Kerns v. Warden

1923 OK 77, 213 P. 70, 88 Okla. 297, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 632
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 6, 1923
Docket11773
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 1923 OK 77 (Kerns v. Warden) 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
Kerns v. Warden, 1923 OK 77, 213 P. 70, 88 Okla. 297, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 632 (Okla. 1923).

Opinion

COCHRAN, J.

Defendants in error filed this action for the recovery of 30 acres of land in Stephens county, and to cancel a deed by Bulah Warden to W. B. Green and conveyance of the mineral rights executed by Bulah Warden to L. H. Kerns. The parties will be referred to herein as plaintiffs and defendants as they appeared in the trial court. The tract in controversy was located in section 27, and it, together with a tract of 100 acres located in section 34, was a portion of the allotment of Bulah Warden, nee Landrum. The tract in section 27 cornered with the tract in section 34, and the two tracts were separated by a section line road. Bulah Landrum was married to L. M. Warden in 1915. In 191S, Bulah Warden executed the conveyance of the land in controversy, which is sought to be canceled by this action, and the husband, L. M. Warden, failed to join in such conveyance. Plaintiffs claim that the 30 acres in controversy was a part of their homestead and the conveyances executed by Bulah Warden, in which the husband did not join, were void. A jury was impaneled to try the case, and, after the introduction of testimony, the court sustained a demurrer to defendants’ testimony, discharged the jury, and entered judgment for the plaintiffs.

The defendants have prosecuted this appeal and present for our consideration the action of the trial court in sustaining a demurrer to the defendants’ testimony. The undisputed testimony shows that there was no house, barn, or other improvements on the 30 acres in controversy; that Bulah Warden was living with her father on the lands in section 34 at the time of her marriage to L. M.' Warden; that the lands in both- sections were being cultivated at that time by her father as her tenant; that no *298 house, barn,' or other impí/óvements' were placed" on' the' lands in section 27' at any time prior to the sale ’of such lands. There wa'js'-'áíso' certain disputed testimony, viz., the .plaintiff, L. M.. farden, testified that after he and Bulah were married, lie helped; Mr. Landrum gather the- crop on the place that year; that in 1916 .and 1917 he worked a portion of the land in sections 34 apcl pi, and a portion of the land was worked by'jfctri Landrum-; that in 1918 he did not begin a crop, but entered the army in the early part of the year, and was gone from . that time until 1919; , that he cultivated about one-half of the cultivated lands in section; 27- in ■ the' years ' 1916 and 1917. The witnesses,- Green and Angie, testified that Warden did not cultivate any "portion ■ of the laúd in section 27 in the years Í916 and 19.17, or., perform any other acts indicating its use' as ■ a homestead. The defendants introduced .in evidence an affidavit made by Mrs. Warden at the time the conveyances were executed.in which she stated that the 30 acres in controversy had never been used or, occupied as part of the homestead and had .never been claimed by them as,a part, of the homestead. . Neither Mr. Landrum nor Mrs. Warden testified on this, question in the trial .-of the ease.

The -question for our determination is-whether this) evidence of the defendants-raised a sufficient question of fact to require the trial court to overrule the demurrer to the evidence. In considering this question, it is immaterial whether we consider the 130 acres of land, which were owned by Bulah Warden prior to the conveyances in controversy, as one tract or separate parcels. This court has heretofore held in the case of McCray v. Miller, 78 Okla. 16, 184 Pac. 781, that the fact of ownership alone by the head of a family of but one tract of land (not within the limits of a city, town, or village), consisting of not to exceed 160 acres, is not sufficient to impress the land with the homestead character where the owner does not reside thereon, never has, and has made no preparation or evinced any intention of so doing. Mr. Justice Rainey in the opinion defined a homestead as follows:

“The word has been many times defined, and it has been held that it has both a popular and a legal signification: that in its popular sense it signifies the place of the home, the residence of the family; and that it represents the dwelling house in which the family resides, with the usual, customary appurtenances, including the outbuildings of every kind necessary or convenient for family use, and the lands used for the purposes.”

Artier' citing numerous . authorities,r ’ Mr. J.usti'ce..Rainey .concludes: ’.

;,“We deem it unnecessary to elaborate, if indeed: it--is possible, upon the meaning of the word ‘homestead’ for we agree with the authorities which hold that it has both a popular and a legal signification; that its popular and legal, meaning is the same, as hereinbefore defined: and that the .word ‘homestead’ as employed in section 1, art. 12, of our Constitution, is to be taken and applied according to the common and popular understanding of its meaning, • which is in accordance with the ordinary rule of construction. Therefore, it is our opinion that where, as in • this, ease, tbe head of a family in this state is the owner of but one tract of land (not within the limits of any city, town, .or village) consisting of not more than 160 acres, -the fact of- ownership alone is not sufficient to impress the land with the homestead character where said owner does not reside thereon, never lias, and has made no preparation or eiim-ed any intention of so doing.”

In the same case, in discussing tbe following proviso, to wit:

“That any temporary .renting of the homestead shall not change the character of the same where no other homestead has been acquired”

—he said:

“Tbe language of this proviso clearly imports that tiie land claimed as a homestead must 'have been impressed with the homestead character, and that when so impressed any temporary renting thereof will not change such character when no other homestead has been acquired.”

In McDonald et al. v. Miller et al., 77 Okla. 97, 186 Pac. 957, the question was presented as to whether 40 acres of land was a part of the homestead where the parties lived on 33 acres in the same section and one-half mile from the 40 acres in controversy, a,nd the plaintiffs had never resided upon the 40 acres. The court held that the question as to whether such land had been selected and impressed with the homestead character was a question of fact for the court and jury to determine under all the facts and circumstances in the ease and quoted, with approval, from the case of Foley v. Holtkamp, 28 Tex. Civ. App. 123, 66 S. W. 891, as follows:

“A homestead may be created by intention prior to actual occupancy, when it appears that the owner is entitled to the exemption as the head of a family, and that this intention has been manifest by such acts as amount to reasonably sufficient notice of that intention; the purpose of the law being to require such open evidence of this intention as will prevent the use of this right as a shield for fraud.”

*299 In Brixius v. Reimringer et al. (Minn.) 112 N. W. 273, two separate ten-acre parcels of land, touching at the corners between which was a regular roadway, were involved and the court held:

“It is not material whether respondents acquired a legal highway between the two parcels.

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

Related

In Re Klaus
228 B.R. 475 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1999)
In Re Kretzinger, Kretzinger
103 F.3d 943 (First Circuit, 1996)
In Re Helmuth
92 B.R. 494 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1988)
In Re Shields
85 B.R. 582 (N.D. Oklahoma, 1988)
C & C Tile and Carpet Co., Inc. v. Aday
697 P.2d 175 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1985)
Opinion No. (1984)
Nebraska Attorney General Reports, 1984
Exchange Nat. Bank of Tulsa v. Rose
103 P.2d 496 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1940)
Morey v. James
1928 OK 704 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1928)
Orwig v. Cloud
1925 OK 161 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1925)
Harris v. Watts
226 P. 40 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
Brattain v. Hite
1924 OK 320 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
Bowman v. Lamb
1924 OK 236 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
Weitz v. Richardson
1923 OK 1013 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)
Williams v. Watkins
1923 OK 724 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1923 OK 77, 213 P. 70, 88 Okla. 297, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 632, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kerns-v-warden-okla-1923.