Gunsch v. Gunsch

71 N.W.2d 623, 1955 N.D. LEXIS 124
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJune 30, 1955
Docket7439
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 71 N.W.2d 623 (Gunsch v. Gunsch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gunsch v. Gunsch, 71 N.W.2d 623, 1955 N.D. LEXIS 124 (N.D. 1955).

Opinion

MORRIS, Judge.

This appeal involves two causes of action, the first of which is for the foreclosure of a chattel mortgage given by Tony Gunsch to the plaintiff, David Gunsch, covering certain personal property consisting of farm machinery and twenty-six head of cattle to secure the sum of $4,000. The second cause of action seeks foreclosure of a land contract for the sale of a section of land in Mercer County from David Gunsch to Tony Gunsch.

Tony Gunsch, by separate answer, alleges that he has substantially cpmplied with all of the terms of the contract for sale of the land involved. By way of counterclaim he alleges that he is the owner of the land and that the plaintiff and two other persons, namely, Dan Gunsch and John Gunsch, jointly and. by force, coercion, fraud, and trickery, appropriated the 1951 crop raised on said land to the value of approximately $11,700 and converted and appropriated the 1952 crop raised on said land belonging to the defendant in the amount of $13,000. He further counterclaims with respect to the foreclosure of the chattel mortgage and alleges that the plaintiff, David Gunsch, together with Dan Gunsch and John Gunsch, has converted and appropriated for his own use and benefit certain personal property, being a major portion of that described in the chattel mortgage, , and that the value of the property .converted is $10,000.

The defendants, Leona Gunsch, Fred Bauer, and Arthur Bieber, made one answer in which they allege that the chattel mortgage has been paid. They further allege that Leona Gunsch became the owner of the livestock .described in the chattel mortgage and also became the owner of the land, or the interest of Tony Gunsch therein, by virtue of a decree of divorce rendered June 28, 1952, in an action brought by Leona Gunsch against Tony Gunsch. They further allege in the nature of a counterclaim that the plaintiff has broken ■ the contract for sale of the land by selling a portion of the minerals thereunder, con *625 trary to the terms of the contract; that he has received certain oil lease rentals for which the plaintiff has not accounted; that the defendant, Leona Gunsch, has offered to pay the plaintiff the balance due him under the contract and prays that the court determine the amount due the plaintiff under the contract and deduct therefrom the value of the minerals sold by the plaintiff and oil lease rentals received by him; that Leona Gunsch be permitted to pay the balance due on the contract; and that the court require the plaintiff to execute a sufficient transfer of the land to her.

This is -one of a cluster of actions stemming from the divorce of Tony Gunsch by Leona Gunsch and a -decree awarding Leona Gunsch certain property of those parties. About a month before the divorce action was instituted and on February 19, 1951, David Gunsch entered into a'written contract in which he agreed to sell a section of land to' his son, Tony, for $16,000 and to convey the same by warranty deed upon payment of the purchase price. At the time of the execution of the contract 'for deed, Toby Gunsch also executed a chattel mortgage for $4,000, due November 15, 1951, being the instrument involved in this action. It recites:

“It is understood and agreed between the parties' hereto - that this Chattel Mortgage is giyen as additional security to a Land Sale Contract, dated this - date, in the sum of $16,000.00, between the Parties hereto, ⅝ * * and that this chattel mortgage will be released of record and satisfied from the first money received on said contract up to and including the sum of $4,000.00 and interest: * * *. ”

The contract also recites that it is not assignable without the written consent of the vendor. It also provided that two-thirds of the crop raised upon the land was to be delivered to the vendor and the proceeds applied upon' the contract- until it was ^aid in full, with interest at the rate of four per cent per annum. The buildings were to be insured for- $4,000. Before entering into the contract and on June 3, 1950, the vendor, David Gunsch, had sold-one-half of the minerals underlying said real estate but made no mention of this sale in the contract and Tony Gunsch had'no knowledge of it at the time the contract was executed.

. On June 28, 1952, judgment was rendered in the divorce action .decreeing, among other things, that Leona Gunsch have all of the rights of Tony Gunsch in the contract for deed and giving her absolute ownership of the land, subject to the rights of David Gunsch as vendor under the contract. She was also awarded the livestock described in the chattel mortgage, with certain exceptions. Tony Gunsch -was awarded the farm machinery and some of the cattle.

It is clearly established that David Gunsqh received from the proceeds of crops raised on the land, to be applied upon the purchase price according to the terms of the contract, $4,100 in 1951 and $1,500 i'n 1952. According to the terms of the contract, the chattel mortgage was to be paid- and satisfied out of the first moneys received. In the divorce action the plaintiff testified: -

“Q. Now, when you sold this land ; to your son, you took a chattel mortgage from him for $4000.00? A., For security for the first payment.
“Q. But that-first payment now has been paid? A. Yeah.
“Q. And you are ready and willing to satisfy that mortgage and take it off the records, are you not? A. Yeah.”

It is clear that the chattel mortgage has been paid in full and the trial court properly rendered judgment for the dismissal of this cause of action.

With respect to plaintiff’s second cause of action for the foreclosure of the land contract, it appears that the plaintiff David Gunsch, some time prior to the year 1950, became the owner of a section of1 land in Mercer County. On June 3, 1950, the plaintiff and his wife, Christena Gunsch, executed and delivered tó W. C. Kaufman, Jr.', a mineral deed conveying an undivided one- *626 half interest in all of the oil, gas, and other minerals in and under and that may be produced from the land described therein, which is the section of land involved in this cause of action. This deed bore 55 cents in revenue stamps. It was recorded in the office of the register of deeds of Mercer ■County bn June 15, 1950.

On June 3, 1950, the plaintiff, David Gunsch, and his wife executed to and delivered to W. C. Kaufman, Jr., an oil and gas lease covering the land involved herein whereby the lessee agreed to deliver to the lessors one-eighth part of all the oil produced and saved from the leased premises. This lease also provided for a delay rental of $160 per year for ten years. It was recorded in the office of the register of deeds of Mercer County on June 15, 1950.

On February 19, 1951, David Gunsch sold to Tony Gunsch the land herein involved upon the contract which we have already described.

The contract was accompanied by a note executed by Tony Gunsch payable to David Gunsch in the sum of $16,000 with interest at- four per cent per annum payable annually, “according to conditions of Farm Contract dated this date between the parties hereto.”

The contract contained the provision that

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
71 N.W.2d 623, 1955 N.D. LEXIS 124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gunsch-v-gunsch-nd-1955.