Dooley v. West

210 F. Supp. 239, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5299
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedNovember 7, 1962
DocketNo. 488
StatusPublished

This text of 210 F. Supp. 239 (Dooley v. West) 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
Dooley v. West, 210 F. Supp. 239, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5299 (W.D. Ark. 1962).

Opinion

JOHN E. MILLER, Chief Judge.

This case is before the court upon defendant’s motion for summary judgment to dismiss the action on the ground that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact based upon the pleadings, depositions and affidavits, and that the defendant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

The plaintiffs filed their complaint, entitled “Petition,” in Marion County Chancery Court on December 6, 1961, in which they alleged that they were the owners and in possession of certain described lands, comprising 2,213 acres more or less, 1,280 acres of which were subject to a first mortgage in favor of General American Life Insurance Company of St. Louis, Mo.; that on December 6, 1960, the plaintiffs executed and delivered a warranty deed by which they conveyed the above described lands to Jack West, with a special agreement in which West was to hold title to the lands in trust for them and to give plaintiffs an option to repurchase said lands by repaying amounts of money as paid out by West. A copy of said agreement is attached to the complaint and marked as plaintiffs’ Exhibit A.

The plaintiffs further alleged that Jack West, contemplating death, married the defendant, Juanita K. Long during August 1961, she well knowing of this contract made between plaintiffs and her then husband, Jack West; that after this marriage with the defendant and on his death bed in an interview with plaintiffs advised them and his wife, the defendant, to dispose of the above described lands for their mutual benefit.

That the plaintiffs spent much time and expense, and with the advice and consent of the defendant entered into a contract to sell the above described lands to one L. C. Johnson and his wife; that said agreement was approved by defendant in a written statement in the defendant’s own handwriting dated November 16, 1961, a copy of which was attached to the complaint and marked plaintiffs’ Exhibit B; that in compliance with the agreement and request of defendant, the plaintiffs had a warranty deed prepared according to the request and directions of the defendant, Juanita K. Long West, for her signature; that the plaintiffs caused a mortgage to be prepared in favor of the defendant duly signed and acknowledged by L. C. Johnson and his wife covering the above described lands; and that on November 29, 1961, the plaintiffs attempted to present the signed and acknowledged mortgage and the warranty [241]*241deed for defendant’s signature, at which time the defendant avoided and evaded the plaintiffs by leaving town and otherwise making herself unavailable to them for purposes of consummating the deal.

The plaintiffs prayed that the court order the defendant to carry out the terms of her contract or that she pay to the plaintiffs damages in the sum of $40,000, $38,000 of which represents plaintiffs’ equity in the land and the remaining $2,000 their loss of time, expense, etc.

Petition for removal to this court was duly filed on December 23, 1961.

On January 20, 1962, the defendant filed her original answer which was amended on August 4, 1962, in which she denied the allegations of plaintiffs’ complaint. The • defendant also alleged that the plaintiffs had failed to state a claim against her upon which relief could be granted; that there was no meeting of minds of the parties as to the terms of the alleged contract, nor were the conditions precedent complied with, and, therefore, there was no contract entered into between the plaintiffs and the defendant or defendant’s deceased husband, Jack West.

The defendant further alleged, in the alternative, that the plaintiffs failed to exercise the alleged option upon which they are relying, and thus failed to comply with the terms of the contract upon which they are relying; that the alleged contract is too general, vague and indefinite as to the time of performance and description of the property as well as to other terms; that the alleged contract violates the Statute of Frauds; and that there was a mistake of fact.

On the same date, the defendant filed a counterclaim against the plaintiff, in which she alleged the execution of a promissory note on December 7, 1960, in which they promised to pay her $1,000 within one year after the date of the note, the principal and interest of which have remained unpaid.

On August 9, 1962, the defendant filed her motion for summary judgment on the ground that the pleadings, depositions, and affidavits show that the defendant is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law and to have plaintiffs’ complaint dismissed.

The first question which the court must determine is whether there is any genuine issue as to any material fact within the meaning of Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P., and if not, then, whether defendant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

In Marion County Co-Op Ass’n v. Carnation Co., (W.D.Ark.1953), 114 F.Supp. 58, aff’d 8 Cir., 214 F.2d 557, this court quoted extensively from a number of decisions of the Court of Appeals for this Circuit relative to various phases of the summary judgment rule. The court will not repeat those quotations here. Suffice it to say that the burden of establishing the nonexistence of any genuine issue of fact is upon the moving party, and all doubts must be resolved against him. It is with that rule in mind that the court proceeds to consider the record before it.

A thorough examination of the pleadings and exhibits attached thereto, and a careful study of the depositions of Mr. and Mrs. Dooley, the plaintiffs; Mrs. West, the defendant; Mr. Murray, defendant’s attorney; and Mr. Ellis, owner of the Eagle Hotel at Eagle Pass, Texas; together with the exhibits attached thereto, convinces the court that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact in the present case.

The following undisputed facts appear in the record:

Since January 1961, O. H. Dooley has been in the real estate business, and prior to that time he was in the business of buying and leasing cattle ranch land and feeding cattle on the leased land in various states, including Texas. He engaged in this business both as a sole proprietor and in partnership. In 1947 he became acquainted with the deceased, Mr. West, and from the following year until the death of Mr. West the two men engaged in a great number of land-leasing and cattle-buying ventures together, [242]*242in which West usually supplied the money and Dooley did the buying and selling. At times Dooley supplied some of the money.

Plaintiff purchased the property in question, located in Marion County, Arkansas, in September 1951 for the purpose of going into semi-retirement and running a nominal number of cattle on it. In 1961 plaintiff’s financial condition deteriorated in that he fell behind in his payments on his Arkansas land and owed Mr. West approximately $39,000 for his share of the losses that their partnership had suffered during the drouth years of 1952 to 1956. On December 6, 1960, Dooley and Mr. West entered into an agreement whereby Dooley and his wife conveyed the Arkansas land to West, the consideration being that West would assume the indebtedness on the land and would cancel the debt due him from Dooley. Dooley was given a one-year option to repurchase by payment to West of the money that had been owing West as well as the money paid by West on the indebtedness of the land. This agreement was prepared by Mr. Cox, an attorney in Little Rock who was a stranger to both parties.

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Related

Marion County Cooperative Ass'n. v. Carnation Co
214 F.2d 557 (Eighth Circuit, 1954)
Marion County Co-Op. Ass'n v. Carnation Co.
114 F. Supp. 58 (W.D. Arkansas, 1953)
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156 S.W.2d 218 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1941)
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
210 F. Supp. 239, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dooley-v-west-arwd-1962.