Holloway v. Holloway

103 Mo. 274
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 15, 1890
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 103 Mo. 274 (Holloway v. Holloway) 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
Holloway v. Holloway, 103 Mo. 274 (Mo. 1890).

Opinion

Brack, J.

The plaintiff, James M. Holloway, commenced this suit in the Cass county circuit court, making Geo. W. Holloway and his wife Sarah, John M. Holloway, T. P. Holloway and the National Bank of Kansas City defendants. By the first cause of action-, the plaintiff seeks to set aside two deeds and a deed of [278]*278trust on the ground that they were made to defraud the creditors of defendant, Geo. W. Holloway ; and by the second cause of action he seeks to enjoin certain of the defendants from selling the land under pending partition proceedings.

Geo. W. Holloway, being the owner of three hundred and forty acres of land in Cass county, conveyed three hundred and twenty acres thereof to a trustee by deed dated ninth of October, 1883, to secure a note of like date for $4,000 payable to the Missouri Trust Company in five years after the date thereof, interest payable semi-annually. On the first of November of the same year’, he and his wife Sarah conveyed an undivided one-half of the three hundred and forty acres to the defendant, John M. Holloway, subject to the above-mentioned deed of trust. For the purchase price of this one-half interest, John M. Holloway executed to George W. his note for $2,384, due in five years, and secured the same by a deed of trust on the interest so purchased. The validity of the foregoing transactions is not questioned.

Afterwards, and by a deed dated the seventh of April, 1884, Geo. W. Holloway and wife conveyed the remaining one-half interest in the land to John M. Holloway, who made a deed of trust of the same date back on the same interest to secure his note for $3,200 for the purchase price. The deed was recorded on June 13, 1884, and the deed of trust on the twenty-fifth of that month, and both were subject to the prior incumbrance of $4,000. About the date of these transactions, the defendant Geo. W. Holloway assigned the last-mentioned note to his wife. Subsequently, and on the first of January, 1885, John M. Holloway conveyed to Sarah Holloway a one-half interest in the land in payment of his note held by her by assignment from her husband. On the twelfth of January, 1886, the plaintiff purchased the interest of Geo. W. Holloway in the land for the consideration of $344 at a sheriff’s sale made under an [279]*279execution issued out of the circuit coart of Jackson county on a judgment in favor of Arnold and against Geo. W. Holloway.

The plaintiff thereupon commenced this suit to set aside the above-mentioned deed of date the seventh of April, 1884, the deed of trust of the same date, and the subsequent deed to Sarah Holloway, alleging that they were made to hinder, delay and defraud the creditors of Geo. W. Holloway. The circuit court found the issues for the defendants, Geo. W. and Sarah, and plaintiff appealed.

At and prior to the date of these alleged fraudulent conveyances, the defendant, John M. Holloway, resided upon the land in question and cultivated the same for himself and Geo. W., who resided at Pleasant Hill in the same county. Though John M. is a defendant and a party to all the alleged fraudulent transactions, he is the chief witness for the plaintiff in this case. This witness says, in substance : George got dissatisfied and wanted to dissolve our partnership ; he was financially embarrassed and wanted to sell out his interest in the farm ; said he would deed the other half over to me and let me hold it for him ; that his creditors were crowding him and he wanted to secure it to his family ; he said he was just doing it to cover up his property, and I would never have to pay the note; that as far as he and I were concerned the property would still be his, but as far as the outside world was concerned it would be mine; he put the property $10 an acre higher, so that it would show good faith.

This evidence is corroborated by the wife of the witness. He also produced a postal card from Geo. W. dated January 8, 1884, and in which the latter says: It is only a question of time when the bank will close me'out; am forced to take care of my family in some way ; Tom has the money to pay me, with what I owe him, and if you can’t buy it (the land) yourself will sell to him, so that I can do something for myself.” John [280]*280also testified, that he conveyed the undivided one-half of the land back to Sarah Holloway and took up his note for $3,200, then held by her. The note was produced in evidence and it has indorsed thereon an assignment to her from her husband “in consideration of the payment of a debt of mine amounting to $4,500.”

The proof also shows that Geo. W. had the deed to John M. recorded, and paid the recorder's fee himself. The witness, John M., and the plaintiff are brothers. The plaintiff says he purchased the land at the execution sale to protect his brother. It is manifest that this suit is prosecuted in the interest of John M., and that the only interest which the plaintiff has in the controversy is the amount bid by him at the sale, namely, $344.

The evidence offered by the real defendant shows that, at the date of the deed and deed of trust, the defendant, Geo. W. Holloway, owned three hundred and twenty acres of land in DeKalb county, subject to a deed of trust for $3,000. He also owed the defendant bank $4,500, and some other debts besides. His property at fair values exceeded his debts by $5,000 or $6,000, but it could not be readily converted into cash. To secure the debt due to the bank he made a deed of trust upon the DeKalb county land, and also one upon some thirteen acres of land in Pleasant Hill. This Pleasant Hill property was, and for years had been, the absolute property of his wife. She, at first, declined to join in the deed of trust upon her homestead at Pleasant Hill, but was induced to do so on the promise of her husband that he would convey to her the one-half of the land in question, and in execution of that promise he assigned to her the note and deed of trust of John M. Holloway for $3,200.

. Giving full force and effect to the evidence of John M. Holloway, and guided by it alone, we should conclude that the deed and deed of trust of date the seventh of April, 1884, were fraudulent contrivances. But his [281]*281evidence must be considered in the light of the fact that he is not only a party to the alleged fraudulent conveyance, but that this suit is now prosecuted to a great extent in his interest and for his benefit. While on the other hand, the evidence shows that George W. Holloway was embarrassed, it also shows that he was endeavoring to secure his creditors. His undivided interest in the land, in suit was covered by a prior deed of trust, so that it did not. constitute acceptable security. It is clear that he sold that interest and took back the note and deed of trust for the purpose of assigning the note to his wife to induce her to make the deed of trust on her property in favor of the bank. It seems more than probable that John'M. Holloway never expected to pay this note, but he was then on friendly terms with Geo. W., and well understood the state of the latter’s affairs. He bought the property and gave his note therefor to assist Geo. W., and to enable the latter to give to his creditors acceptable security.

Looking to the substantial facts in the case, and not the mere assertions of John M. Holloway, it clearly appears that the deed and deed of trust were made to enable Geo. W. Holloway to offer to his creditors security, and thereby procure an extension of time in which to pay the debt due the bank.

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Bluebook (online)
103 Mo. 274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holloway-v-holloway-mo-1890.