Lamb v. Alexander

1921 OK 69, 201 P. 519, 83 Okla. 292, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 363
Supreme Court of Oklahoma·Decided March 1, 1921·No. 11152·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

NICHOLSON, J.

This action was commenced on the 2nd day of June, 1913, in the district court of Okmulgee county, by Taylor Hardridge against Prank P. Lamb and M. M. Alexander and others, to recover certain real estate lying in said county, and to have title thereto quieted in the plaintiff. Alexander filed ‘his answer and cross-petition, claiming that he was the owner of an undivided one-half of the south 30 acres of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 27, township 15 north, range 14 east, being a portion of the land set out in plaintiff’s petition, the legal title to the same being in Prank P. Lamb, Ins eodefend-ant, but that said Lamb held said land in trust for himself and defendant Alexander; that Alexander and Lamb acquired title to said land of Eli Hardridge through and by virtue of a contract of employment as attorneys, to render legal services to said Eli Hardridge in an action for the partition of certain lands in Okmulgee county, of which this 30 acres was a part; that in said action said Hardridge was successful, and in pursuance of said contract of employment said 30 acres was deeded to Prank P. Lamb in trust for the use and benefit of Lamb and Alexander; and, further, that by reason of a contract of dissolution of said partnership between Lamb and Alexander, Lamb agreed to hold in trust said land and convey an undivided one-half thereof to Alexander; and praying the court to decree that the deed taken by the defendant Lamb ¡from Eli Hardridge on the 2nd day of May, 1912, was taken by him in trust for tlic use and benefit of said Lamb and Alexander, and that said Alexander is the owner in fee of said undivided one-half interest in and to . said lands.

Lamb filed answer to said cross-petition, admitting the partnership between himself and Alexander, and the dissolution thereof, but denied that Hardridge employed Lamb and Alexander as alleged in said cross-petition, and avers that said Hardridge employed said Prank P. Lamb as his attorney to prosecute said action. He admits the execution of the contract of dissolution and claims that he carried out the terms thereof by conveying certain lands (.other than the 30 acres in controversy) to A. D. Adcock upon the order of Alexander, and avers that the 30-acre tract was conveyed to him in consideration of other legal services rendered by him to said Hardridge after dissolution of the partnership of Lamb and Alexander, and avers that said Alexander has no right, title, or interest in and to said 30-acre tract.

•On the 19th day of June, 1915, said issues between Lamb and Alexander were tried and judgment for Alexander rendered. Prom this judgment Lamb appealed to this court, aiid the judgment of the trial court was reversed and the cause remanded, with directions to grant a new trial; the ground of reversal being that the trial court erred in excluding certain evidence offered by Lamb tending to prove that the 30 acres was conveyed to him in payment for services rendered by Lamb, and not in consideration of services rendered under the contract of employment. Lamb v. Alexander, No. 7789, 74 Oklahoma, 179 Pac. 587. Upon the second trial, judgment was again rendered for .the defendants in error, and from this judgment Lamb brings error.

In the brief of plaintiff in error it is urged, first, that the court erred in giving judgment for Alexander upon the proof in the record, for the reason that there was no substantial compliance with the requirement in the contract dated April 6, 1907, known as the condition precedent; second, that the defendant in error Alexander, as an attorney at law, having accepted a judgeship, cannot recover for alleged services rendered after accepting such judgeship, either directly or indirectly; third, that the facts of this ease do not support the findings that a trust resulted; fourth, that if there is anything due Alexander, he could “only recover the same in an action for an accounting.

All of these questions were presented in the former appeal of this cause and were necessarily considered by the court there, and decided adversely to the contention of the plaintiff in error. The rule is that *294 when a case is brought a second time on error to this court, the first decision will be deemed the settled law of the case, not merely as to all questions actually presented, but as to all questions existing in the record and necessarily involved in the decision. A. J. Harwi Hardware Co. v. Klippert et al., 73 Kan. 783; Oklahoma City Electric, Gas & Power Co. v. Baumhoff, 21 Okla. 503, 96 Pac. 758; Wellsville Oil Co. v. Miller et al., 48 Okla. 386, 150 Pac. 186; Kingfisher Improvement Co. v. Talley, 51 Okla. 226, 151 Pac. 873; Childs et al. v. Cook, 68 Oklahoma, 174 Pac. 274; Midland Valley R. Co. v. Ezell, 62 Okla. 109, 162 Pac. 228; Ezell v. Midland Valley R. Co., 73 Oklahoma, 174 Pac. 781; St. Louis & S. F. R. Co. v. Hardy, 45 Okla. 423, 146 Pac. 38.

On the former appeal of this case, the eoiirt held that the defendant in error could maintain the action upon the contract of dissolution, the second paragraph of the syllabus reading:

“Where the liabilities of a copartnership have been discharged, and the partners have entered into a contract dissolving the same and settling all the partnership affairs between themselves, and the contract of settlement has been executed by both parties, except as to one particular partnership transaction regarding which one of the partners fails and refuses to perform the contract, the other partner may maintain an action against him to enforce the contract in regard to such transaction.”

The court necessarily considered all the aforementioned questions presented, and which are again presented here, in arriving at its conclusion, and the same will not bo made a subject of re-examination in this appeal, but the decision there will be deemed the settled law of the case.

The fourth paragraph of the syllabus of the opinion in the former appeal sets out the reason for reversal, and is as follows:

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Lamb v. Alexander, 1921 OK 69, 201 P. 519, 83 Okla. 292, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 363 (Okla. 1921).

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