Howell v. General Contract Corp.

91 So. 2d 831, 229 Miss. 687, 1957 Miss. LEXIS 315
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 7, 1957
DocketNo. 40249
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 91 So. 2d 831 (Howell v. General Contract Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howell v. General Contract Corp., 91 So. 2d 831, 229 Miss. 687, 1957 Miss. LEXIS 315 (Mich. 1957).

Opinion

Roberds, P. J.

On June 10, 1955, General Contract Corporation, ap-pellee, which, for brevity, we will call complainant, filed the bill in this cause against Bill Howell Motor Company, a corporation, which we will call Howell Motor Company, and against Bill Howell and his wife Mrs. Betty H. Howell as individuals.

The bill alleged that in the years 1952 and 1953 the Howell Motor Company had an agency for, and was engaged in, the sale of automobiles at Cleveland, Mississippi ; that complainant was in the business of financing automobile agencies; that the-complainant and Howell Motor Company entered into a written agreement under which complainant would purchase from Howell Motor Company, under terms detailed in the agreement, contracts and notes which the purchasers of automobiles would execute to Howell Motor Company for the unpaid purchase prices of automotive vehicles sold to such purchasers by Howell Motor Company. In other words [694]*694this was the usual automobile dealer’s refinance arrangement. It also averred that Bill Howell individually had guaranteed payment to complainant of all of the debts arising under this arrangement, and that the total of such debts approximated $14,053.86, which the Howell Motor Company and Bill Howell had refused and failed to pay. The bill exhibited some seventeen conditional sales contracts and purchase money notes which had been purchased by complainant under this arrangement. The bill also averred that Mrs. Betty H. Howell was personally indebted to complainant in the approximate amount of $2,495.46, balance owing on a conditional sales contract and note for the unpaid purchase price of an automobile Mrs. Howell had purchased from the Howell Motor Company, and which contract and note had been purchased by and transferred to complainant.

The bill further alleged that Howell Motor Company was then out of business and was insolvent.

It then averred that Bill Howell, on December 20, 1954, was the owner of a certain house and lot in the City of Cleveland, Mississippi, and that on that day he executed a deed undertaking to convey the title to said property to Mrs. Howell; that this conveyance was without consideration and it was made with the intent to, and it did, defraud creditors, including complainant.

Howell was not served with personal process and he did not answer. Nor did Howell Motor Company answer.

Mrs. Howell answered, saying, in effect, she was not informed as to the various business matters existing between Howell Motor Company and Bill Howell and complainant. She admitted that Howell Motor Company was out of business; admitted she had purchased the automobile from Howell Motor Company and had executed the conditional sales contract and note for the purchase price. She admitted that Bill Howell had executed to her a deed to the Cleveland property but contended that it was a homestead; also that Mr. Howell [695]*695was indebted to ber and be bad tbe right to convey ber tbe Cleveland property free of claims of bis creditors, and that, in addition, he held title to tbe Cleveland property as trustee for her; denied tbe conveyance was intended to, or did, in fact, defraud creditors. She also claimed to own certain personal property, such as shades, dishwasher, stove, washing machine, etc., which were in the house when the Cleveland property was deeded to her by Mr. Howell. She also said that on December 15, 1954, she and Mr. Howell had entered into a separation agreement and that he had, by virtue of said agreement, conveyed her the Cleveland property, which was then their homestead. She denied that complainant was entitled to subject the property to payment of the debts owing to it as set out in the bill.

Mrs. Margaret Murphey Norman intervened in the cause. She asserted that Mr. and Mrs. Howell, on May 28, 1955, entered into a written contract with her under which she agreed to purchase and they agreed to sell to her the Cleveland property for the sum of $28,500, including certain household and kitchen equipment, as described in the contract. The purchase price was to be paid in cash after deducting $11,848.66 secured by a deed of trust against the property. She asserted she was ready and willing to carry out this agreement and that she was in the position of an innocent purchaser for value. She asked that the contract be carried out. We do not further detail the circumstances surrounding this purchase agreement because all parties gave tacit consent to the carrying out of the arrangement.

The chancellor decreed that Howell Motor Company and Bill Howell were indebted to complainant in the sum of $14,035.96 and $500 attorney’s fee. He rendered a personal decree against Howell Motor Company for that sum. He did not enter a personal decree against Howell because service of process was not had upon him and he did not appear, but he did decree that the net [696]*696proceeds of the sales of the vehicles here involved he applied as a credit upon the amount found to he owing complainant. He rendered a personal decree against Mrs. Howell for the sum of $2,165, balance owing- complainant on the automobile she had purchased from Howell Motor Company, this amount to be credited with the net proceeds of the sale of the automobile covered by her contract and note. He held that the Cleveland property was not the homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Howell and that Howell did not hold title thereto as a trustee for Mrs. Howell, and that the conveyance of this property to Mrs. Howell was a fraud upon complainant as a creditor of Mr. Howell. He decreed that the sale of the Cleveland property to Mrs. Norman be carried out, and the net proceeds be applied to the debt found to be owing complainant after credit thereon of the net proceeds of the repossessed automobiles, and the payment of real estate dealer commissions.

Prom this decree Mrs. Howell alone appeals here. She does not here contest performance of the purchase arrangement with Mrs. Norman.

She does urge on this appeal (1) that the cause should be reversed and remanded because the chancellor excluded the deposition of Bill Howell; (2) that the conveyance to her of the Cleveland property was legal and valid, free of any claim of complainant, because (a) Howell held title thereto in trust for her, (b) that the conveyance was for a valuable consideration, and was not fraudulent as to complainant, and (c) the property was a homestead; (3) that the chancellor wrongfully held that the Chrysler Airtempt conditioning unit was a fixture and part of the realty.

Complainant-appellee contests these contentions. We will discuss and decide them in the order stated.

When the case was tried Mr. and Mrs. Howell were residing in Shreveport, La. As stated, Mr. Howell was not served with personal process and he made no [697]*697appearance as a party to the lawsnit. His deposition was taken. Complainant made a motion to suppress the deposition on the main ground that the issues were complex and that justice could not he done without his personal appearance as a witness. The learned chancellor sustained the motion and suppressed the deposition. We cannot disturb the holding of the chancellor for the reason that the deposition was not offered in evidence; it does not appear in the record; we do not know what the testimony was. We have several times held that error in exclusion of evidence cannot be considered where it does not appear of record and it is not shown what the evidence was. Mississippi Central Railroad Company v. Robinson, 106 Miss. 896, 64 So. 838; Lizana v. Edward Motor Sales Co., 163 Miss.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 So. 2d 831, 229 Miss. 687, 1957 Miss. LEXIS 315, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howell-v-general-contract-corp-miss-1957.