Langley v. Hamilton

1927 OK 300, 259 P. 575, 127 Okla. 35, 1927 Okla. LEXIS 254
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 20, 1927
Docket17625
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1927 OK 300 (Langley v. Hamilton) 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
Langley v. Hamilton, 1927 OK 300, 259 P. 575, 127 Okla. 35, 1927 Okla. LEXIS 254 (Okla. 1927).

Opinion

DIFFENDAFFER, C.

This is an action brought against the defendant and 51 others for the foreclosure of alleged tax liens on 27 separate tracts or lots of land in Osage county.- The action is brought under the provisions of chapter .12, Session Laws 1925. The petition in part is as follows:

“Comes now the above-named plaintiff, and for 16 causes of action against each of the defendants named in the caption hereof, states:

“That said plaintiff is the owner and holder (through due and legal assignments, purchases and deliveries) of the hereafter described tax certificates, executed and issued on the 5th day of November, 1923, by Leander Dixon, as county treasurer of Dsage county, Okla.; to W. C. Foster, in consideration of the full payment of the taxes, interest. penalties, and charges for which said certificates were issued and sold as aforesaid to said W. C. Foster (who thereafter on the-day of-19 — , in writing assigned' each of said certificates to the plHintiff) as shown by plaintiff’s exhibit ‘A’ hereto attached and made a part hereof, which, with the exception of the amounts, 'dates and descriptions, constitutes an exact copy of each of said certificates, together with the amount of subsequent taxes paid thereon and the date of such payment and the amount thereof paid by plaintiff (and his assignor) and description of the real estate in each of said causes- of action as follows, to wit:

Causes No. of Amt. Amt. Date Description of of Cert. Pd. Sub. Sub. Real Estate
Action for Tax Pd.
Cert. Pd. Sec. Twp. R.
1. 21447 14.57 N^N.W.i
25 24 11.
“(Here follows description and number of 22 other certificates and tracts of land, together with amount and date of payment of subsequent taxes on some 13 thereof.)
“That the records of the county clerk and court clerk of said county, show that the defendants named in the caption of this petition have or claim some right, title, interest, tax or assessment in and to the real estate described herein in each of said causes of action, the exact nature of which is unknown to plaintiff but which constitutes a cloud on plaintiff’s title, -but plaintiff states that same is junior and inferior to the lien and title of plaintiff.”

To the petition was attached a copy'of county treasurer’s certificate of tax sales, No. 21405, dated November 5, 1923, describing the S. XV. X4, sec. 13, twp. 23, range 10, which tract is not described in any of the certificates described and numbered in the petition, together with indorsement thereon of payment of additional taxes.

On December 21, 1925, defendant, Wm. S. Hamilton, filed, a motion to make more definite and certain, as follows:

“Comes now Wm. S. Hamilton and shows to the court the following state of facts and asks the court for the relief hereinafter outlined.
“1. T&at summons in this case was served on this movant; that one of the parties named defendant in the above-entitled cause of action is W. S. Hamilton; that this movant’s name which he always uses in business transactions is Wm. S. Hamilton, but that he is many times referred to as W. S. Hamilton, and that summons was served upon him in this cause of action. '
“2. That the petition filed herein described 27 different tracts of real estate in Osage county, OkláT; that there is a general blanket clause in said petition saying that the defendants, including W. S. Hamilton, claim some right, title, and interest in and to said tracts of land, or one of them, that the movant does not know why his name was used as one of the defendants herein; he does not recall whether or not he has ever been connected with any of the tracts of land set forth in plaintiff’s petition; that he does not want to file á disclaimer, neither does he want to file an answer herein until he is furnished with sufficient information to know why he was named defendant herein, or to know whether or not he is the party who was intended to be named' as defendant; that he does not care to go to the expense and- 'trouble of examining the title of 27 tracts of land in this county in order to •know why his name was used as a defendant herein.
“3. For the reasons hereinbefore set forth this movant asks the court to require the plaintiff to make his petition more specific, definite and certain in the following respects, to wit:
“(a) That the said petition show in which of the said 27 tracts of land this mov-ant is supposed to own an interest.
“(b) That the said petition set forth the nature of the interest which this movant is supposed, to have in the said tract of land.
“(c) That the said petition set forth *37 copies of whatever instruments purport to show an interest on the part of this movant in said land.
“Wherefore, movant asks the court to require the plaintiff to make his petition more specific, definite and certain in order to cover the above three requests.”

A number of the other defendants filed similar motion, containing the request as made by; Wm. S. Hamilton in subdivision (a) of paragraph 3 in his inotioip

On January 4, 1926, the court sustained the motion of defendant, Hamilton, in part as follows:

“It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed by the court that the motion of the defendant, Wm. S. Hamilton, to require the plaintiff to make his petition more specific, definite, and certain, be sustained, in that the plaintiff be required to describe in which one of the 27 tracts of land or real estate the said Wm. S. Hamilton is alleged to claim some right, title, interest, or estate, to which order of the court the plaintiff excepts and his exceptions are allowed.”

The motion was overruled as to all other parts. Plaintiff thereafter, on January 7th, filed a request to reconsider the order sustaining defendant’s motion, which request was denied, and the journal entry of the court denying this request then reads:

“It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed by the court, that the motion to reconsider be denied, and the same is hereby overruled and denied, to which action of the court plaintiff excepts. The plaintiff announces in open court that he will stand on his present pleadings and refuses to plead further. On said announcement being made by the plaintiff, on motion by the attorney for the defendant, Wm. S. Hamilton, plaintiff’s action and suit is dismissed for his refusal to comply with the order of the court and his refusal to plead further.”

From order and judgment, plaintiff brings this appeal.

Plaintiff assigns four specifications of errors, but argues them all under one proposition :

“The court erred in sustaining defendant’s motion to make plaintiff’s petition more definite and certain by stating in which one of the tracts described in the petition defendant was claiming some interest, and in dismissing plaintiff’s action for refusal to plead further.

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Bluebook (online)
1927 OK 300, 259 P. 575, 127 Okla. 35, 1927 Okla. LEXIS 254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/langley-v-hamilton-okla-1927.