Hardesty v. Gordon

1941 OK 334, 119 P.2d 70, 189 Okla. 677, 1941 Okla. LEXIS 352
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 21, 1941
DocketNo. 28280.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1941 OK 334 (Hardesty v. Gordon) 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
Hardesty v. Gordon, 1941 OK 334, 119 P.2d 70, 189 Okla. 677, 1941 Okla. LEXIS 352 (Okla. 1941).

Opinion

DAVISON, J.

This is an action to recover possession of and quiet title to real estate situated in Tulsa county. It was instituted in the district court of that county by Gerald E. Hardesty and James W. Hardesty against Bessie Lee Gordon and her husband. A demurrer was sustained to plaintiffs’ second amended petition for failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. The plaintiffs elected to stand on their pleading, whereupon the trial court dismissed the action. Plaintiffs appeal. The order of appearance is thus preserved in this court, and the trial court designation will be used in this opinion.

The facts essential to a determination of this appeal, as reflected in plaintiffs’ amended pleading, are as follows:

The plaintiffs are 1/32 blood Cherokee Indians. The real estate involved was inherited by them from their mother, Addie Hardesty, nee Eaton, who died February 22, 1918. She was an enrolled member of the Cherokee Tribe of 1/16 Indian blood. A part of the land was included in her allotment. The remainder had been purchased by her during her lifetime with funds derived from allotted lands.

The plaintiffs were born on April 4, 1915, and July 8, 1913, respectively. On November 10, 1933, the district court of Tulsa county entered its decree conferring rights of majority on them, which was subsequently corrected and amplified by an order nunc pro tunc. At that time the plaintiffs were both over 18 and under 21 years of age and both were under a guardian appointed by the county court of Tulsa county by reason of their minority.

In this connection (under a literal construction of plaintiffs’ petition) it is somewhat doubtful that plaintiffs’ pleading affirmatively and definitely reflects that the only grounds upon which they were placed under guardianship was minority; however, such is the implication and the briefs herein filed are based upon that hypothesis. We are therefore treating the point as conceded.

The rights of majority conferred or attempted to be conferred upon the plaintiffs by the district court specifically included the right to sell and convey real estate. In accord with the rights thus purported to have been vested, the plaintiffs executed warranty deeds to the land here involved under which the defendant Bessie Lee Gordon claims title and right of possession of the land in question.

The plaintiffs assert the invalidity of the deeds executed by them and seek .cancellation thereof, thereby seeking to recover the lands. Their argument is presented under two propositions, the first of which is:

“The district courts of Oklahoma are without authority of law to confer rights of majority on Indian minors to enable them to convey allotted land inherited by said minors from the Indian allottee.”

The foregoing proposition may be divided into two questions: (1) Did the district court have authority to confer majority rights on the plaintiffs by virtue of sections 1756 to 1759, O. S. 1931 (10 Okla. St. Ann. §§ 91-94)? (2) Did such majority rights, if legally conferred, authorize a conveyance of the allotted lands inherited from the deceased Cherokee allottee? In our judgment both of these questions must be answered in the affirmative.

In Armstrong v. Phillips et al., 82 Okla. 82, 198 P. 499, the validity and effect of such an order granting majority rights to a Cherokee Indian of 3/8 *679 Indian blood was questioned. The challenged order had been entered upon the 5th day of June, 1909 (subsequent to the Act of May 27, 1908, 35 St. L. 312). We held the order valid, but mentioned that the same was ineffective to authorize a conveyance of allotted lands restricted under act of Congress. The reason for this limitation on the effect of the order is that the authority is derived from a state law and the authority thus vested in state courts does not comprehend an impairment of the restriction imposed by national legislation upon the alienation of lands allotted in severalty. This limitation on the effect of decrees conferring majority rights has also been recognized by this court in Mortgage & Debenture Co., Ltd., v. Burrows et al., 75 Okla. 94, 182 P. 238; Brewer v. Dodson, 60 Okla. 81, 159 P. 329; Egan v. Ingram et al., 58 Okla. 766, 161 P. 225; Bell v. Fitzpatrick, 53 Okla. 574, 157 P. 334, and by the federal court in Priddy v. Thompson, 204 F. 955.

In Posey et al. v. Brown et al., 169 Okla. 466, 37 P. 2d 633, we held a decree of a district court conferring majority rights on a minor of less than one-half Indian blood valid and effective to authorize a conveyance of lands bought with proceeds received from the sale of allotted lands.

It is thus definitely established by the decisions of this court that the district courts of the state may, under authority of sections 1756 to 1759, O. S. 1931, confer majority rights on minors who are members of the Five Civilized Tribes; hut such orders or decrees do not impair restrictions against alienation of land imposed by national legislation.

The question being considered then resolves itself into an inquiry as to •whether the lands inherited by the plaintiffs from the deceased allottee were restricted by the acts of Congress. In connection with the question, plaintiffs rely upon the doctrines of Brewer v. Dodson, supra, and Crow v. Hardridge et al., 73 Okla. 136, 175 P. 115. Those decisions were formulated upon the theory that section 6 of the Act of Congress of May 27, 1908 (35 St. L. 312, ch. 199), which states that the “persons and property of minor allottees of the Five Civilized Tribes shall ... be subject to the jurisdiction of the probate courts of the State of Oklahoma,” embraces allotted lands inherited by such minor (s). It was thought by this court at the time Crow v. Hardridge et al., supra, was decided that this section of the act made the county court a federal agency with controlling supervision over the inherited as well as allotted lands of a minor allottee.

It is pointed out by the defendant that the plaintiffs in the case at bar were minors but not allottees, and for that reason this case is removed from the operation of section 6, supra, and thus distinguishable from the cited case. However, we deem it inappropriate to rest our decision on that distinction, since the doctrine of Brewer v. Dodson, supra, and Crow v. Hardridge, supra, has been repudiated by this court in Tuck et al. v. Sanders, 116 Okla. 218, 244 P. 31. We therein said:

“. . . Certainly, an inherited interest of an unrestricted minor mixed blood Indian heir in lands allotted to his deceased ancestor, is ‘property’ in its general sense, but it cannot be contended that it constitutes property, within the meaning of the term as employed in section 6, supra, when the court holds that it is not necessary to resort to the probate court in order to divest such heir of his interest therein. . . .
“We have heretofore pointed out in this opinion that this rule with reference to inherited lands has been overruled, where the heirs were mixed blood Indians, including minors. . . .”

And in Armstrong v. Phillips et al., supra, we said in paragraph 2 of the syllabus:

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

Related

Quincy v. Texas Co.
185 F.2d 139 (Tenth Circuit, 1951)
Rives v. Cheshewalla
1950 OK 282 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1950)
Taylor v. Green
1942 OK 345 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1942)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1941 OK 334, 119 P.2d 70, 189 Okla. 677, 1941 Okla. LEXIS 352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hardesty-v-gordon-okla-1941.