Luther v. Bonner

159 S.W.2d 454, 203 Ark. 848, 1942 Ark. LEXIS 155
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 23, 1942
Docket4-6651
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 159 S.W.2d 454 (Luther v. Bonner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Luther v. Bonner, 159 S.W.2d 454, 203 Ark. 848, 1942 Ark. LEXIS 155 (Ark. 1942).

Opinion

Humphreys, J.

S. J. Hutcheson died on the 8th day of September, 1940, testate, bequeathing in his last will all of his property of every kind, share and share alike, to Fannie Luther, Jack Bonner and V. E. Hutcheson, nominating therein Jack Bonner as executor without bond. Y. E. Hutcheson was his son, J ack Bonner was a nephew, and Fannie Luther was a sister of S. J. Iiutche- . son’s wife.- Fannie Luther went to live with her sister and her husband when she was 10 years' of age. She went into the home as a member of the family. Jack Bon- . ner was taken into the home when he was about 16 months old. Mrs. Hutcheson died in 1925. After the death of Mrs. Hutcheson, Fannie Luther cared for Jack Bonner and y. E. Hutcheson during their babyhood and childhood. They all lived together as one family harmoniously and loved each other. Although Fannie Luther was 10 or 12 years older than V. E. Hutcheson and Jack Bonner, they regarded each other as brothers and sister. Fannie Luther was in a sense a mother as well as a sister to them. Both y. E. Hutcheson and Jack Bonner married. y. -E. Hutcheson became a dentist and was located for *a while at Eureka Springs and later at Mountain Home and spent very little time in the home of his father after he was married. Jack Bonner lived at Norfork, very near the Hutcheson home, with his family. After Mrs. Hutcheson died, Mr. Hutcheson’s health began to fail and in 1933 he retired from the active management of his large business and allowed Jack Bonner to attend to most of the details connected with it, and Fannie Luther kept house for him and assisted him and Jack Bonner in looking after the properties he owned. Fannie Luther continued to drive S. J. Hutcheson over his farms and wherever his business carried him. Mr. Hutcheson depended to a large extent on Jack Bonner to look after all business matters, but assisted him along with Fannie Luther in doing so. In assisting Jack Bonner, Fannie * Luther helped operate a store owned by Mr. Hutcheson and signed many checks and papers for him and for Jack Bonner, generally under the direction of Jack Bonner. At the time of the death of S. J. Hutcheson he was the owner of about 4,000 acres of farm land, a store in Nor-fork, a home in Norfork, and about 11 other houses and lots. He owned and operated a store, restaurant, a boat line in Norfork, and a cotton gin at Mountain Home. He also owned a large amount of personal property, perhaps 250 head of cattle, 27 head of mules and bank stock of the face value of $1,000, which paid about $100 per year dividends. In addition, he had carried since 1930 an insurance policy for $10,000, in which Fannie Luther, Jack Bonner and Y. E. Hutcheson were equal beneficiaries. This policy was in full force and effect at the time of his death. It was generally understood that he was carrying the policy in order to pay any and all indebtedness against his estate. He owed the bank and other creditors, and perhaps an overdraft at the bank, amounting in all to about $10,000.

A short time after the death of S. J. Hutcheson, Jack Bonner presented his will to the probate court and made proof thereof in regular form and on the first day of October, 1940, a judgment or order was entered in the court admitting the will to probate as the last will of S. J. Hutcheson, deceased, and the petitioner, Jack Bonner, was appointed administrator of the estate, and, after qualifying as such, received letters testamentary and entered upon his duties by taking possession of all the property of the estate, including the store, gin, restaurant, boatline, livestock consisting of several hundred head of cattle, mules, bank stock, and other chattels, and all the farms and real property of every kind. He never filed a complete inventor}'-, in' fact filed none, but left with the clerk a partial one which was never marked filed.

Soon after probating the will and assuming his duties as administrator, he made necessary proof of the death of S. J. Hutcheson and collected the $10,000 insurance policy. This money was used by him in paying a note he and S. J. Hutcheson had signed to the bank for $1,000, one S. J. Hutcheson had signed to the bank for $6,000 and an overdraft to the bank which had been incurred in operating the business and several other notes, all amormting to about $10,000, without the claims being-approved and allowed by the probate court. It seems that the three beneficiaries in the insurance policy understood that the policy had been taken out and carried by S. J. Hutcheson so that his debts might be paid in case of his death, but the policy had never been assigned to any of the creditors. After using the insurance money in this way, it left the entire estate free from debt or incumbrance. Nothing further was done in the way of administering the estate in the probate court. Jack Bonner, however, continued to operate the store, gin, restaurant, boatline, and all the farms and rented the houses and continued the cattle, mule and hog business without rendering any account to Fannie Luther. The reason he has not done so is that on the 28th day of September, 1940, he and V. E. Hutcheson obtained a quitclaim deed from her to all of her undivided interest in all the real estate belonging to the estate of S. J. Hutcheson when he died for a recited consideration of $1.00, and on the 22nd day of October, 1940, they obtained a contract or bill of sale to her undivided one-third interest in all the personal property owned by S. J. Hutcheson, at the time of his death, as well as all the real estate he owned when he died for a recited consideration of $40 per month for the remainder of her life. She was 51 years old at the time.

On the 21st day of July, 1941, Fannie Luther brought "suit in the chancery court of Baxter county against Jack Bonner and V. E. Hutcheson, and their respective wives, to set aside the quitclaim deed and contract or bill of sale on the ground that deception was practiced upon her in obtaining the instruments, representing to her that they were instruments executed by her to them to enable Jack Bonner to administer the estate without the necessity of procuring her signature many times during the course of administration, and so she would not have to appear in the federal court to defend a condemnation suit pending in said court to obtain a part of the lands and a suit pending in the state court to condemn a part of the lands for a right-of-way of a railroad company, as well as inadequacy of price.

Appellees filed an answer denying that they paid an inadequate price for her undivided interest in said estate or that they or either of them practiced any decep^ tion or fraud in obtaining the instruments.

The cause was submitted to the court upon the pleadings introduced by the respective parties responsive to the issues joined, resulting in a finding that no fraud or deception was practiced on appellant in procuring the quitclaim deed or bill of sale or contract and that appellees paid or agreed to pay a fair or adequate price for her one-tliird interest in the lands and personal property in the estate of S. J. Hutcheson, deceased. Based upon this finding a decree was rendered dismissing her complaint for want of equity, from which she appealed to this court.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
159 S.W.2d 454, 203 Ark. 848, 1942 Ark. LEXIS 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luther-v-bonner-ark-1942.