Larch v. Holz

101 N.E. 127, 53 Ind. App. 56, 1913 Ind. App. LEXIS 166
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 14, 1913
DocketNo. 7,827
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 101 N.E. 127 (Larch v. Holz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Larch v. Holz, 101 N.E. 127, 53 Ind. App. 56, 1913 Ind. App. LEXIS 166 (Ind. Ct. App. 1913).

Opinion

Hottel, J.

— This is an action by appellee against appellants to set aside as fraudulent a mortgage executed by Walter H. Larch to appellant, Elizabeth Larch, who is the mother of Walter. Appellee filed with his complaint an affidavit and bond on which an order for writ of attachment was asked and obtained. During the pendency of the suit, Walter H. Larch died and Wilson Goodrich was appointed administrator of his estate and substituted as a defendant, whereupon a supplemental complaint was filed. A demurrer to the complaint was overruled and the cause put at issue by an answer in general denial. A trial of the cause by the court resulted in a finding and judgment for appellee setting aside the mortgage and for appellants on the attachment proceeding. A motion for new trial made by appellants was overruled and an appeal prayed. The errors assigned in this court and relied on for reversal call in question the sufficiency of the complaint to withstand a demurrer and the ruling on the motion for a new trial.

[59]*591. [58]*58The complaint contains the usual averments of a complaint of its character and the only objection urged against it is, that the supplemental complaint fails to aver what property Walter H. Larch owned at his death or that the administrator did not have in his hands assets sufficient to pay the [59]*59debts of said Walter. In support of this contention appellants rely on the eases of Cox v. Hunter (1881), 79 Ind. 590, 596; and Jarrell v. Brubaker (1898), 150 Ind. 260, 270, 49 N. E. 1050. The case at bar is easily distinguished from those cases. In those cases the administrator himself sought to set aside as fraudulent, conveyances made by his deceased grantor in his lifetime and subject the real estate so conveyed to sale- for the payment of the debts of such grantor. In such a case it was necessary, under the well-established rules of law, that the administrator before he could set aside such conveyances, should allege and prove that the decedent had no other property or assets out of which his debts might be paid in order to show the necessity of resorting to such real estate for such purpose. §§2848-2850 Burns 1908, § §2332-2334 R. S. 1881. Independent of the foregoing sections of statute, the action in each of the eases relied on by appellant, being by the administrator for and on behalf of the creditors of the fraudulent grantor, it would be necessary for such administrator to aver such facts as the creditors would themselves be required to aver, and this would require him to aver and prove that when the conveyance alleged to be fraudulent was made “the debtor was insolvent and did not have enough property subject to execution to pay his then existing debts, and that he had no property subject to execution when the suit was brought.” Cox v. Hunter, supra, 595, 596; Cannon v. Castleman (1905), 164 Ind. 343, 348, 73 N. E. 689, and authorities cited.

2. The supplemental complaint in this ease, relates back to the filing of the original complaint and ayerments in such supplemental and original complaint to the effect that Walter Larch had no other property at the time of such conveyance, or, at the time of the commencement of the action, out of which the debt could be made, fully complied with the demands of the law indicated by the foregoing decisions. The complaint was sufficient as against the objection urged.

[60]*603. In the discussion of the alleged error of the court in overruling appellants’ motion for a new trial it is very earnestly insisted that the decision of the court is not sustained by sufficient evidence. The facts disclosed by the evidence about which there seems to be no dispute are in substance as follows: On February 23, 1906, Walter Larch borrowed of appellee $2,000 for which he gave his note with his father, Aaron Larch, as surety. Aaron Larch died testate,October 3,1906, (We quote from appellee’s brief.) “and left all of his property real and personal to his wife, Elizabeth Larch, the appellant, during her life, with poWer of disposing of the personalty but the remainder in fee of personalty and real estate, in certain specified parts, to his four children, Walter being one of them. To Walter was left forty-five acres in Warren County and'a house and lot in Ambia, Benton County, subject to his mother’s life estate, also a certain legacy in money if so much was on hand at the death of the widow, Elizabeth. Walter Larch and his mother, Elizabeth Larch, were appointed executor and executrix. While the estate was pending in court, Walter Larch paid Holz the interest as it accrued on the note * * *. The final account in the Aaron Larch estate was made and sworn to, January 5, 1909, and on the same day * * * Walter Larch executed to his mother a mortgage on all the real estate devised him in his father’s will, excepting some six acres which was omitted from the mortgage by the mistake of the scrivener, to secure a note purporting to have been executed by Walter to his mother, December 2, 1908, for $3600 which was afterwards reduced to $3440. Walter Larch had bought and moved on a farm in Michigan some thirteen months prior and was living there with his wife when this action was brought * * *. Walter owed his father at the time of the father’s death, a note for $180. After Walter was appointed executor he, as executor, drew from the bank at Ambia, $1,100 of the estate fund * * * and gave his mother his personal note for the money. Walter owed John [61]*61Gay a $2,000 note on which his brother, Perry, and another were security. At the solicitation and persuasion of Perry, his mother, Elizabeth, paid off this $2,000 Gay note. * * * About a month aftérwards, Mrs. Larch went to Michigan and brought Walter back with her to Indiana, that there had been difficulty in getting Walter to come back to make settlement. At Mr. Sutton’s office in Williamsport on January 5, 1909, * * * Walter executed to his mother the mortgage purporting to cover all the real estate devised him in his father’s will to secure this note that was dated December 2, 1908.” It is insisted by appellee that these facts in effect show, that Walter stripped himself of all his property, and with the knowledge of his mother prevented Holz from realizing on his note; that Elizabeth Larch by interfering in the payment of the Gay note in the manner stated, instead of leaving Gay and Holz an equal opportunity to make their respective debts off of Walter, practiced a fraud on appellee which was knowingly contributed to and. participated in by Walter.

In addition to the facts before quoted from appellee’s brief, the undisputed evidence discloses further facts as follows : the will of Aaron Larch, deceased, was probated December 17, 1906, and said Walter and Elizabeth qualified as executor and executrix and on the next day, to wit: December 18, filed an inventory showing personal property appraised at $2,399.20. There was cash in the bank and notes belonging to said estate aggregating several thousand dollars, which for some reason were not placed on the inventory. The deceased, Aaron Larch, left ample property, both real and personal to pay all his debts, including said note on which appellee was surety for said Walter. The final report made and sworn to by Elizabeth Larch and her son Walter on January 5, was filed with the clerk of the court January 6, 1909, and was set for hearing on February 8, 1909. Notice of such hearing was issued on January 6, 1909. Appellee neglected to file his said note as a claim against said estate.

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Bluebook (online)
101 N.E. 127, 53 Ind. App. 56, 1913 Ind. App. LEXIS 166, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/larch-v-holz-indctapp-1913.