Follansbee v. Owens

1928 OK 664, 271 P. 1023, 133 Okla. 217, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 1049
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 20, 1928
Docket17272
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1928 OK 664 (Follansbee v. Owens) 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
Follansbee v. Owens, 1928 OK 664, 271 P. 1023, 133 Okla. 217, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 1049 (Okla. 1928).

Opinion

HERR, O.

In this case title to the west half of southwest quarter of northwest quarter of southeast quarter of section 10; west half of northwest quarter and southeast quarter of northwest quarter of section 14, all township 15 north, range 7 east, in Creek county, Okla., is involved.

The case was submitted to the trial court on an agreed statement of facts: It is stipulated that the premises involved in this action constituted the allotment of one Cooper Holuby, a full-blood Creek Indian; that said Cooper Holuby died intestate on the 16th day of January, 1922. and left surviving him his widow, Nora Holuby, and three children, Nartoke Holuby, Oksuke Holuby, and Sabye Holuby, and it is further stipulated and agreed that upon the death of the said Cooper Holuby, his surviving wife, Nora Holuby, inherited an undivided one-third interest in the said premises, and that said children inherited an undivided two-ninths interest each. It is further stipulated that Oksuke Holuby, one of the children of the said Cooper Holuby, deceased, died on the 8th day of February, 1923, while yet a minor and without having been married, and it is further stipulated and agreed that upon the death of the said Oksuke Holuby, his interest in the said premises, inherited from his father, Cooper Holuby, descended in equal shares to his two surviving brothers, Nartoke Holuby and Sabye Holuby. It is further stipulated that Sabye Holuby died on the 12th day of February, 1923, while a minor, and not having been married, leaving surviving him his mother, Nora Holuby, and his brother, Nartoke Holuby.

It is contended by the plaintiff in error that upon the death of Sabye Holuby, the one-ninth interest in and to said premises inherited by him upon the death of his brother, Oksuke Holuby, descended to his mother, Nora Holuby, and that the two-ninths interest, inherited by him immediately upon the death of his father, descended to his surviving brother, Nartoke Holuby.

Defendants in error contend that upon the death of the said Sabye Holuby, his entire interest in and to said premises, that inherited by him immediately upon the death of his father, as well as that portion inherited by him upon the death of his brother, Oksuke Holuby, descended to his surviving brother, Nartoke Holuby, to the exclusion of his mother.

The plaintiff in error claims to be the owner of a one-ninth undivided interest in and to said premises under a conveyance by and through Nora IIolub3', the mother of Sabye Holuby and the wife of Cooper Hol-uby, deceased, said conveyance being made on the 21st day of February, 1923.

The defendants in error claim title in and to a one-third undivided interest in and to said premises under a deed from Nora Holuby, executed on the 27th day of January, 1922, and a two-thirds undivided interest under a guardianship deed executed on the 23rd day of April, 1923, by one Sampson Davis, guardian for Nartoke Holuby.

It is stipulated that the guardianship proceedings are regular and operate to convey all of the right, title and interest said Nar-toke Holuby had in and to said premises at the time of the execution of the said guardian’s deed. The trial court rendered judgment in' favor of the defendants in error quieting title in them in and to said premises, and decreeing that plaintiff in error had no right, title or interest in or to said premises, nor any part thereof. To reverse this judgment, plaintiff in error appeals to this court.

As to whether or not the judgment of the trial court is correct depends upon the construction given subdivision 7 of section 11301, C. O. S. 1921, which provides:

“If the decedent leave several children, or one child and the issue of one or more children, and any such surviving child dies under age, and not having been married, all the estate that came to the deceased child by inheritance from such decedent, descends in equal shares to the other children of the same parent, and to the issue of any such other children who are dead, by right of representation.”

Counsel for plaintiff in error, in his brief, says:

“Under the agreed statement of facts, and the law controlling said facts, it is conceded that, on the death of Cooper Holuby, his allotment was inherited by his wife, Nora Holuby, and his three children, Nartoke Hol-uby, Oksuke Holuby, and Sabye Holuby, the widow inheriting an undivided one-third and each of said children inheriting an undivided two-ninths. And it is further conceded that upon th'e death of Oksuke Holuby, his undivided two-ninths went to his brothers, all of said children being minors, unmarried-in equal shares, or an undivided one-ninth each. It is further conceded that upon the death of Sabye Holuby the two-ninths in *219 terest lie inherited upon the death of his father descended unto his brother, Nartoke Holuby, but we do not concede that the other one-ninth so descended.
“We contend that the one-ninth interest inherited by Sabye Holuby upon the death of Oksuke Holuby, is to be treated, upon the death of Sabye Holuby, as any other part of his individual estate which he may have received from any other source, other than from his father. In other words, said interest should be treated as a ‘new acquisition’, and, therefore, would descend according to applicable provisions of subdivision 2, section 11301, C. O. S. 1921.”

The provision of the statute referred to is as follows:

“If decedent leave no issue, nor husband nor wife, the estate must go to the father or mother, or if he leave both father and mother, to them in equal shares. * * *”

It is argued by plaintiff! in error that upon the death of the first child, Oksuke Holuby. subdivision 7 of the statute. above quoted spent its force, and that upon the death of the second child, Sabye Holuby, that portion of the estate inherited upon the death of Oksuke Holuby was an inheritance not from the father, but from the brother, and, therefore, descended to Nora Holuby, the mother, under subdivision 2 above quoted.

We think, however, subdivision 7 of the statute is not restricted in its operation to the first death, but applies in the case of successive deaths, among the surviving children, so long as they may die while underage, and not having been married, and so long as there remains surviving one or more children, or their representatives, so that the statute can continue to have- application: and for the reason that the whole estate, upon the second death as well as the first, is still to be considered as the estate of the deceased parent within the contemplation of subdivision 7 of the act above quoted.

We, therefore, hold that the one-ninth interest passing to Sabye Haluby upon the death of Oksuke Holuby must be treated as much a part of the estate coming from his deceased father as that portion passing to him in the first instance upon the death of his father, and upon the death of said Sabye Holuby, his entire interest in and to said premises, under subdivision 7, above quoted, descended to his surviving brother, Nartoke Holuby, to the exclusion of his mother.

Under a statute identical with subdivision 7 of our statute, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, in the ease of Perkins v. Simonds, 28 Wis. 90, held as follows:

“Under the Terr. Stat. 1839 (38, 39, pp.

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Bluebook (online)
1928 OK 664, 271 P. 1023, 133 Okla. 217, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 1049, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/follansbee-v-owens-okla-1928.