Growney v. O'Donnell

198 S.W. 863, 272 Mo. 167, 1917 Mo. LEXIS 147
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 17, 1917
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 198 S.W. 863 (Growney v. O'Donnell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Growney v. O'Donnell, 198 S.W. 863, 272 Mo. 167, 1917 Mo. LEXIS 147 (Mo. 1917).

Opinion

GRAVES, C. J.

Plaintiff, the daughter of Patrick O’Donnell, deceased, joined therein by her husband, brings this action in equity to set aside a deed made by Patrick O’Donnell to his sons, Patrick J. and Joseph J. O’Donnell. The petition charges:

“That said Patrick O’Donnell (deceased) was, at the date of his death, the owner in fee of the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter and the east half of the southwest quarter of section thirty, township sixty-three, of range thirty-four, in said Nodaway County, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres, and was residing thereon at the time of his death; and was also the owner in fee of 160 acres of land in Bottineau County, State of North Dakota, described as the southwest quarter of section fourteen, township one hundred and fifty-nine, north of range eighty-two, west, being all the lands owned by the said deceased at said date.
“That said Patrick O’Donnell was aged about seventy-five years and infirm, and on April 16, 1909, did become seized with pneumonia fever and ailments incident thereto, and did become seriously and alarmingly ill from the beginning of his said sickness, with every indication of approaching demise, and did so continue and linger, partly conscious and unconscious, attended by a physician, the family and neighbors, until April 24, 1909, when he died.
[172]*172“That during said sickness of deceased, to-wit, on April 21, 1909, and while said Patrick O’Donnell was sick unto death as aforesaid, delirious from high fever attendant therewith, rendering him unconscious, weak of mind and body, and evidently approaching death, the said defendants Patrick O’Donnell and Joseph J. 0 ’Donnell fraudulently and wrongfully, and intending to cheat and defraud the other heirs at law of said Patrick O’Donnell, and especially this plaintiff, did induce, compel and cause the said Patrick O’Donnell to make purported deeds of conveyance to all' of the said lands described as aforesaid to them, the said Patrick J. O’Donnell and Joseph J. O’Donnéll.
“That said Patrick J. O’Donnell and Joseph J. O’Donnell, with the connivance and assistance of one Michael M. Calahan, a brother-in-law to them, and a son-in-law of deceased, did procure a lawyer from Mary-ville, the county seat of said county, and twelve miles distant from said O’Donnell’s place of residence, and did, at the said O’Donnell home, at the hour of twelve o’clock at night, on the said date (April 21, 1909) cause to be made a deed of conveyance as aforesaid to the 120 acres of land aforesaid, situated in said Nodaway County, described as aforesaid, for the recited consideration of ‘one dollar’ and the further consideration as recited in said deed, ‘the consideration in this deed is that the said parties of the second part shall pay to the said party of the first part one thousand dollars per year, during the term of' his natural life, payable annually, on the first day of January of each and every year, which consideration is included in a deed between the same parties of even date herewith for 160 acres situated in Bottineau County, North Dakota;’ which
his
.deed purports to be signed ‘Patrick X O’Donnell’ .
mark
and witnessed by ‘M. M. Calahan’ and ‘T. A. Cummings,’ and said deed was.placed on record in the recorder’s office of said county of Nodaway on the next morning (April 22, 1909) at nine o’clock and ten min[173]*173utes a. m. by the said T. A. Oummings, and appears of record in Book 165, at page 13, in said office.
“That said land so conveyed by said deed, comprised the homestead of said Patrick O’Donnell.
“That said deed was not signed by the wife, Mary A. O’Donnell.
“That said deed to said land so made at said time was' not the act and deed of the said Patrick Ó ’Donnell.
“That no consideration whatever was paid'by the defendants (grantees) to the said Patrick O’Donnell.
“That there was no delivery of the said deed by the said Patrick 0 ’Donnell to defendants, or to any one of them, or to anyone for them; but all that was done relating to said deed or deeds was the fraudulent and wrongful acts of the said defendants, assisted, advised and directed by the said M. M. Oalahan, with his employed counsel, said T. A. Cummings, and all with the intent, design and purpose to cheat and defraud the other heirs at law of the said Patrick O’Donnell, and. especially this plaintiff, and is a cloud on her interest and title therein.”

The answer of the two sons put in issue all the charges in the petition contained. The wife and widow filed a separate answer, in which she says that she understood when the deed was made ’ that she was left her dower interest in the land, and that she only claimed such interest. She admits that the land was the homestead. The chancellor nisi found against the plaintiff on the charges preferred against the defendants, in the plaintiff’s petition contained, and also found against the defendants’ claim that they were entitled to the land, subject only to the dower interest of their mother. The finding of the court was to the effect that the wife had not signed the deed, that she had a homestead therein, and also had a dower interest in the surplus, if the homestead interest set off to her, did not exceed one-third of the whole. In the interlocutory decree the findings are thus stated:

[174]*174“That on the 21st day of April, 1909, the said Patrick O’Donnell conveyed by warranty deed the real estate hereinbefore described to the defendants Patrick J. O’Donnell and Joseph J. O’Donnell; that at the time of said conveyance the said Patrick O’Donnell, now deceased, had mental capacity sufficient to make said conveyance, and fully understood the character and nature thereof, and that in the execution and delivery of said conveyance he, the said Patrick 0 ’Donnell, was free from'any undue influence or fraud oh the part of any of the defendants by which he was induced to make said conveyance, and that the same was a legal and valid conveyance of said described land to the defendants Patrick J. O’Donnell and Joseph J. O’Donnell, except as to the homestead interest of said Patrick O’Donnell as hereinafter found and stated, and except as to the dower interest of Mary A. 0 ’Donnell, the wife, and now the widow, of said Patrick O’Donnell, deceased, who did not join in said conveyance. The court further finds that the real estate hereinbefore described embraced and comprised the homestead of said Patrick O’Donnell, to the extent and value of fifteen hundred dollars, and that by reason of the failure of the defendant Mary A. O’Donnell, wife of said Patrick O’Donnell, to join in said conveyance, the same was invalid and void as to the homestead interest to the extent and value of fifteen hundred dollars, and was insufficient to convey said homestead interest; that the land hereinbefore described, is of greater value than fifteen hundred dollars, and that said deed and conveyance hereinbefore mentioned was legal and valid as to the excess of said land, and as to all of said land over and above the said homestead of the value of fifteen hundred dollars, subject, however, to the dower interest of the defendant Mary A. O’Donnell, if any, in such excess and part of said land over and above said homestead interest. The court further finds that the defendant Mary A.

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

Related

State Ex Rel. Leonardi v. Sherry
137 S.W.3d 462 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2004)
Miller v. Haberman
224 S.W.2d 1002 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1949)
Wanstrath v. Kappel
190 S.W.2d 241 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1945)
Hall v. Hall
145 S.W.2d 752 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1940)
Fitterling v. Johnson County Mutual Fire Insurance
112 S.W.2d 347 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1938)
Haines v. Carroll
38 S.W.2d 1047 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1931)
Bentrup v. Johnson and Lehmann.
14 S.W.2d 537 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1929)
Larue Ex Rel. Miller v. Larue
294 S.W. 723 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1927)
Daniels v. Peck
288 S.W. 84 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1926)
Falvey v. Hicks
286 S.W. 385 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1926)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
198 S.W. 863, 272 Mo. 167, 1917 Mo. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/growney-v-odonnell-mo-1917.