Day v. Cole

41 N.W. 505, 65 Mich. 154, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 1191
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 25, 1889
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 41 N.W. 505 (Day v. Cole) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Day v. Cole, 41 N.W. 505, 65 Mich. 154, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 1191 (Mich. 1889).

Opinion

Morse, J.

On the fifteenth day of February, 1887, a-final decree on appeal from the circuit court for the county of Ottawa, in chancery, was entered in this Court in the case-of Day v. Cole and Jenison v. Leonard.

The opinion upon which the decree was based will be found reported in 65 Mich. 129, and contains a summary of the-claims of the respective parties in the suits.

By that decree the equitable title to the lands in controversy was found to be in one of the defendants, Orleans L. Jordan. Day, upon the payment of a certain sum to him for taxes and interest, was ordered to convey his interest in the lands to Jordan, and the other defendants were declared, to have no interest in the premises.

On the twenty-fourth day of September, 1887, Orleans L. Jordan died in possession of these lands, leaving surviving him his widow, Lucy M. Jordan, and an only child, Arthur-[156]*156W. Jordan. Jordan left a will, which was duly probated October 31, 1887. In this will he bequeathed certain property in lieu of dower to his widow, and the balance of his estate to his son, and they are the executrix and executor of said will.

The petitioners, who are two of the heirs at law of Ransom Gardner, deceased, on the twenty-third day of October, 1888, over a year after the death of Orleans L. Jordan, and 20 months after the final decree in this Court, applied to this Court for leave to file a bill of complaint in the Ottawa circuit court in chancery.

It will be remembered that Jordan, in the case of Day v. Dole, in which he was one of the defendants, claimed title to the lands as four-fifteenths owner of the vendors’ interest, .and as sole owner of the vendee’s interest, in certain contracts for the sale of the lands involved in that suit. The Blendon Lumber Company held the title to some of these lands, and they contracted with Edward Cole to sell them to him. Cole .also held a contract for the purchase of other lands, which contract he assigned to the Blendon Lumber Company as security for the faithful performance of his agreement with .said company. Cole also held a contract for the purchase of .another lot of lands from Turner and Bostwick. This contract was also assigned by him and one Pearsons, to whom he had before that assigned, to the Blendon Lumber Company .as additional security for the performance of Cole’s contract with them.

August 29, 1867, Cole assigned his interest in all three of these contracts to Ransom Gardner, of Kalamazoo, the father of these petitioners.

Jordan claimed Cole’s interest in these contracts on the ground that Gardner assigned one-half interest in the same to one Wells, who was his partner in business, and that such interest thereby became partnership property. After Gardner’s death, Wells, as surviving partner, assigned the con[157]*157tracts to Jordan. The Gardner heirs, in the same suit, by Jordan as their solicitor, claimed title to the contracts in Gardner & Wells (the firm being A. G. Wells & Co.), and that they, as the heirs at law of Gardner, were entitled to-one-half of Cole’s interest in the contracts, subject to the equities of Wells as surviving partner of the firm of A. G. Wells & Co.

The chief contention in the case of Day v. Cole was that Gardner, before his death, and prior to the transfer of his one-half interest to Wells, re-assigned this contract to Cole. Jordan claimed the instrument purporting to assign the contract back to Cole was a forgery, which claim was sustained by this Court. We also found the title to this contract to be wholly in Jordan, to the exclusion of the Gardner heirs.

The petitioners now claim that this last result was brought about by the fraud of Jordan.

They allege, in substance, that the original bill was filed by Loren Day, September 12, 1881; that Jordan answered October 25, 1881, setting up his interest as hereinbeforestated ; that Luman Jenison filed his cross-bill June 29, 1882, after having answered Day’s bill. October 10, 1882, Jordan filed his answer to Jenison’s bill, in which answer he reiterated his claim to the lands as before. These cases-went to hearing upon pleadings and proofs in the Ottawa circuit court in chancery, June 27, 1883, the heirs qf Gardner not being made parties to the controversy in either suit.

February 5, 1884, the court above named, on its own motion, entered an order in the cause that said Gardner heirs should be made parties to both the original and cross-bills.

February 23, 1884, Day filed a supplemental bill, making the petitioners, Olivia A. Gardner, the widow of Eansom Gardner, and Emma E. Underwood, his daughter, then living, and William H. Dodge, Marland E. Gardner, and John. C. Davis, as administrators of Eansom Gardner’s estate,. [158]*158defendants thereto; and on the same day Luman Jenison •.filed a supplemental cross-bill, also making them parties defendant thereto.

On the twenty-fifth day of March, 1884, Orleans L. Jordan •entered his appearance as solicitor for all these newly made defendants to both bills.

May 22, 1884, the joint and several answer of all of them was filed to the supplemental cross-bill of Jenison by Jordan -as their solicitor, in which it was, among other things, alleged that Gardner, in his life-time, sold and transferred to Allen G. Wells (who was then his partner in business) an undivided one-half interest in said lands and contracts, and that an undivided half interest was then the property of said defendants, subject to the equities of Wells therein as surviving member of the copartnership, and also subject to the equities of Jordan as assignee of Wells.

June 5, 1884, the joint and several answer of Eloise A. Dodge, Emma E. Underwood, and John G. Davis, one of Gardner’s administrators, was filed to the supplemental bill of Day, said answer being prepared by said Jordan. No answer was prepared or filed for Olivia A. Gardner, or William H. Dodge and Marland E. Gardner, the other administrators. A separate answer was filed by the petitioner Marland R. Gardner, April 29, 1885.

The supplemental bill of Day was taken as confessed against those not answering, June 25, 1884.

Additional testimony was taken, and the cause finally submitted in the fall of 1885. November 3, 1885, the circuit court for the county of Ottawa, in chancery, decreed that Luman Jenison was the owner of the said contracts, and the lands described therein, subject only to the amount due and unpaid on the same to the Blendon Lumber Company or their assigns.

Orleans L. Jordan, Emma E. Underwood, and the petitioner Marland R. Gardner appealed to this Court, with the [159]*159result heretofore stated. None of the other defendants appealed. The petition sets out the decree in this Court, and alleges that this decree in favor of Jordan, as against the Gardner heirs, was obtained by the fraud of Jordan.

The charge of fraud stated in the petition is substantially •this : That at the time of Bansom Gardner’s death, and for many years before, Jordan had been his attorney and confidential legal adviser, and knew the facts and circumstances relating to these contracts, and.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 N.W. 505, 65 Mich. 154, 1889 Mich. LEXIS 1191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/day-v-cole-mich-1889.