De Boer v. Dykes

178 F. Supp. 74, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2472
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedOctober 30, 1959
DocketCiv. A. No. 1493
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 178 F. Supp. 74 (De Boer v. Dykes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
De Boer v. Dykes, 178 F. Supp. 74, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2472 (W.D. Ark. 1959).

Opinion

JOHN E. MILLER, Chief Judge.

On June 15, 1959, the plaintiffs, Harry A. DeBoer and Lucille DeBoer, husband and wife, filed their complaint against the defendants, Robert Dykes and Mary Dykes, husband and wife, to obtain a judgment for the amount due on a promissory note executed on July 1, 1954, by defendants to the order of plaintiffs and to foreclose a mortgage upon two tracts of land, referred to in the pleadings as tracts 1 and 2; and a chattel mortgage upon certain personal property located in a tourist court situated on tract 1.

Tract 1 was subject to a first mortgage-held by Superior Federal Savings & Loan Association of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and a second mortgage held by E. A. Terry and wife, Laura Terry. The mortgage held by plaintiffs on tract 2 was a first, prior and paramount lien as to that tract, and likewise the chattel mortgage constituted a first, prior, and paramount lien on the personal property.

On July 8, 1959, the defendants filed their answer in which they admitted executing the promissory note and the two mortgages, but denied that the mortgages constituted a lien on any of the property described therein, and in paragraphs Nos. VIII and IX of the answer alleged:

“VIII.
“On or about May of 1954 the Plaintiffs offered for sale the Quail’s Motel, an 11-unit auto court located on the real property designated as Tract 1 and real property adjacent thereto described as Tract 2 in the said Complaint. The Plaintiffs had owned and operated the Quail’s Motel for a period of more than two years prior to May, 1954.
“Defendants state that they were • induced to enter into the agreement for the purchase of Quail’s Motel as a result of reasonably relying upon certain material misrepresentations of fact made by the Plaintiffs concerning Quail's Motel; that these false statements of fact were knowingly made by the Plaintiffs in a wanton, willful and malicious manner in order to induce the Defendants to purchase the said Quail’s Motel. The aforesaid false statements* of fact consisted of the following., misrepresentations, to-wit:
“1. That the said Quail’s Motel had produced a gross average monthly income of between $800.00 and $900.00;
“2. That the said Quail's Motel was paying its way;
“3. That the said Plaintiffs rep-, resented and stated to the Defendants that said Quail’s Motel in its then condition, at the time of negotiations between them, was fully accredited and approved by the American Automobile Association.
“IX.
“If the said misrepresentations, alleged in Paragraph VIII hereof,, had not been made by the Plaintiffs to the Defendants, the Defendants would not have purchased said Quail’s Motel and real and personal property. The real value of the said Quail’s Motel property in its true condition, at the time of the said sale, was not in excess of $30,000.00. It was sold by the Plaintiffs to the Defendants for $55,000.00, so that the Defendants were damaged in the amount of $25,000.00; therefore, the Plaintiffs are not entitled to recover from the Defendants herein, as prayed for in Plaintiffs’ Complaint, because of said damages suffered by Defendants.”

On July 13, 1959, the plaintiffs filed their reply to the answer of the defendants, in which they alleged:

“These plaintiffs deny that the defendants were induced to enter into an agreement for the purchase of Quail’s Motel as the result of reasonably relying upon material misrepresentations of fact made by the plaintiffs; deny that the plain[76]*76tiffs made'any misrepresentations as alleged in Paragraph VIII of the Answer ; deny that the defendants had any right to rely on such alleged misrepresentations.
“Plaintiffs deny each and all of the allegations contained in Paragraph IX of the Answer or that the defendants were damaged in any a'mount whatsoever.”

On July 31, 1959, the plaintiffs filed an amendment to their reply, in which they alleged:

“Further replying, the plaintiffs state that notwithstanding the property described in the complaint and commonly referred to herein as ‘Quail Motel’ was worth the full sum of Fifty-five Thousand ($55,000.00) Dollars at the time of the sale to the defendants as alleged in the complaint, and notwithstanding the contract of sale therefor called for said sum, the defendants nevertheless acquired said property for a' sum greatly less than the stated consideration.
' .“That the defendants represented to the plaintiffs that their property in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was valued at the sum of Thirty-five Thousand ($35,000.00) Dollars and that the defendants owned an equity above the mortgage indebtedness on s.aid.' property of Twelve Thousand Sevqn Hundred Fifty ($12,750.00) Dollars. That said , representation was false and fraudulent and made with the intent to have the plaintiffs rely upon the same and the plaintiffs had a right to and did rely upon said false representation and by reason of the same were induced to accept said property on the purchase price of the Quail Motel at a value of Twelve Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty' ($12,750.00) Dollars. That in truth'and in fact the equity of the defendants was the sum of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars, which wásr known to the defendants at the timevbhey made said false representations: and at the time of the eon- . tract of sale. That- the plaintiffs were enabled to realize only the sum • of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars from said property and thereby sustained a loss and reduction in the price of the Quail Motel of Twelve Thousand Two Hundred Fifty ($12,-250.00) Dollars.”

The case was tried to the court without a jury on September 10 and 11, 1959. At the conclusion of the testimony the court requested the attorneys for the parties to submit written briefs in support of their contentions, and the case was submitted subject to the filing of the briefs. The able attorneys for the parties have furnished the court most excellent briefs in which they have thoroughly and earnestly argued their respective contentions. The court has considered the briefs along with the pleadings, the testimony, and the exhibits thereto, and now files this opinion in lieu of formal findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The plaintiffs and the defendants entered into a written contract (plaintiffs’ Exhibit 5), which contract is dated June 15, 1954. However, there is a dispute as to the actual date of the execution of the same, but the time of its execution-is not material. The contract provided that the plaintiffs agreed' to sell to the defendants an 11-unit auto court, known as the Quail’s Motel, located in Van Burén, Arkansas, together with .all the. furniture and equipment therein, and all signs advertising said business, including two large rental signs, and a three-acre tract of land located across the road from said motel, for a total consideration of $55,000.

The defendants agreed to convey to the plaintiffs certain real property situated in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in part payment of the purchase price, the value.of which was stated in the contract to be $35,000, but which was encumbered by mortgages at the time in the amount .of $22,250.

As provided by the terms of the-contract, the defendants, upon the closing of the. deal, paid, the plaintiffs $5,000 and [77]

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Bluebook (online)
178 F. Supp. 74, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2472, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-boer-v-dykes-arwd-1959.