Judson v. Solomons

185 S.E.2d 821, 257 S.C. 343, 1971 S.C. LEXIS 257
CourtSupreme Court of South Carolina
DecidedDecember 29, 1971
Docket19341
StatusPublished

This text of 185 S.E.2d 821 (Judson v. Solomons) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Judson v. Solomons, 185 S.E.2d 821, 257 S.C. 343, 1971 S.C. LEXIS 257 (S.C. 1971).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

This action arises out of the same facts and circumstances and involves the identical parties and issues as were previously before this Court. 254 S. C. 144, 174 S. E. (2d) 151. We remanded this case to the lower court with instructions to bring all necessary parties before the court, to allow amendments to raise the issues of legal tender, validity of the option, and other relevant issues of law and fact.

Upon remand, one of the original defendants, S. B. Solomons, who is now Respondent, brought a supplemental action against the Executors of the Estate of William E. Salomons and all of the residuary beneficiaries of the Estate of William E. Solomons, including the original plaintiffs. The summons and complaint in the supplemental action brought before the Court all necessary parties and raised the issues of legal tender, validity of the option and estoppel on the part of the original plaintiffs.

All residuary beneficiary defendants in the supplemental action executed a disclaimer, with the exception of the original plaintiffs, who are now appellants. An answer was filed on behalf o,f appellants.

By stipulation, this matter was again considered on the merits by Judge Julius B. Ness on all pleadings as well as the lease and option and the will of W. E. Solomons. The record on appeal of the previous case is made a part of the record of this appeal by reference.

By his Order dated March 30, 1971, Judge Ness, for the reasons stated therein, determined that the option in question was valid, that legal tender had been made by the respondent S. B. Solomons and that he was entitled to have the property in question conveyed to him.

This is an appeal from the Order of the lower court. After careful consideration of the record, in the light of the exceptions, we are convinced that the Order of Judge Ness prop[346]*346erly disposed of the issues raised. Let the Order appealed from be published as the opinion of the Court.

The judgment of the lower court is, accordingly,

Affirmed.

ORDER OF JUDGE NESS

William E. Solomons owned considerable real estate including a tract of 278 acres, more or less, in Hampton County. On November 23, 1964, pursuant to, the terms of a written instrument, he leased this 278 acre tract to his nephew, S. B. Solomons, for the years 1966 through 1970, terminating on January 1, 1971. In addition to the general provisions of the lease, the instrument contained the following language:

“In addition, this agreement is to acknowledge the desire of W. E. Solomons, hereinafter referred to as Owner, and to grant by the Owner, for the sum of $1.00, and other valuable consideration, an option to purchase to S. B. Solomons, hereinafter referred to as the Purchaser, to buy from the estate of the Owner, within one (1) year after the date of the Owner’s death, two parcels of adjoining land containing the above designated farm land and totaling 278 acres, more or less, at a price of $80.00 per acre or $22,240.00.”

On March 3, 1965, William E. Solomons executed his Last Will and Testament wherein he exhaustedly and in great detail, disposed of all of his real and personal property, but omitted any reference to the 278 acre tract which was the subject of the lease and option. The residuary clause of the Will named 29 nieces and nephews to share equally in the residue. Included among the residuary beneficiaries are S. B. Solomons, the purchaser under the option, and the five plaintiffs who originally instituted this actio,n to have the option declared null and void.

William E. Solomons died on March 19, 1967 and on April 4, 1967 his Will was admitted to probate in Hampton County.

[347]*347On or before June 30, 1967 and within ope (1) year after the death of William E. Solomons, S. B. Solomons, to whom the lease and option had been granted, paid to himself and to A. G. Solomons in their capacity as executors, the sum of $22,240.00 in payment for the tract of land described in the lease and option. On the same day the executors signed and delivered a deed conveying the land to S. B. Solomons individually.

On May 21, 1968, the original plaintiffs, five of the twenty-nine nieces and nephews of William E. Splomons listed as beneficiaries under the residuary clause of his Will, commenced an action to have the deed from the executors to S. B. Solomons declared null and void. By stipulation of the parties, this matter was heard by me on the pleadings, lease and option and the Will.

By my Order of September 15, 1969, I held that the option from W. E. Solomons to S. B. Solomons was valid and enforceable and that payment by S. B. Solomons to. the executors, for the benefit of the estate was a valid exercise of the option. I further held that the conveyance from the executors to S. B. Solomops was null and void for the reason that the executors had no power under the Will to convey real estate. It was therefore ordered that the purchase money in the hands of the executors be turned over to the Clerk of Court for Hampton County until further action could be taken by the parties to effect a final resolution of the dispute.

This Order was appealed in part to the Supreme Court of South Carolina by the plaintiffs and defendants. The Supreme Court issued its opinion on April 8, 1970 wherein the case was remanded to this Court with the following instructions:

“We are of the opinion that the rights of the parties involved in this litigation cannot properly be finally determined until all interested parties are brought into the action. Amendments bringing all necessary parties before the Court [348]*348should be allowed, as well as amendments raising the issue of legal tender, validity of the option and other relevant issues of law and of fact.”

In order to be fair, to everyone, I feel that it should be stated here that this Court was advised at the initial hearing that all the residuary beneficiaries which included all necessary parties, and their respective attorneys, had stipulated that they would be bound by the Court’s decision however for reasons unknown to this Court, this stipulation was not included within the record on appeal.

On remand, S. B. Solomons effected amendments to bring all persons before the Court that were interested as residuary beneficiaries under the Will of William E. Solomons. All such beneficiaries, with the exception of the original plaintiffs, have executed disclaimers to the real estate involved in favor of S. B. Solomons.

It appears to me that all persons having any interest in this controversy are again before the Court and that there exists no dispute among the parties as to the facts in this case. By stipulation this matter has again been considered on the pleadings as well as the lease and option and the Will of W. E. Solomons. It is conceded by both sides that there are only three relevant issues to be decided which will finally conclude this matter. As set forth in the brief on behalf of the original plaintiffs, those issues are as follows:

“1. The validity of the option;
“2. Was the payment of $22,240.00 to the executors of the estate of William E. Solomons ‘for the benefit of the estate’ a valid tender of the purchase money mentioned in the alleged option binding upon the residuary beneficiaries under Mr. Solomons’ Will; and
“3.

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Judson v. Solomons
174 S.E.2d 151 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1970)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
185 S.E.2d 821, 257 S.C. 343, 1971 S.C. LEXIS 257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/judson-v-solomons-sc-1971.