Jones v. Noe

71 Ind. 368
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1880
DocketNo. 6591
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 71 Ind. 368 (Jones v. Noe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Noe, 71 Ind. 368 (Ind. 1880).

Opinion

Woods, J.

The first question in this case arises upon the overruling of the demurrer to the amended fourth paragraph of answer.

The complaint is in the ordinary form for the foreclosure of a mortgage, and for judgment on a promissory note secured by the mortgage.

The answer in question is, that said note and mortgage were given for a part of the purchase-priee of certain real estate; that on June 7th, 1870, and on May 9th, 1871, the plaintiff attempted, by deeds of general warranty, to convey to the defendant Valentine Noe, in fee simple, a farm in White Water township, in Eranklin county, Indiana, copies of which deed's are made a part of the answer.

That said deeds contained a covenant on the part of the plaintiff', that he had the right to convey, and was the lawful and rightful owner of 16 T7A acres of land, which [370]*370is particularly described; and that said real estate was pretended to be conveyed by the plaintiff to said defendant by said deeds, and was a part of the consideration of the note and mortgage sued on.

That said real estate was held adversely by Hamilton Ashby, by a title in fee. simple, and the same was in the possession of said Ashby, at the time of the conveyance by the plaintiff to said defendant, and has ever since remained in said Ashby’s possession, and is of the value of $900.

That, by said deeds, the, plaintiff also pretended to convey to the defendant Valentine 28 x8ff% acres of land, which is particularly described, which was a part of the consideration for the note and mortgage sued on; that, at the time of the execution of said deeds, said real estate was, and ever since has been, in the possession of John Rudicel and Margaret Montgomery, or their grantees, and was and is now held by them, by title in fee simple, adversely to the plaintiff; that the plaintiff had no title thereto, and the same is of the value of $1,000.

That before and at the time of the making of said note and mortgage, and at the time of the execution of said deeds, the plaintiff pointed out to the defendant the corners and lines of the real estate for which the note and mortgage were executed, and stated that he would convey, and had conveyed, to said defendant, all the lands within the lines and corners so by him pointed out and designated, and that he had the right to convey the same, and could make the defendant Valentine a good title therefor.

But that, for the purpose of cheating the defendants, the plaintiff left out of said deeds 18 acres of land, of the value of $1,500, which land was within the corners and lines as pointed out by the plaintiff’ to the defendants, and which land was a part of the consideration of said note and mortgage.

A particular description of the land last referred to is [371]*371here given; and the answer proceeds: That, at the time of the sale of the real estate by the plaintiff to said Valentine, and at the time said deeds and note and mortgage were made, the plaintiff falsely and fraudulently represented that he had authority to, and could and would, make the defendant Valentine a good deed, in fee simple* for the several parcels of land above described, and that said deeds contained all of said lands, and that he had a right to sell and convey the same.

That the defendants never came into the possession of the lands above particularly described and pretended to be conveyed ; that said Valentine relied on said representations of the plaintiff as being true, and was induced thereby to accept said deeds, and thereby suffered damages in the sum of f4,000. Wherefore, etc.

To this answer, it is objected :

1. That the allegations of fraudulent acts ana representations are not pleaded as having reference to the deed, note and mortgage executed June 7th, 1870, as a sole contract, but intermingled with an alleged subsequent contract [deed] of May 9th, 1871.

2. That.it is not alleged that the appellee Valentine Noe had not both the means and the opportunity, with ordinary diligence, to have fully informed himself as to the precise location and value of the lands he was purchasing and would receive under the deed of June 7th, 1870.

3. That the answer is bad, so far as it refers to want of title, as it admits the deed and possession under it, and does not allege eviction or paramount title to any of the lairds conveyed by the deed of June 7th, 1870, which lands are precisely the same as are covered by the mortgage.

4. That it is shown upon the face of this answer, that the pretended fraudulent representations and acts were done and made with reference to lands lying north of the White Water river; whilst the lands belonging to the estate of [372]*372Robertson Jones, conveyed by the deed of June 7th, 1870, were all south of that river and so located by the deed accepted by Valentine Roe.

There may be much in some phases of these objections; but so far as they rest on the alleged intermingling of the averments concerning the deed and mortgage of June 7th, 1870, and the deed of May 9th, 1871, there is nothing in them. If, in fact, the two deeds were executed upon the same consideration, and the second was made, as on its face it expressly purports to have been made, for the purpose of correcting any errors in the former deed, there is no apparent reason why a plea of fraud in reference to the transaction may not be predicated on facts connected with both deeds.

Appellant presses the argument, that all verbal statements and negotiations are merged in the first deed and notes and mortgage of June, 1870, and that it is not competent for the defendant to aver or show by parol that the notes and mortgage were given for any thing else than the land described in said deed and mortgage. It is well settled in this State, that the consideration of a contract or deed is always, as between the immediate parties thereto, open to inquiry, and this inquiry may go to the extent of showing a consideration different from that expressly stated in the contract or deed. Rockhill v. Spraggs, 9 Ind. 30; Jones v. Jones, 12 Ind. 389 ; McMahan v. Stewart, 23 Ind. 590; Stearns v. Dubois, 55 Ind. 257 ; Headrick v. Wisehart, 57 Ind. 129.

This answer seems to have been drawn in part with a view of showing a breach of the covenant of seizin claimed to be contained in said deeds ; but no ground for relief in this respect is shown. It is not averred 'that the testator had conferred any authority on the executor to enter into any covenants, and if, without such authority, an executor does convey with covenants, they will, if obligatory at all, [373]*373be deemed to be the personal covenants of the- executor. See Rawle on Covenants,' 571-573.

Indeed, the circuit judge gave the case to the jury as one resting on the charge of fraud only, and instructed ‘that, if no fraud was shown to have been practised on the defendant by the plaintiff, the verdict should be for the plaintiff.

The plaintiff insists that no representations of fact are shown to have been made, on which the defendant did and could properly rely. The plea is certainly not free from apparent objection on the ground stated, but we do not deem it necessary to consider the question now.

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Bluebook (online)
71 Ind. 368, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-noe-ind-1880.