Johnston v. Johnson

1924 OK 723, 230 P. 700, 104 Okla. 131, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 374
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 16, 1924
Docket13894
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1924 OK 723 (Johnston v. Johnson) 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
Johnston v. Johnson, 1924 OK 723, 230 P. 700, 104 Okla. 131, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 374 (Okla. 1924).

Opinion

Opinion by

THREADGILL, C.

In the trial court plaintiffs in error were defendants and defendant in error was plaintiff and they will be referred to herein as they appeared in the trial court. Plaintiff filed her petition January 27, 1919, in bringing suit against the defendants and alleged in substance that she and the defendant Johnston had a lawsuit over the title and possession of the S.W.% of S.E.% of section 6, T. 1 S., R. 3 W., in Garter county, and the same resulted in a judgment in favor of said Johnston and she took an appeal to the Supreme Court and gave a superse-deas bond to hold possession and stay execution till the cause was heard on appeal; that her appeal was filed in the Supreme Court June 30, 1918. numbered 10125; that she cultivated a crop on said premises during the year 1918, and in September the defendants forcibly took possession of the premises; that is said E. B. Johnston took posse sien and placed the defendant Tommie Williams in actual possession, who acted for and on behalf of defendant Johnston: that she had a crop of cotton, unpicked, and some corn and cane, all valued at about $500. and the defendants prevented her from gathering the same and allowed stock to enter and destroy the crop, and to her dam-apes in the sum of $500. She further alleges malice and oppression, to cheat and defraud her out of her title to the land, and asks for punitive damages in the sum of $500. A copy of the supersedeas bond for the appeal in the case mentioned was attached to the petition. The bond was in legal form and for $500 and indorsed “approved” by the 'court clerk on March 11, 1918. The defendants filed separate answers. Williams made general denial and pleaded that, if he took possession of the premises as alleged by plaintiff, it was done under and by virtue of a writ of possession out of the district court.

The same was not malicious, unlawful, or illegal in any respect whatsoever. Johnston made general denial and pleaded ownership as adjudged by the district court of Carter county, and his right of possession by virtue of said writs, processes, and orders, issued in said action, by the judge of the court, finding and adjudging that he was entitled to the iwssession of the premises. He especially denied the charge of maliciousness on taking possession while the appeal was pending, and he asks that the present action be stayed till the appeal. was passed on by the Supreme Court. Plaintiff filed reply of general denial and pleaded that she was in possession at the time she took the appeal and under her supersedeas bond she had the right to continue in possession until the appeal was passed on; that if the district court made an order dispt ssessing her, as alleged by the answers of the defendants, such order was void and without any force and effect. She pleaded further that if her present cause for damages should be stayed till the appeal was passed on it would be to her prejudice, and if the appeal was adverse to her the rights of the defendant Johnston would be limited to the rents for the premises and nothing more.

On November 18, 1921, defendant Johnston by leave of court filed amendment to his answer, pleading the decision of the Supreme Court in his favor in the appeal of the plaintiff. The issues were tried to a jury November 29, 1921, and resulted in a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiff for the sum of $500 and in favor of the defendant for rent in the sum of $105, making a verdict for plaintiff in the net sum of $395, and defendant Johnston appealed, alleging four assignments of error, in substance :

“1. Error of the court in overruling demurrer to plaintiff’s evidence. 2. Error in overruling motion of defendant for directed verdict. 3. Error in overruling motion for new trial. 4. Error in overruling motion for judgment non obstante vere-dicto.”

Defendant discusses his assignments under one proposition, that the court erred in holding that the plaintiff had a cause of action for the alleged trespass on this land for the summer or fall of 1918.

The plaintiff was in possession prior and at the time judgment was rendered against her in favor of the defendant January 24, 1918, and at the time her superse-deas bond was executed and approved for the appeal from the judgment, March 1, 1918, and it also appears from the record that, after the bond was executed and filed, the district court made an order April 8, 1918, staying execution pending the appeal and the appeal was filed in Supreme Court July 30, 1918. The record is sufficient to *133 show that the appeal was perfected in time and the bond was in compliance with paragraph 3, section 794, Comp. Stat. 1921. This paragraph reads as follows:

“When it directs the sale or delivery of ■possession of real property, the' undertaking shall be in such sum as may be prescribed by the court or the judge thereof, to the effect that during the possession of such property by the plaintiff in error, he will not commit, or suffer to be committed any waste thereon, and if the judgment be affirmed, he will pay the value of the use and occupation of the property from the date of the undertaking until the delivery of the possession, pursuant to the judgment and all costs. When the judgment is for the sale of mortgaged premises, and the payment of a deficiency arising from the sale, the undertaking must also provide for the payment of such deficiency.”

After the appeal was perfected, including the supersedeas bond, on September 3, 1918, defendant E. B. Johnston obtained an order from the district court rescinding the order of April 8, 1918, placing the plaintiff in possession and declaring the stay bond wholly insufficient and ordei'ing a writ of possession In favor of defendant. Defendant relies upon this order for his right of possession against plaintiff at the time she alleges the trespass was committed. This order was admitted in evidence over the objection of plaintiff. An order made by a judge of the Supreme Court on December 3. 1918, directing that plaintiff have- possession pending the appeal was offered in evidence but excluded by the court on the ground that it was made after the trespass. The plaintiff contends that the order of the district court April 8, 1918, was a void order and not competent, and we think this contention must be sustained. Section 794, Comp. Stat. 1921: In re Epley, 10 Okla. 631. 64 Pac. 18; Egbert v. Ry. Co., 50 Okla. 623, 151 Pac. 228; Short v. Cheney, 66 Okla. 258, 168 Pac. 425.

Defendant says this order was not subject to objection on collateral attack, but this court thinks that since it was a void order and made without jurisdiction, it was subject to attack in any proceeding. Lee v. Tonsor et al., 62 Okla. 14, 161 Pac. 804; Roth et al. v. Union Nat. Bank of Bartlesville et al.. 58 Okla. 604, 160 Pac. 505; Choi v. Turk, 55 Okla. 499. 154 Pac. 1000.

The defendant was allowed to introduce it. but it is not available as a defense, because there is no authority for it, and it is against both the letter and the spirit of the provisions for appeals.

Defendant further contends that there is no evidence that execution was ever stayed in the case where the plaintiff took her appeal.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Burnham v. Edwards
1927 OK 179 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1927)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1924 OK 723, 230 P. 700, 104 Okla. 131, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 374, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnston-v-johnson-okla-1924.