and had a deed to it on record. On March 16, 1918, the defendant filed a demurrer to the petition as to the claims of George L. Miller, which Tt appears was never acted upon by the court. On March 26, 1919, the defendant filed another answer in the case, consisting of a general denial, and pleading his deed from Robedeaux In good faith and for a valuable consideration, and denying the fraud and misrepresentation claimed against him *87 by the plaintiffs, and denying that the deed given by the Rofoedeauxs to Miller was for a valuable consideration and without notice of his rights, and pleading, further, that the plaintiffs Joseph Robedeaux and Lucy Robedeaux had dismissed their cause of action, which is a bar to the further prosecution of the action by the plaintiff George L. Miller.

On April 23, 1919, the plaintiffs filed a reply to the defendant’s answer, consisting of a general denial. On November 3, 1919, the plaintiff Joseph Robedeaux, with Lucy Robedeaux, filed a -withdrawal of the dismissal they had theretofore filed in the case. Withdrawal was permitted to be filed with the court and the dismissal was allowed to be withdrawn. The case was tried to the court on November 3, 1919, and resulted in a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs Joseph Robedeaux and Lucy Robedeaux, canceling the deed as asked by the plaintiffs, and giving the defendant a judgment against the Robedeaux plaintiffs in the sum of $1,800, and the same fixed as a prior lien upon the land in controversy. The defendant appealed, asking that the judgment be set aside, and for a new trial and general equitable relief.

3. It was a question in the trial of the case as to whether or not title passed to the land after issuance of patent and before delivery of same to allottee, and the defendant contended that title passed to the allot-tee upon issuance of the patent, and the restrictions on alienation being removed, the allottee could sell and convey title to the same before the patent was delivered to him, and urges this proposition in his brief, citing United States v. Schurzy (U. S.) 26 L. Ed. 167; Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch, 137; Otto Manson v. S. J. Simonson (U. S.) 58 L. Ed. 260; and Act of 1887, authorizing allotments of land in cases such as the one under consideration.

The plaintiffs, in their brief, concede tb'' point, and we give it our approval without discussion.

2. The defendant contends that, since the Robedeauxs deeded the land to defendant and afterward deeded it to Miller, he could not maintain suit to cancel the deed and quiet title, for the reason he has no interest in the subject-matter of the action, citing section 209, Comp. Stat. 3921; “Every action must be prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest.” And 22 Cyc. p. 1332: “One who has sold and actually conveyed title cannot subsequently to such conveyance, maintain a bill to quiet the title in himself.”

The plaintiffs (defendants in error) do not agree with the defendant’s contention on this point, but they fail to cite any author,ity to the' contrary, and according to their theory of the case we cannot see where Robedeaux and his wife were necessary parties to the action. It is conceded that he does not claim any interest in the land against Miller, and Miller claims that he bought the land knowing that Davis had a deed on record, and understanding the nature of the fraud claimed by Robedeaux, procuring said deed, and since the plaintiffs cite no authority contrary to the authorities eied by the defendant or in explanation or construction of these authorities in their favor, and the same appear reasonably to support the contention of the defendant, this court will hold that Robedeaux and his wife were not necessary parties to the action and could not maintain it for the purpose of canceling the deed and quieting title in their favor.

3. Defendant further^ contends that, since the deed to him was regular upon the record and subject to attack for fraud extraneous to the record, the plaintiff Miller, having notice of the defendant’s deed at the time he obtained his deed from the grantor and having actual notice of all the fraud claimed by the grantor against Davis, could u< t maintain an action to cancel Davis’ deed, and quiet title in himself. This is on the theory that an action based upon fraud is a personal right and cannot be assigned to another, citing the following cases: Gray v. Ulrich, 8 Kan. 112; Carithers v. Weaver, 7 Kan. 110; Cochran Timber Co. v. Fisher (Mich.) 157 N. W. 282, 4 A. L. R. 9; Graham et al. v. La Crosse et al. (U. S.) 26 L. Ed. 106.

Counsel for plaintiffs in - answering this contention urge that the plaintiff Miller has the same right to maintain the action as the plaintiff grantor, and cite in support of their contention the following cases: Prince v. DuPuy, 162 Ill. 417, 45 N. E. 298; Paine et al. v. Baker, 15 R. I. 100, 23 Atl. 141; Breckenridge’s Heirs v. Ormsby, 1st J. J. Marshall (Ky.) 236, and Jackson v. Burchin, 14 Johns. (Ky.) 127; and 9 C. J. 1224, quoting syllabus in Choteau v. Jones, 11 Ill. 300.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dierks v. Walsh
1946 OK 8 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1946)
Findley v. Findley
74 P.2d 490 (Washington Supreme Court, 1937)
Huddleston v. Texas Co.
1936 OK 583 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1936)
Davis v. Travis
1935 OK 1150 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1935)
Booth v. Greer Inv. Co.
7 F. Supp. 576 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1934)
Illinois-Oklahoma Petroleum Corp. v. Teter
1931 OK 687 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1924 OK 68, 222 P. 990, 97 Okla. 86, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 1038, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-robedeaux-okla-1924.