Hawkins v. Scanlon

206 S.W.2d 179, 212 Ark. 180, 1947 Ark. LEXIS 663
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 3, 1947
Docket4-8302
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 206 S.W.2d 179 (Hawkins v. Scanlon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawkins v. Scanlon, 206 S.W.2d 179, 212 Ark. 180, 1947 Ark. LEXIS 663 (Ark. 1947).

Opinion

Ed F. McFaddin, Justice.

This is a suit between members of a family to determine ownership of property.

John Scanlon, Sr. departed this life intestate in 1908, the owner of the realty here involved, being lots 4, 5 and 6, block 9, Moose Addition to Morrilton. He was survived by his wife, Mary Scanlon, and three sons and one daughter. The sons are the appellees, Jim, John and George Scanlon. The daughter, Margaret Scanlon Blair, was mother of the appellant Catherine Hawkins. The widow Scanlon and the three sons continued to live on the property after 1908. In 1912, Margaret Scanlon Blair, the daughter, became a widow, and returned to the property with her baby daughter, then two years of age (present appellant). In 1913, Mary Scanlon died, and the three Scanlon brothers and the sister, together with her daughter, continued to live on the property. There were several houses on the lots, and Mrs. Blair was in charge of them for herself and her three brothers.

In 1929, all the buildings, except one, were destroyed by fire; and the insurance money of $8,000 was used to finance the building of an apartment house on lot 4. To complete the financing of this building, the four heirs executed a mortgage on lot 4 to the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company for a loan of $3,500. George and Jim Scanlon worked on the building, and furnished the plumbing fixtures and many other items. When the apartment building was finished, the three brothers and the sister and her child occupied one apartment, and rented the other four apartments' to tenants. Mrs. Blair continued to have charge of the apartment property, and also the other house reconstructed on lots 5 and 6.

In 1931, the economic 'depression adversely affected the fortunes of these people. The three Scanlon men left Morrilton in search of employment; and Mrs. Blair had difficulty in obtaining sufficient rental returns to pay taxes and keep the loan current. She made her living as a seamstress. By 1933, her daughter Catherine had completed her education, and had begun to work; and her small salary helped to provide sustenance. Later (in 1942) Catherine Blair married, and she and her husband (Mr. Hawkins) lived with Mrs. Blair, and assisted in providing for her in her illness.

In 1931, Mrs. Blair and George Scanlon mortgaged lots 5 and 6 for $1,242.72 to T. P. Austin. The use to which this money was put is not definitely shown. In 1932, George Scanlon executed a deed to Margaret Blair for all of his interest in lots 4, 5 and 6 for the recited consideration of $1,250. In 1933, Jim Scanlon deeded liis interest in the lots to Margaret Blair for the recited consideration of $2,000. The description in this deed was later found to be erroneous, so in 1936 he cured all defects by executing a quitclaim deed to Margaret Blair. The effect of these three deeds will be discussed in topic heading I hereinafter.

In 1936, Margaret Blair and John Scanlon obtained a loan from the Morrilton Federal Savings & Loan Association for $2,000, and used the money to retire the Jefferson Standard loan. Later, Mrs. Blair and John Scanlon obtained an additional loan from the same association for money to apply on taxes, interest, etc. The mortgages to the Morrilton Federal Savings & Loan Association are still unsatisfied, and constitute a first lien on the property.

Then, in 1939, Mrs. Blair’s health failed. She was an invalid until her death in 1943. During this illness the three brothers continued to visit her and send her money just as they had done at all times since 1931. Be it said to the eternal credit of the three Scanlon men that they were true and loyal brothers to their sister. The record is- replete with instances of their continued sending of money to Mrs. Blair. She -was just as devoted a sister as they were brothers. It was a fine family relationship; and it is lamentable that it must end in this litigation. After Mrs. Blair’s death in 1943, Catherine Hawkins and her husband continued to live in the apartment building, and she collected the rents and tried to look after the property as her mother had formerly done.

The property had been sold for delinquent improvement district taxes; and in 1942 Jim Scanlon paid $1,000 to dispose of the claim of the tax purchaser. The redemption deed was taken in the name of Catherine Hawkins, but the fact that Jim Scanlon paid the money is admitted by all parties. This will be discussed in topic heading III. At a date not shown, Catherine Blair claims to have paid $1,600 to settle the Austin mortgage that had been executed in 1931. Then comes this litigation.

In 1945, Catherine Hawkins, claiming to be the owner of an undivided three-fourths interest in the property, filed the present suit for partition. She alleged that John Scanlon was the owner of the remaining one-fourth interest. She further alleged that the property could not be divided in kind, and should be sold subject to the two mortgages to the Morrilton Federal Savings & Loan Association.

Appellees, Jim and George Scanlon, intervened, and John Scanlon made common cause with them; and they claimed that Catherine Hawkins owned only an undivided one-fourth interest in the realty and the furnishings in the apartment house, and that the three Scanlon brothers each owned an undivided one-fourth interest. Interwoven with the question of the ownership of the realty and the aforementioned furnishings, there were questions of advances and accounting.

The chancery court found and decreed: (1) that the appellant and the three appellees were tenants in common of the realty, each owning an undivided one-fourth interest subject to the Morrilton Savings & Loan Association mortgages; (2) that the furnishings in the apartment building (with the exception of clothing and • a piano) were'owned by Catherine Hawkins individually; and (3) that the appellees were not entitled to an accounting from Catherine Hawkins for the rents she had collected from the property. From the decree all parties have appealed: Catherine Hawkins on direct appeal, and appellees on cross appeal. We will discuss and decide the various contentions in the topic headings hereinafter set forth.

I. Ownership of the Realty. Catherine Hawkins’ claim for three-fourths interest in the realty was based on the fact that she was sole heir of her mother who owned one-fourth interest by inheritance, and who had acquired by deeds the one-fourth interest of George Scanlon in 1932 and the one-fourth interest of Jim Scanlon in 1933 and 1936, to which said deeds we have previously referred. To overcome this record ownership and the effect of the deeds made to Margaret Blair, the said Jim and George Scanlon, supported by John Scanlon, testified that Margaret Blair never paid them anything for the deeds, and that the real consideration was their trust and confidence in Margaret Blair. John Scanlon testified that Jim and George executed the deeds to Margaret, so that she could use their record interest to obtain additional money to finance the property for the benefit of all of them. His testimony on this point is:

“Q. Do you know whether or not the conveyance of George’s interest was ail outright sale?
“A. No, sir; it was not.
“Q. Do you know whether or not Jim’s conveyance of his interest was an outright sale?

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Bluebook (online)
206 S.W.2d 179, 212 Ark. 180, 1947 Ark. LEXIS 663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawkins-v-scanlon-ark-1947.