Lawrence v. Corbeille

154 P. 495, 28 Idaho 329, 1916 Ida. LEXIS 4
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 8, 1916
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 154 P. 495 (Lawrence v. Corbeille) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lawrence v. Corbeille, 154 P. 495, 28 Idaho 329, 1916 Ida. LEXIS 4 (Idaho 1916).

Opinion

BUDGE, J.

This action was brought to quiet title to the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter and the east half of the southwest quarter and the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of sec. 18, twp. 56 N., range 2 E., Boise Meridian, and to recover possession of said land.

Defendants answered the complaint denying all the material allegations therein, and filed a cross-complaint alleging title in the defendant Corbeille. Thereafter plaintiff filed an answer to defendants’ cross-complaint denying the ownership of the defendant, but admitting that the land was owned by defendant at all times prior to January, 1907, at which time plaintiff alleged said land was assessed for taxes for the year 1907, which taxes for said year were unpaid and became delinquent in January, 1908; that said land was sold on July 10, 1908, to Bonner County; that on December 8, 1908, Bonner county sold and assigned the tax sale certificate to plaintiff; that no redemption was made from said tax sale, and that on November 8, 1912, Defenbach, the then duly elected, qualified and acting assessor and ex-officio tax collector of Bonner county, executed and delivered to plaintiff a tax deed for said premises which was recorded in Bonner county.

Defendants filed a demurrer to the answer to the cross-complaint which was overruled. Thereafter defendants amended their answer by setting up the failure of the taxing officer of Bonner county to enter the extension of taxes on said land for 1908, in red ink, and the failure of the plaintiff to give notice of application for tax deed as required by [331]*331see. 27, chapter 8, Sess. Laws 1912; and further alleged redemption of said land from the tax sale of 1908, by payment to the treasurer of Bonner county, and an offer to repay the sums of money expended by plaintiff together with the statutory interest; and that the defendant Corbeille was at all times mentally incompetent to transact business.

Plaintiff thereupon filed an amendment to his answer to the cross-complaint, and pleaded the decision of this court in the case of Lawrence v. Defenbach (23 Ida. 78, 128 Pac. 81), which was an action brought by plaintiff against Defenbach as ex-officio tax collector, requiring him to execute a tax deed as such officer to the plaintiff. To this amendment to the answer to the cross-complaint, the defendants de-. murred and their demurrer was overruled.

Trial was then had and in support of his case plaintiff offered in evidence the tax deed to which reference has heretofore been made. Defendants objected to the admission of this deed in evidence upon the ground that the proof failed to show a compliance with the provisions of sec. 27, chapter 8, Sess. Laws 1912, requiring service of notice upon the occupant of the land at the time the application is made for the deed. This objection was overruled and the deed admitted in evidence, whereupon plaintiff rested his case.

Defendants then offered oral and documentary evidence, and plaintiff offered testimony in rebuttal, and the cause was taken under advisement by the court.

On April 10, 1915, the court made its findings of fact and conclusions of law and entered a decree in favor of plaintiff, which was duly recorded. On April 19, 1915, defendants filed and served motion for new trial specifying several grounds in support of the motion. On May 29, 1915, the court entered an order setting aside the findings of fact, conclusions of law and the decree theretofore made and entered in favor of plaintiff and, of its own motion and without granting a new trial, made and filed findings of fact, conclusions of law and a decree in favor of defendants, quieting title in defendant Corbeille to the land in controversy. This is an appeal from the latter judgment.

[332]*332■ Appellant presents five assignments of error. We think, however, it will only be necessary for us to consider the first, viz., the action of the court in vacating and setting aside the findings of fact, the conclusions of law and decree in favor of plaintiff first filed and recorded on April 10, 1915, and making and filing new findings of fact, conclusions of law ■ and decree in favor of defendants on May 29, 1915, without granting a new trial.

The former judgment quieted title to the land in controversy in plaintiff; the latter judgment quieted title to the same land in defendant. The court did not pass upon the motion for a new trial, and for aught we know the same is still pending.

From the record we might be justified in reaching the conclusion that the court set aside the findings of fact, conclusions of law and decree rendered and entered in the first-instance when its attention was called, upon the motion for a new trial, to what it considered was a fatal defect in the execution of the deed by Defenbaeh on November 8, 1912, who, at that time, was not ex-officio tax collector of Bonner county by reason of the fact that the county treasurer was ex-officio tax collector under the amendment to sec. 6, art. 18, of the constitution, which amendment was adopted by the electors of the state on the fifth day of November, 1912-three days prior to the execution of the deed in question. (Cleary v. Kincaid, 23 Ida. 789, 131 Pac. 1117.)

' That the court had the power to vacate and set aside the findings of fact, conclusions of law and decree rendered and recorded in favor of plaintiff on April 10, 1915, and to grant a new trial, will not be seriously questioned, but any further action on the part of the court was beyond its jurisdiction. And when the court of its own motion made findings of fact, conclusions of law and a decree in favor of defendants without granting a new trial, it was clearly error.

See. 4439, Rev. Codes, provides: “The former verdict or other decision may be vacated and a new trial granted on the application of the party aggrieved, for any of the follow[333]*333ing causes, materially affecting the substantial rights of such party: ....

“6. Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision, or that it is against law. ’ ’

The court having reached the conclusion that the tax deed offered in evidence by plaintiff, and relied on by him to esT tablish his right to have title to the land in question quieted in him and to be placed in possession of the same, was executed by an officer without authority of law and insufficient in and of itself to support the judgment, it then became its clear duty to grant a new trial, for the reason that the evidence was insufficient to support the jjudgment. But to anticipate that the plaintiff upon a new trial would be unable to furnish additional evidence which would be sufficient to entitle him, to recover and to afford him no opportunity to offer such proof, is without authority of law and contrary to the rules of practice in this state.

It was held in the case of Pico v. Sepulveda, 66 Cal. 336, 5 Pac. 515; “When the findings of fact by a court are erroneous in any respect, the appropriate proceeding to have them set aside is a motion for a new trial.”

In the case of Prince v. Lynch, 38 Cal. 528, 99 Am. Dec.

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Bluebook (online)
154 P. 495, 28 Idaho 329, 1916 Ida. LEXIS 4, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lawrence-v-corbeille-idaho-1916.