Kean v. Tilford

81 Ky. 600, 1884 Ky. LEXIS 18
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 16, 1884
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 81 Ky. 600 (Kean v. Tilford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kean v. Tilford, 81 Ky. 600, 1884 Ky. LEXIS 18 (Ky. Ct. App. 1884).

Opinion

■ JUDGE PRTOR

delivered the opinion op the court.

The Louisville Hotel and its appurtenancies were originally owned by M. Kean, Jas. W. Henning, and Joshua F. Speed. Kean owned one-half, J. W. Henning one-fourth, and Joshua [602]*602F. Speed one-fourth. Kean died, leaving a last will, and by-virtue of this will and certain equitable proceedings undetit, his half of the hotel property now belongs to L. R. Kean and his wife, J. Ella Kean, and Geo. M. Kean. L. R. Kean owns one-eighth, his wife, J. Ella Kean, one-eighth, and G. M. Kean one-fourth of the entire property.

Joshua Speed died, leaving a will by which he disposed of his one-fourth interest to his widow and to his brothers. and sisters. To his widow he devised one-half of his interest, and the other half to his ten brothers and sisters. He limited the interest in this property devised to three of his. sisters to an estate for life, and at their death their share to go to their brothers and sisters having children.

Philip Speed, a brother of Joshua Speed, died, and by his will devised his estate to his widow for life, and the remainder to his children, the issue of such as might be dead to take the place of their parents.

L. R. Kean had mortgaged his one-fourth of the estate toTilford and others, and this action was originally instituted' to subject this interest to the mortgage debt. His wife,, Ella Kean, owning one-eighth of the one-half of her husband’s interest by deed, was made a defendant. She is asking a sale of the entire estate, alleging that it is indivisible, or can not be divided without materially impairing its value- or the value of her interest, it being subject to the mortgage made by her husband. Henning, who owned a one-fourth-interest, filed an answer and cross-petition against all the parties in interest asking a sale of the entire property as indivisible.

George M. Kean, the infant defendant, who owns one-fourth of the property under the will of his father, is resisting a sale of the interest owned by him — first, because it is-[603]*603against his interest; second, the will of M. Kean expressly forbids the sale until he is twenty-eight years of age; and, lastly, maintains that there is no statutory authority for such, a proceeding. The court rendering a judgment for the sale-of the entire property, the infant defendant, by his guardian,, has appealed.

The death of Joshua Speed leaves his interest to pass by his will in the following proportions: To his widow ten-eightieths ; one-eightieth to each of seven brothers and sisters, and one-eightieth to each of three sisters for life, making' three-eightieths, with remainder over.

The death of two of the original owners of this common estate, and the disposition made by them of their property by last will, has created such a multiplicity of interests in the hotel as renders it essential to the interest of all that a sale should be made of the entire property. It is evident that the property can not be divided without materially impairing its value, and equally as manifest that to dispose of such an estate or property by subjecting minute interests in it to sale at different times would result in great loss to those now entitled. It.is not to be presumed that the present owners are in a-condition to run the hotel in common or as-, partners, and if there is no mode of changing the nature of the title through the chancellor, by a sale of the entire property for the benefit of all, the shares must continue to increase in number and decrease in value until the distributive share-of each would scarcely pay the owner for looking after it.

Kean, Henning, and Speed, holding as tenants in common-this property that was indivisible, or that could not be divided without materially impairing its value, might have instituted an action, the one against the other, and required a sale of the entife property under the statute; and this being the-[604]*604case, the one tenant, by making a disposition of his interest by deed or will to his children, or to a stranger, containing .a clause prohibiting a sale, can not take from his co-tenants •or joint owners the right to have the property sold if indivisible. Kean can not, by making a grant or devise of his interest, compel Henning and Speed to-sacrifice their inter■ests in order that the provisions of his will or grant may be ■carried out. Article 3 of chapter 67, General Statutes, and .subsection I of section 492, Civil Code, have reference to :sales of infants’ real estate on the petition of the guardian •or committee, and was not intended to be applied to sales ■of real estate held jointly when the property so held can not be divided without materially impairing its value, or the value of the plaintiff’s interest therein.

Section 490 of the Civil Code provides that “a vested •estate in real property, jointly owned by two or more persons, may be sold by order of a court of equity in an action brought by either of them, though the plaintiff or defendant be of unsound mind or an infant — first, if the share of each •owner be less than one hundred dollars; second, if the estate be in possession, and the property can not be divided without materially impairing its value, or the value of the plaintiff’s interest therein.” A similar provision is found in the •General Statutes, and the proceedings are not required to be regulated as in the cases of the sales of infants’ real estate. When a sale is made under section 490 of the Code, no ■bond is required to be executed to the infant before judgment, but his interest shall remain a lien on the land in the manner pointed out by section 497, bearing interest until the infant becomes of age, or until the guardian of the infant execute bond as is required by section 493. This provision •of the Code looked to the fact that the infant might be sued [605]*605by the joint owners, and as the latter would be entitled to a sale if the case was embraced by subsection 2 of section 490, the infant was made secure by retaining a lien on the land sold until his guardian executed a bond entitling him to receive the money.

In this case all the parties in interest are before the court and vested with the title. In the case of Philip Speed’s-will, he provides that after the death of his wife, his property shall be divided between his children, the children of any who may be dead receiving the share of the parent. This, was a vested interest. The same provision, in substance, is, found in the will of Joshua Speed. By codicil he devises an interest in his estate to three of his sisters for life — then to-the children of his other brothers and sisters. “The present capacity of taking effect in possession, if the possession were to become vacant, distinguishes a vested from a contingent remainder.” (Walter v. Crutcher, 15 B. M.) All the parties in interest who are sui juris are seeking to have-the entire property sold, and the testimony of those who are-familiar with the hotel is to the effect that it is not susceptible of division.

It is insisted by counsel for the infant that a unity of interest must exist, and a joint right of possession, to authorize a sale of the entire property. That all the unities of interest, title, time, and possession, creating a joint tenancy at the common law, must be found to exist in this case, or the chancellor is without power to adjudge a sale. Such is, not the meaning of the Code. A vested estate is all that is. necessary or required.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
81 Ky. 600, 1884 Ky. LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kean-v-tilford-kyctapp-1884.