Kirtley v. Kirtley

1933 OK 218, 21 P.2d 36, 163 Okla. 114, 1933 Okla. LEXIS 647
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 8, 1933
Docket20636
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1933 OK 218 (Kirtley v. Kirtley) 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
Kirtley v. Kirtley, 1933 OK 218, 21 P.2d 36, 163 Okla. 114, 1933 Okla. LEXIS 647 (Okla. 1933).

Opinion

OSBORN, J.

This action was instituted in the district court of Cimarron county by O. E. Kirtley against Charles A. Kirtley and Mary Ellen Kirtley, his wife, to recover an interest in certain real estate which plaintiff alleges the parties had earned as profit in a real estate transaction. The cause was tried to the court and resulted in a judgment in favor of plaintiff, and defendants have appealed.

The record herein is voluminous and involves a great number .of transactions covering a period of several years, and we will state herein only the facts which are necessary in the determination of the issues X>resented by this appeal.

The petition of plaintiff alleges that a certain piece of property, known as Bivens' Ranch, in Cimarron county, was being foreclosed under a mortgage to the Commercial National Bank of Kansas City and certain other banks for a total indebtedness of $50,000, that the banks were offering to compromise and settle the entire indebtedness for $10,000; that about this time plaintiff and defendant, Charles A. Kirtley, entered into a verbal agreement whereby they agreed that they would try to find a purchaser for said ranch, and, in the event they were successful, that they would divide equally all profits or commissions made from the sale of said property.

Plaintiff alleges that they secured the services of one Orin Snapp, a real estate broker at Guthrie, to assist them in making the sale, and that plaintiff secured one B. W. Murphy as a purchaser for the Bivens’ Ranch; that they made a deal with Murphy whereby Murphy agreed to purchase the land and it was further agreed that the banks should continue the foreclosure proceeding, purchase the land at sheriff’s sale, and convey same to Murphy, with the exception of a portion of the ranch property known as the “Baker Ranch” and 320 acres of the land known as the “River Land”; that thereafter the deal was consummated, and the land deeded to Murphy by the banks after the sale under foreclosure.

Plaintiff alleges that it was their agreement and understanding that the profits of the transaction were to be divided between plaintiff, defendant, and Orin Snapp, and that the property known as the Baker Ranch was to be delivered to Bivens as a consideration for his allowing the case to proceed to judgment without contest; that as the profits of said transaction, plaintiff and defendant became the owners of the land known as the “Baker Ranch” in Cim-arron county and certain town property located at Guthrie, Britton, and Bristow, Okla. The three latter properties were to be deeded to them by Murphy as a part of the consideration for the purchase of the Bivens, Ranch, but deeds executed by Murphy were delivered to defendant, Charles A. Kirtley, with the name of the grantee omitted; that the defendant inserted in said deeds the name of his wife, Mary Ellen Kirtley, as grantee, and had the deeds recorded, and now refuses to account to plaintiff for his share in said property according to the terms of their original agreement.

The defendant; by way of answer, denied generally the allegations of plaintiff’s petition and denied that plaintiff had any right to share in the profits arising from the sale of the ranch, alleging that he was not a party to the transaction, and by way of cross-petition, pleaded a number of items, including checks and notes, which he alleged plaintiff owed him.

Plaintiff thereupon filed a reply, in which he pleaded a full settlement of the various items of indebtedness charged in the answer and cross-petition, and alleged certain other-indebtedness due him from the defendant. At the trial of the cause, the court found *116 that plaintiff was entitled to be declared tbe owner of an undivided one-third interest in the equities in the properties located at Guthrie, Britton, and Bristow, and the owner of an undivided one-half interest in the ' Baker Ranch” in Cimarron county, and further found that the property located in Britton had been sold, and that the equity of plaintiff in said property was $175, for which' amount he granted judgment. The court further found that there had been a complete settlement between the parties as to the items of indebtedness mentioned in defendant’s answer and cross-petition, and that the court had no jurisdiction to grant relief as to items of indebtedness set up in the reply of plaintiff.

The record shows that after the property in question had been placed in the name of Mrs. Kirtley, she deeded the property to her brother, H. L. Snell, said deed being without consideration, and that thereafter her brother deeded the same back to her. She testified, however, that these transactions were made on account of the attitude of Bivens, who was threatening to sue for the recovery of said property, and that they had reason to believe that Bivens would not sue if it was made to appear of record that the land had been transferred to another party. The record also shows that she executed a mortgage on the property to her father, claiming a pre-existing debt between them.

An examination of the record discloses a sharp conflict in the testimony of the witnesses for plaintiff and defendant in regard to the material issues in this case.

The defendant contends, first, that plaintiff’s recovery of an interest in the Baker Ranch is unwarranted by plaintiff’s own evidence. In this connection plaintiff testified that it was a part of the original contract between the parties that the Baker Ranch was to go to B. L. Bivens as a consideration for his allowing all of the property to go to judgment and sale without contest. The record is not clear as to why this property was not delivered to Bivens, but it is apparent that some misunderstanding had developed between the defendant Kirtley and Bivens, and that Kirtley was still holding title to this land. At the trial plaintiff conceded that the property was rightfully the property of Bivens, but contended that, unless it was delivered to Bivens, he was entitled to one-half of it according to the terms of their original contract.

Plaintiff testified that he was willing to deed his part of the said Baker Ranch to Bivens provided defendant would do the same. Defendant urges that plaintiff cannot recover an interest in this property since by his own testimony he admits that the property actually belongs to a third per. son. However, it must be borne in mind that 'Bivens is not a party to this suit, and, so far as this record is concerned, Bivens is making no claim to said lands-; consequently, the issues before this court a¡;e betwben plaintiff and defendant. Apparently the trial court found the facts regarding the original contract in plaintiff’s favor, and, by virtue thereof, held that, as between the parties 'hereto, plaintiff was entitled to an interest in the land. Defendant cannot justify his claim to the land by virtue of an interest of a third person who is not a party to this action. Since the court is not concerned with the rights of Bivens at this time, we must conclude that the trial court did not err in granting to plaintiff an interest in said land, unless Bivens asserts his rights therein, as this land came to defendant. as a part of the profits of said transaction.

Defendants further contend that the evidence is insitfflcient to justify a judgmenc against the defendant, Mary Ellen Kirt-ley, who holds the record title to the property in question.

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1933 OK 218, 21 P.2d 36, 163 Okla. 114, 1933 Okla. LEXIS 647, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirtley-v-kirtley-okla-1933.