Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co. v. Poulter

1931 OK 622, 6 P.2d 665, 154 Okla. 86, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 492
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 20, 1931
Docket19902
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1931 OK 622 (Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co. v. Poulter) 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
Jefferson Standard Life Ins. Co. v. Poulter, 1931 OK 622, 6 P.2d 665, 154 Okla. 86, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 492 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

CLARK, V. C. J.

This action was commenced in the district court of Carter county by defendant in error herein, Fred H. Poulter, against the plaintiff in error herein, Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, a corporation, for the recovery of $1,461.58 and interest thereon from the date of the filing of the suit.

Upon the trial of t'he said cause the jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant in error herein, plaintiff below. Plaintiff in error herein filed motion for a new trial, which was overruled, and brings the cause here for review by petition in error with the case-made attached.

The parties will be referred to as they app'eared in the court below.

The plaintiff alleged 'in his petition, in substance: That one M. A. Poulter, mother of t’he plaintiff, being the owner of certain property in the city of Ardmore, secured from the defendant herein a loan thereon and thereafter the defendant took' possession of said real estate, foreclosed its mortgage and bid in the property for the full amount of the unpaid debt, attorney fees and court cost, and thereby took and accepted said property in frill settlement of said mortgage loan.

That during the period from May, 1925, to October, 1925, both inclusive, defendant *88 corporation had, as its local agent in Oklahoma with offices at Oklahoma City, one H. E. Moen, who was then and there in charge of the affairs of said corporation in so far as they p'ertained to collections made on loans; that during all of said period of time defendant held out to the public, said H. E. Moen, as its local representative, permitting him and presenting him in such position to hold himself out as such representative; that by reason thereof, M. A. Poulter was induced to and did deal with H. E. Moen, as representative of defendant. That during said period of time, M. A. Poulter paid to defendant, through its agent H. E. Moen, the total sum of $1,351.35, as evidenced by checks set out in the petition, all of which checks were duly cashed and bearing the indorsement of H. E. Moen.

Plaintiff alleged that none of the sums of money were credited on said loan, but defendant corporation, through its agent, H. E. Moen, wrongfully kept and retained said money. That the mortgage indebtedness was fully paid and discharged from other sources. That defendant collected 7 per cent, interest on the whole of the mortgage indebtedness and did not reduce the interest charged by reason of the payments. Plaintiff says that, in addition to the sums of money represented by checks, there should be allowed thereon 7 per cent, interest from the date of the respective checks to the 4th day of October, 1926.

Plaintiff further alleges that by reason of said acts the defendant became liable to M. A. Poulter for money had and received for the use and benefit of M. A. Poulter in the amount sued for. That for a good and valuable consideration, M. A. Poullor sold and assigned her claim to plaintiff, attaching a copy of said assignment as an exhibit to petition. Plaintiff alleged that no part of said indebtedness had been paid; by reason thereof the plaintiff is entitled to judgment in the sum of $1,-461.58. together with interest thereon at 6 per cent, and the cost of the filing of the suit.

Plaintiff thereafter filed amendment to the petition, alleging that defendant, acting through its agent, wrongfully and fraudu-’ently prevented M. A. Poulter from pleading said payments when plaintiff brought suit on the mortgage indebtedness by orally representing to M. A. Poulter, through lmr agmt, ,T. A. Poulter. that said sums of money paid, as aforesaid, had been kept in a separate account and same would be immediately refunded to M. A. Poulter, and she was thereby deceived and misled and prevented from pleading the said payment as defense to said action. That said representations were made by defendant for the wrongful and fraudulent purpose and intent of deceiving and misleading M. A. Poulter, thereby preventing her from pleading said payments, and defendant proceeded to take judgment for the full amount claimed against the said M. A. Poulter, over and above the amount of said payments, and to collect the said judgment in full and it still holds the sums of money collected from M. A. Poulter, as aforesaid.

The motion to make more definite and certain by requiring plaintiff to state who wrongfully and fraudulently prevented M. A. Poulter from pleading the payments was overruled by the court, for the reason that the information asked for was stated in the original petition.

The demurrer of the defendant, that the amended petition did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and showed on its face that there had been a previous adjudication, and that said adjudication is res adjudicata, and that the same constitutes a bar to this action, was overruled by the court.

Thereafter defendant filed its answer by way of general denial, admitted the execution of the mortgage and the foreclosure action, and alleged that it set up in its suit nonpayment of the indebtedness, except the sum of $89.24. That it had no knowledge or information that the money described in plaintiff’s petition had been paid to H. E. Moen, and alleged that M. A. Poulter and J. H. Poulter filed answer to plaintiff’s petition in the foreclosure action; admitted the execution of notes, default in the payment thereof, and'alleged that there was due to plaintiff, and unpaid, the amount-set out in the petition. The foreclosure action came on for trial and defendant appeared in said action and made no defense to the petition and had a hearing upon the homestead rights as against their codefend-ants therein and judgment was rendered for the plaintiff for the full amount sued for.

Defendant further alleged that plaintiff was the son of M. A. Poulter and the claim was assigned to him after sa'id judgment and foreclosure of said property, and the claim is subject to all defenses that could be urged against M. A. Poulter. That if payments were made by M. A. Poulter to H. E. Moen, it was her duty to plead said payments in said action and in her pleading that the sa'id mortgage was in default, as plaintiff claimed, M. A. Poulter is *89 estopped to maintain this action, and the plaintiff, her assignee, is also estopped. That the judgment is res adjud'icata to the action brought hérein and binding on the plaintiff.

Defendant says it is not advised as to the agreement between H. E. Moen and M. A. Poulter with reference to said payments, and her failure to disclose sa’id payment was a fraud on defendant, and if any payments were made to H. E. Moen, with secret agreement, that the agreement was fraudulent against defendant, and M. A. Poulter is now estopped from bringing this action, and the plaintiff herein, her as-signee, is also estopped.

Defendant further denies that H. E. Moen was authorized by it to collect money from M. A. Poulter and retain the same and not apply the same upon the indebtedness. That the arrangement was a transaction between themselves in which H. E. Moen was acting as agent of M. A. Poul-ter. Defendant is in no wise bound by his contract or agreement. That ’if any" agreement was had between Moen and Poulter, such agreement was beyond any authority held by the said H. E. Moen and it is in no way binding upon this defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
1931 OK 622, 6 P.2d 665, 154 Okla. 86, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 492, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jefferson-standard-life-ins-co-v-poulter-okla-1931.