Lyngholm v. Atkins

1929 OK 241, 282 P. 129, 140 Okla. 36, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 311
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 11, 1929
Docket19071
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1929 OK 241 (Lyngholm v. Atkins) 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
Lyngholm v. Atkins, 1929 OK 241, 282 P. 129, 140 Okla. 36, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 311 (Okla. 1929).

Opinion

DIFFENDAFFER, C.

The parties, here are in the same relative position as in the trial ’court.

On November 29, 1916, plaintiff obtained a judgment in the district court of Texas county against W. T. Atkins and Mrs. W. T. Atkins, and another, for the title and possession of a certain quarter section of land in Texas county. Defendants in that action appealed to the Supreme Court. The trial court entered an order therein that execution be stayed upon the filing by defendants and the approval by the court clerk of a bond in the sum of $2,000. Proceedings in error were commenced in the Supreme Court, where, on June 12, 1922, the appeal wa!s dismissed. There appears to have been two bonds given in the proceedings therein, both signed by defendants Lightner and Burch. They are substantially identical in form. The first one, filed January 5, 1918, is in the following form:

“Supersedeas Bond — District Court.
“In the District Court of Texas County, State of Oklahoma.
“Holger Lyngholm, Plaintiff, v. W. T. Atkins et al., Defendant. No. 1296.
“Whereas, on the 29th day of November, 1916, a judgment was rendered in said district court in favor of the plaintiff * * * in the above entitled action and' against said defendant * * * for the title to and possession of certain real estate in Texas county, Oklahoma, and costs of suit taxed $_
_ “And, whereas, said defendants, as plaintiffs in error, have commenced proceedings in error in the Supreme Court of this state to reverse and vacate such judgment.
“Now, therefore, we, W. T. Atkins, Mrs. W. T. Atkins and W. A. Lowry, as principals, and N. E. Nance, I M. Lightner, & A. F. Burch, as sureties, undertake and bind ourselves, our heirs and assigns jointly and severally to said plaintiff, defendant in error, in the sum of two thousand — ($2,000.00)— dollars, that the said plaintiff in error, will pay the condemnation money and costs In case said judgment shall be affirmed in whole or in patrt in the Supreme Court.
“Witness our hands this 5th day of January, 1918.
“W. T. Atkins, Mrs. W. T. Atkins, and W. A. Lowrey, -by F. S. Macy, Their Atty.
“A. F. Burch, N. E. Nance, I. M. Lightner.”

On August 19, 1926, plaintiff commenced the present action in the district court of Texas county against Atkins, Nance, Light-ner, and’ Burch, upon the two bonds, wherein he sought to recover the sum of $1,319.20 (afterwards changed by amendment to $2,-000) for the alleged value of the use and occupafcicy of the premises involved in the former action, from January 5, 1918, to October 14, 1922, the possession of which premises it is alleged Atkins and wife retained during the pendency of the proceedings in the Supreme Court. Defendants Atkins and Nance were not served, but defendants Lightner and Burch demurred to the petition, which demurrer does not. appear to have been acted upon. Defendants answered by general denial, and further pleaded the statute of limitation.

The cause was tried to a jury, and at the close of plaintiff’s evidence, defendants demurred thereto upon the grounds that the evidence was insufficient to substantiate a cause of action in favor of plaintiff and against the defendants, and moved the court to direct a verdict for defendants for the reason that, under the law, the pleadings; and the evidence, plaintiff had failed to state and failed to show facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.

The motion was sustained, and the jury was directed to return a verdict for defendants. Motion for new trial was filed and overruled. Judgment was entered on the verdict, and plaintiff appeals. T(he trial court in pate sing upon the motion stated his reasons at length, but the substance of his reasons was:

(1) That the defendants by their contract of surety did not agree to pay the *38 value of tlie use and occupancy of tlie premises during tlie pendency of tlie appeal; and,

(2) Tliat there was no evidence ate to what that value was.

There are five, assignments of error, but they are all included in two propositions: First, the holding- of the court that these defendants who were sureties on the bonds were not liable, under the terms of the bonds for the value of the use and occupancy of the premises; and second, in excluding the evidence offered by plaintiff.

If the trial court was right on the first proposition, the judgment must: be afiirmed, thus rendering the consideration of the second proposition unnecessary.

The first clause of section 794, O. O. S. 1921, provides:

“No proceeding to reverse, vacate, or modify any judgment or final order rendered in the county, superior, or district court, except as provided in the next section, and the fourth subdivision of this section, shall operate to stay execution, unless the clerk of the court in which the record of such judgment or final order shall be, shall take a written undertaking, to be executed on the part of the plaintiff in error, to the adverse party, with one or more sufficient sureties, as follows

The. section then provides:

“First: When the judgment or final order sought to be reversed directs the payment of money, the written undertaking shall be in double the amount of the judgment or order, to the effect that the plaintiff in error will pay the condemnation money and costs, in case the judgment or final order shall be affirmed, in whole, or in part. * * *
“Third: When it directs the sale or delivery of possession of real property, the undertaking shall be in such sum as may be prescribed by the court or the judge thereof, to the effect that during the possession, of such property by the plaintiff in error, he will not commit, or suffer to be committed, any waste thereon, and if the judgment be affirmed, he will pay the value of the use a!nd occupation of the property, from the date of the undertaking until the delivery of the possession, pursuant to the judgment, and all costs.”

On the first proposition, the question then is: Does a bond intended to stay execution where the judgment directs the delivery of the possession of real property only, conditioned as required by law in a judgment which directs the payment of money only, bind the sureties to pay the value of the use and occupancy of the real property pending proceedings in the Supreme Court, when the appellant remains in possession of the property until the judgment is affirmed?

Plaintiff in error cites many cases which he contends support him in his theory that the bond in question is sufficient to bind the sureties therefor. We have examined all these authorities, and conclude that none of them are so clearly in point as to support his contention. We do not deem it necessary in this case to review all the authorities cited, since none of them appear to decide the question. They are all to the effect that a supersedeas bond, though it does not comply with the language of the statute, voluntarily entered into for a valuable consideration, and when not repugnant to the letter or policy of the law, will be held good.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1929 OK 241, 282 P. 129, 140 Okla. 36, 1929 Okla. LEXIS 311, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lyngholm-v-atkins-okla-1929.