Harn v. Interstate Building & Loan Co.

1923 OK 259, 216 P. 123, 90 Okla. 98, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 1120
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 15, 1923
Docket12868
StatusPublished

This text of 1923 OK 259 (Harn v. Interstate Building & Loan Co.) 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
Harn v. Interstate Building & Loan Co., 1923 OK 259, 216 P. 123, 90 Okla. 98, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 1120 (Okla. 1923).

Opinion

COCHRAN, J.

Prior to August, 1915, John F. Winans and his associates owned Winans addition in Oklahoma City, and Mrs. Alice Harn owned Harndale addition to Oklahoma City. On October 4, 1918, judgment was rendered in the superior court of Oklahoma City in favor of the Security National Bank in five separate suits and against John F. Winans, Alice Harn, and W. F. Harn, and on October 3, 1918, judgment was rendered in favor of the State National Bank against the same parties, and on the same date judgment was rendered in favor of the Western National Bank against John F. Winans and W. F. Harn. In August, 1915, the Winans and Harndale additions were subject to the liens of the above judgments. On August 17, 1915, the Security National] Bank judgments and the State National Bank judgment were assigned to I. C. Enochs. Thereafter the Interstate Building & Loan Company entered into negotiations with John F. Winans and Alice Harn and W. F. Harn for the purchase of Winans addition and Harndale addition, these negotiations being handled by Mr. Sparrow. Sparrow first went to Winans, and. procured from him a statement as to the portion of the six judgments then owned by Enochs, for which Winans was primarily liable. He advised Sparro'w that the portion of this indebtedness for .jvhieh Mr. and Mk-s. Harn were liable, as between Winans and Mr. and Mrs. Harn, was $21,000. Sparrow made a memorandum of the figures given him by Winans, and then went to see Mr. Harn, who acted as the agent for Mrs. Alice Harn, and advised him as to ihe statements made by Winans, and asked Mr. Harn if the figures given by Winans were correct, and also advised him that he was on a deal with Winans and it was necessary as a basis for making the deal to know the amount of the indebtedness due by Winans and the amount due by the Harns, and Harn said that the figures given by Winans were practically correct, but he thought it was about $1,000 more than what it should be. Acting upon these statements, the Interstate Building & Loan Company purchased from John F. Winans the Winans addition and received a deed 'therefor on August 21, 1915. taking the property subject to the lien of Ihe six judgments, and under an agreement which was as follows:

“The said Interstate Building & Loan Company agree to indemnify and hold yon harmless against the enforcement of said judgments against you by the owners and holders of said judgments, their heirs and assigns.
“The agreement to indemnify and hold you harmless 'against; any of said judgments shall not obligate ihe undersigned vendee in said deed to prevent execution sale on any of the property conveyed by you in said deed, nor shall this be construed to diminish any liability on the part of W. F. Harn and Alice Harn in said judgments, but the liability of said W. F. Harn and Alice Haim to remain absolute.”

Acting further on said statements, on September 4, 1915, the Interstate Building & Loan Company purchased from Alice Harn the Harndale addition and the following agreement was executed:

“¡It is further agreed that (here are now existing against said W. F. Harn and Alice Harn certain judgments. (There follows a recitation of the various judgments which were liens against said property.) And in consideration of said conveyance, said judgments are hereby satisfied and paid in full and shall be released absolutely as against W. F. Harn and Alice Harn. It is. however, understood and agreed that as between the judgment debtors in said several judgments, the liability of the first parties is $25,000; the remainder of said judgments toeing the liability of John F. Winans; and it is hereby understood that the owners and holders of said judgments reserve all their rights under said judgments as against said John F. Winans.”

On the same day, satisfaction of the judgments as to Alice Harn and W. F. Harn was entered of record by I. C. Enochs, and on February 16, 1916, the satisfaction of said judgments as to John F. Winans was entered toy Enochs.

, On August 9, 1920, Alice Harn filed her petition in the district court of Oklahoma *100 county, alleging that she had signed notes on which judgment had been procured by the Security National Bank and the State National Bank as surety for her husband and John E. Winans, and was entitled lo have judgment rendered in said case specifying that she was surety; that she had paid all of said judgments and was entitled to be subroga led to all the rights of the principal creditor, including the right to assert a lien upon the lands- of the said John If. Winans, and judgment against John F. Winans in the sum of $57,555.47, and asked that' such judgment be decreed to, be a lien upon all the lands of John IP. Winans, including Winans addition, and, that the same be foreclosed. Upon a trial of the case, the district court rendered judgment for the defendants, and plaintiff - has prosecuted this appeal.

The plaintiff insists that this is an action of equitable cognizance, and that it is the duty of this couj-t to consider the whole record and weigh the evidence and to render judgment in accordance therewith. According to our view of the case, it is not necessary to review the various phases of ' the case presented in the trial court, as it is our opinion that the judgment of (he trial court was clearly right upon the ground that the plaintiff was estopped to assert in this ease any rights which she may have originally been entitled to as surety. •

The plaintiff insists that that portion of the agreement between Alice Harn and Interstate Building & Loan Company reading as follows:

“The remainder of said judgments being the liability of John F. Winans; and it is hereby understood that the owners and holders of said judgments reserve all their rights under said judgments as against said John P. Winans”

—should be construed to mean that Alice Harn was the owner and holder of such judgments and reserved all of her rights under said judgments against John F. Winans. We do not think that the language of the agreement is subject to any such construction ; neither do we think that 'the language of the agreement is to be construed as meaning that the judgments were paid in full by Alice Harn. Our interpretation of this agreement is that the liability of Alice Harn and W. P. Harn was admitted by them to be $25,000, and that all of these judgments were satisfied and paid in full as to the liability of Alice Harn and W. F. Harn, and that such settlement did not release the judgments as to the liability of John F. Winans; but as to him, the owner of the judgments reserved all of his rights, and that the owner of the judgments referred to I. G. Enochs and Interstate Building & Loan Company, and not to Alice Harn. She,, did not pay the entire judgments, and could not be considered as the owner of such judgments.

The plaintiff argues that the use of the words “owners and holders of said judgments” indicates' that reference was not being made to I. O. Enochs. The same reasoning would apply to Mrs. Ham, as she was the person who signed this agreement and the person who was deeding the property, and W. P.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1923 OK 259, 216 P. 123, 90 Okla. 98, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 1120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harn-v-interstate-building-loan-co-okla-1923.