Eakers v. Clopton

1947 OK 209, 184 P.2d 247, 199 Okla. 99, 173 A.L.R. 309, 1947 Okla. LEXIS 576
Supreme Court of Oklahoma·Decided July 1, 1947·No. No. 32440·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal by Fred Douglass Eakers, Ethel Lee Eakers, A. D. Fields, and Mrs. A. D. Fields, from a judgment rendered by the district court of Oklahoma county in favor of Ellen Clopton sustaining the validity of a property owners’ agreement restricting the north half of block 21 in Oak Park addition to Oklahoma City, against the sale to or occupancy of any of the lots by persons of Negro blood.

The contract upon which the action is brought was entered into in the year 1938. Among other things it provides that any deed, lease or conveyance in violation of the agreemént would be void and could be set aside upon petition of one or more of the interested parties to the contract; that, the contract should constitute a mutual covenant running with the land. The contract also provided that it shall become effective when executed by the owners of 51 per cent of the lots in said block.

The contract on its face purports to have been signed by 58.83 per cent of the owners of the lots in the block.

The defendants, among other things, in their answer allege that the contract was not signed by the owners of 51 per cent of the lots in said block and is therefore inoperative. The contract shows that plaintiff was one of the signers thereof; that she was the owner of a one-third undivided interest in lots 10 and 11 in said block; that she acquired her interest therein as an inheritance from her deceased husband and that the lots were set aside to her as a homestead in the administration proceeding.

It is the contention of defendants that since plaintiff only owned a one-third undivided interest in the lots and that since the owner of the other two-thirds” interest therein did not sign the agreement, her interest in such lots could not be taken into consideration for the purpose of determining as to whether the owners of 51 per cent of the lots had signed the agreement. In support of this contention they cite and rely upon [101] the cases of Veal v. Hopps, 183 Okla. 116, 80 P.2d 275; and Caudle v. Olive, 185 Okla. 596, 95 P.2d 615. These authorities do not go to the extent claimed. They simply hold that an owner of a fractional interest in a lot cannot by signing the contract bind such lot beyond the fractional interest owned by him therein. They do not hold that an owner of a fractional interest in a lot cannot bind such lot to the extent of his interest. The clear implication of these cases is to the effect that such owner may bind his property to the extent of his interest therein. Plaintiff does not contend that the entire interest in and to . lots 10 and 11 was bound by the contract. Her contention is that such lots are only bound to the extent of her one-third interest and that in determining whether the owners of 51 per cent of the lots in said block had signed the instrument the one-third interest owned by her should be taken into consideration. We think this contention correct and supported at least by implication by the cases of Veal v. Hopps and Caudle v. Olive, supra.

The record discloses that R. A. and Hattie Zenor, who were then the owners of lots 6 and 7 in said block, signed the agreement and opposite their signature gave their address and location as 828 East 9th street, and inadvertently and through error described the lots owned by them as lots 7 and 8 instead of lots 6 and 7. Lot 6 is not specifically mentioned in the ■ contract.

It is the contention of defendant that since lot 6 is not mentioned in the agreement notwithstanding the fact that it was then owned by the Zenors, it should be excluded and not considered in determining the number of lots bound thereby; and if this lot, together with lots 10 and 11, be excluded from the instrument, it would contain the' signatures of less than the owners of 51 per cent of the lots in said block and would be inoperative. If these lots be stricken and not considered in determining the number of lots bound, the contention of defendant in this respect would be correct. The owner of lot 8 did not sign the agreement and it is conceded that this lot cannot be considered in' determining as to whether 51 per cent of the owners of the lots in said block had signed the same.

We have heretofore disposed of this question insofar as it' relates to lots 10 and 11. As to lot 6 the evidence is undisputed that at the time the Zenors signed the agreement they were the owners of this lot; that they did not own lot 8. The evidence further shows that the description of lot 8 was inserted in the contract through mistake and inadvertence; that the Zenors in signing the instrument intended to bind lots 6 and 7 instead of lots 7 and 8, and that the other parties to the instrument also believed and understood that lot 6 instead of 8 should be covered by the restriction agreement. Plaintiff in her petition pleads the above state of facts and asks that the instrument be reformed so as to speak the truth and conform to the intention of the parties and that the description of the premises be corrected so as to describe lots 6 and 7 instead of 7 and 8. The trial court under the evidence found this issue in favor of plaintiff and entered judgment reforming the instrument accordingly.

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

Eakers v. Clopton, 1947 OK 209, 184 P.2d 247, 199 Okla. 99, 173 A.L.R. 309, 1947 Okla. LEXIS 576 (Okla. 1947).

1947 OK 209 (Eakers v. Clopton) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Jefferson County v. Mosley
226 So. 2d 652 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1969)
Fry v. Hurst
1956 OK 28 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1956)