Fritzsche v. Herb

68 Ill. App. 368, 1896 Ill. App. LEXIS 502
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedDecember 9, 1896
StatusPublished

This text of 68 Ill. App. 368 (Fritzsche v. Herb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fritzsche v. Herb, 68 Ill. App. 368, 1896 Ill. App. LEXIS 502 (Ill. Ct. App. 1896).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Lacey

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This was an action of assumpsit by the appellants against appellee seeking to collect rents and profits for the use and occupation of a certain eighty-acre tract of land.

The case was tried on an agreed state of facts, and evi-. dence introduced as follows:

Plaintiff’s Case.

Stipulation as to facts offered in evidence, that John Jobst died intestate October 1, A. D. 1873, and left surviving him Amelia Jobst, now Amelia Herb, his widow, who married defendant May 3, 1887, and ^Mary T. Jobst, Alice F„ Jobst, now Alice F. Fritzsche, Franklin 0. Jobst, who died June 5, A. D. 1889, Lewis F. Jobst, Lydia J. Jobst and Minnie L. Jobst, now Minnie L. Franklin, his only sons and daughters. That since the marriage of the said widow and the defendant there has been born to them Frederick Herb, Jr., and Eosa Herb, who are minors. That, John Jobst died seized in fee of the premises described in the declaration, and resided on the same at the time of his-death, with his wife and family. That the said defendant and his wife, and the children of his wife that remained at home, resided on said land until March 12, A. D. 1883, and on that day moved to Wessington, South Dakota.

From that time until November, A. D. 1893, said premises' were occupied by a tenant, at which time defendant and wife and minor children moved back upon said farm and occupied it until same was sold under a decree in a suit in partition on August 24, A. D. 1894. That after marriage of defendants until said sale, his wife permitted defendant to receive and he did receive the rents and profits from said land as head of the family. That said farm consisted of eighty acres. That the reasonable rental value of that land was $3.50 per acre, per annum. That Amelia, Eosa, and Frederick Herbert, Jr., were made plaintiffs, because other-plaintiffs were advised it was necessary. That the dower of Amelia Jobst, now wife of defendant, was never assigned until after partition suit was commenced on April 1, A. D. 1893, final decree being entered June 25, A. D. 1894. Parties reserve right to introduce all other competent testimony they may desire on trial of said cause. Plaintiffs-rest their case in chief.

In addition to this, the papers in a partition suit wherein Minnie L.Franklin was plaintiff were introduced in evidence, showing that the partition suit in question was for the purpose, among other things, of assigning the dower of Amelia Herb, formerly Jobst.

The petition, among other things, set up the dower interest had never been assigned to the widow of John Jobst and asked its assignment, and the petition prayed that Amelia Herb Tie required to bring into court all the proceeds of the said premises received by her since the death of her husband to be distributed among the parties according to their interest.

The master’s report showed the correctness of the various allegations of the petition and that the said lands were the homestead of the said John Jobst, deceased, at the time of his death; that his wife lived with him at the time and that she continued to occupy the premises as a homestead and had the exclusive use of it after her husband’s death and took care of the family, they being nearly all minors, and lived with her until March, 1883, and that she received all rents from the date of the death of her husband until 1893.

She says Garvin paid her $3.60 per acre for years and the .rent was worth $3 per acre per annum the balance of the .time; that her doAver in the land had never been set off.

The bill in partition was then amended with the additional allegation that Amelia Herb had the entire use of the premises described from the death of John Jobst to the time •of filing of the bill.

Amelia Herb, widow of John Jobst, ansivered and denied .the plaintiff’s right to relief with regard to the part which ...asked that the rents received by Amelia Herb be brought ¡into court for distribution.

The evidence introduced in that case showed that all the • children of John Jobst were above the age of twenty-one years and that after his death his Avidow married Frederick Herb May 3, 1877, and had lived with him ever since, and that two children were born after the said marriage, Eosa IE. and Frederick C., both minors, then residing with their .mother.

After 1883, the evidence showed that Amelia Herb and .her husband, the defendant in the case, lived off the premises and received the rents thereon during the time of their absence, and that they moved back on the premises March, 1891, and then resided there, at the time the evidence was taken.

She had moved a house on the land and also built a stable on it and laid tile on it.

The court in the partition suit rendered a decree of partition and appointed commissioners to make the partition, which commissioners set off dower therein to Amelia Herb and reported the remainder indivisible and valued it at $60 per acre.

The Circuit Court rendered a decree confirming the report of the commissioners and ordered the sale of the land subject to the dower interest of the widow. The master in chancery made a sale of the premises to Frederick Herb for the sum of $3,910.

There was a decree confirming master’s report of sale and ordering a distribution of the money.

The court took no account of the question raised as to the rents and profits, and Amelia Herb’s alleged quarantine interest. Frederick Herb, the defendant, received the rents and profits on the land after his marriage with Mrs. Jobst as her husband, by her permission, and the proceeds were used in the support of the family.

Formal pleadings were waived, except the general issue, and that all defenses might be made under that issue that could be made under any.

The case was tried by the court without a jury and the court found the issues for the defendant.

The plaintiff excepted, and moved the court for a new trial, which was overruled, and then rendered judgment against appellants for costs, to which overruling the motion and rendering the judgment the plaintiff excepted.

This suit is brought by the heirs of John Jobst to recover the proceeds of the land since the same has been occupied and managed by him. The widow of John Jobst, Amelia Herb, and the children of Frederick Herb and his wife were also joined as plaintiffs because they each inherited a fraction of the undivided one-seventh interest of Franklin C. Jobst, deceased, son of John Jobst and half-brother to Herb’s children,, the latter thereby becoming tenants in common with the full brothers and sisters of Franklin C.

The position of the appellants as stated by counsel is that they, as the owners in fee of the land, are entitled to the rents and profits arising from its use, subject only to the widow’s dower.

The appellees contended in the court below for two propositions as a defense to the action.

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Bluebook (online)
68 Ill. App. 368, 1896 Ill. App. LEXIS 502, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fritzsche-v-herb-illappct-1896.