Gilbert Bros. v. Lawrence Bros.

49 S.E. 155, 56 W. Va. 281, 1904 W. Va. LEXIS 124
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 22, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 49 S.E. 155 (Gilbert Bros. v. Lawrence Bros.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilbert Bros. v. Lawrence Bros., 49 S.E. 155, 56 W. Va. 281, 1904 W. Va. LEXIS 124 (W. Va. 1904).

Opinion

Miller, Judge :

J. U. B. Crim, on the 22d day of May, 1890, recovered a. judgment against G. W. Gall, Jr., Shelton L. Reger, S. L. Lambert, J. H. Lambert, H. C. Lambert and H. Pennington, for the sum of $576.29, with interest thereon from its date, and' $17.50, the costs thereof. Crim caused an abstract of this judgment to be duly docketed in the judgment docket in the.office of the clerk of the county court of Pendleton county on the 25th day of January, 1891, in the names of all of said parties thereto, both plaintiff and defendants. On the 19th day of October, 1892, Homan S. Helson and wife, by their deed of that date, conveyed to said J. H. Lambert, a tract of land containing two hundred and sixty-two acres, situate in the county of Pendleton,.which deed was duly recorded in that county on: the 14th day of November, 1893.

By deed, bearing date on the 9th day of April, 1895, duly-recorded in said county, on the 25th day of May, 1895, J. H. Lambert and his wife, conveyed this tract of land to R. B. Lawrence, G. W. Lawrence and W. C. Lawrence jointly for the-consideration of $6,000.00 cash, the payment of which is ac[283]*283knowledged in tbe deed. The last named grantees by their deed; dated May 4, 1895, duly recorded in the county last-aforesaid, on the 14th day of November, 1895, conveyed said land to Daniel Cooper, Sr., in trust, to secure, the payment of the joint promissory note of E. B. Lawrence, G. W. Lawrence- and W. C. Lawrence, for $1,045.88, bearing even date with the trust deed, and payable to Daniel Cooper, Jr., one day-after its date. By their second deed of trust, bearing date on the 9th day of May, 1895, duly recorded in Pendleton county, on the 31st day of May, 1895, said E. B., G. W. and W. C. Lawrence conveyed'this land to one Sol W. Phares, trustee, to-secure to E. M. Sutton Co. the payment of $664.00, in monthly installments.

On the 23rd day of August, 1895, Gilbert Bros. & Co., ap-pellees, commenced their suit in chancery in the circuit court of Eandolph county, and, at the September rules thereafter, filed their creditor’s bill against E. IB. Lawrence, G. W. Lawrence and W. C. Lawrence, partners trading as Lawrence Bros., and also against certain other persons and firms, as judgment creditors of Lawrence Bros. At August rules, 1903, the plaintiffs filed in the cause an amended bill, making parties defendant'thereto, certain other judgment creditors of Lawrence Bros,, and, in addition to the lands specifically mentioned in the original bill, alleged the ownership of the two hundred and sixty-two acres in fee in Lawrence Bros.

By their deed, bearing date on the 24th day of October, 1896, B. B. Lawrence, G. W. Lawrence and W. C. Lawrence, with their wives, in consideration of one dollar, conveyed the two hundred and sixty-two acres of land to one Bessie L. Teter, nee Bessie L. Phares, who was the ward of W. C. Lawrence, which deed was also placed on the record.

It also appears from the record that the Ivenneweg Company,, a corporation, had also instituted a chancery suit, and filed a creditor’s bill against Lawrence Bros, and others, in the circuit court of Pendleton county, which suit was removed to, and, on the 15th day of Majg 1897, docketed in the circuit court of Eandolph county, wherein it was ordered to be joined, proceeded in and heard with the cause of Gilbert Bros. About this-time, Bessie L. Teter, nee Phares, by PI. C. Teter, her husband and next friend, filed her petition in these suits, wherein she, among other things, alleges that by the last will and testament [284]*284of> her mother, she was entitled to the sum of $1,800.00; that said W. C. Lawrence was duly appointed, qualified and acted •as her guardian; that as such guardian he received $1,800.00 of her money and estate; that he did not loan out said money, taking bond with good security as he should have done, but used it in his business; and that said money was used by him to pay for said two hundred and sixty-two acres of land, con■veyed to himself, E. B. Lawrence and - G. W. Lawrence as ¡aforesaid, and afterwards by them conveyed to her as herein-before stated; that the reason said land was conveyed to her by 'them was and is that her money was used’to purchase it; and ’that said Lawrence desired to reimburse her. She further alleges that her guardian, W.' C. Lawrence, had squandered her money; that her said guardian and E. B. Lawrence, his surety, •are both insolvent;, and that neither of them have any real •estate except their interest in said tract of land. She also says, that she is entitled to hold said real estate under said deed to her; that her title thereto is superior to any judgment obtained against W. C. Lawrence, and docketed after her said deed was placed on record; and that, if said real estate is sold, and •any money be left after payment of judgments obtained and docketed against her guardian before said deed was recorded, she is entitled to such money.

Petitioner was made a defendant to said causes at -the October rules, 1898. She then filed an amended and supplemented petition in which she says that W. C. Lawrence, shortly after his qualification as her guardian, received in his capacity as •such, a large sum of her money, derived from her mother's •estate, towit: the sum of $1,800.00; that instead of placing said ■sum of money at legal interest and securing the same, for the benefit of petitioner, her said guardian invented the whole thereof for her, in certain real estate, lying in Pendleton eounty, Which the said E. B. Lawrence, G. W. Lawrence and W. C. Lawrence purchased from J. H. Lambert and had the same •conveyed to them by deed, bearing date on the 9th day of April, 1895; that, while the said sum of $1,800.00 was actually the money of petitioner at the time of the purchase of the land, and was then and there invested in said real estate for her by her guardian, j^et by some omission of duty on his part, he failed to have her name inserted in the deed therefor as one of the [285]*285grantees therein; and that, to repair the unintentiona] wrong done her as aforesaid, her said guardian procured the deed of October 24, 1896, to bo executed to her as aforesaid for the whole of said land in fee simple, the actual and only consideration therefor being said sum of $1,800.00, and its accrued interest, which her guardian, W. C. Lawrence, had used in the purchase thereof. Yaripus orders and decrees were made in said causes. Nine several reports of commissioners wore made and filed therein at different times. Sales were made of the land described in the papers and proceedings of the causes aforesaid. By consent of all the parties in interest, sale of the two hundred and sixtv-two acre tract was made on- the 30th day of June, 1899. The land brought the sum of $4,920.00, and the sale thereof was confirmed by the court on the 5th day of July, 1899, but the decree of confirmation directs the special commissioner who made the sale to retain in his hands to abide the future order of the court, in relation thereto, the net proceeds of sale, after paying costs and expenses thereof. Some time in 1902, Bessie L. Teter died intestate, and II. C.' Tcter qualified as her administrator. The suits wore then revived in his name, as sueh administrator.

On the 12th day of October, 1903, Commissioner Baker, to whom the causes had been referred, filed his report therein, from which the following excerpts are taken:

“As to the liens existing and unpaid against the funds arising from the sale of the two hundred and sixty-two acres of land, your Commissioner has ascertained and reports as follows :

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Bluebook (online)
49 S.E. 155, 56 W. Va. 281, 1904 W. Va. LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilbert-bros-v-lawrence-bros-wva-1904.