Martin v. Seifried

1928 OK 702, 272 P. 463, 134 Okla. 124, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 816
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 4, 1928
Docket18009
StatusPublished

This text of 1928 OK 702 (Martin v. Seifried) 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
Martin v. Seifried, 1928 OK 702, 272 P. 463, 134 Okla. 124, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 816 (Okla. 1928).

Opinion

CLARK, J.

This cause presents error from the district court of Creek county, Okla., wher'ein a judgment was entered in favor of the defendants on May 11, 1926, *125 from which judgment and finding of the •court the plaintiffs below appealed.

Two eases were consolidated in the court below; one involv'ed the foreclosure of a mortgage. The matter brought here for review was an action by Dave Martin, Beeker Bosen, nee Oosar, Bydia Wilson, nee Oosar, and Galvos Oosar, against J. E. Seifried, the Sapulpa State Bank, Joseph Bruner, as guardian of Lena Oosar, now Lena Adams, and M. I. Seifried.

The action was brought to recover land located in Creek county described in plaintiffs’ petition). Plaintiffs’ petition alleged that the land involved was allotted to Sam Oosar, who was a member of the Creek Tribe of Indians, enrolled as a full-blood; that he died in what is now Cr'eek county, Okla., in November, 1902; leaving surviving him, as his sole and only heirs at law, his father, Tom Oosar, and his mother, Jennie Cosar, both full-blood members of the Creek Tribe of Indians. That they each inherited a one-half interest in said land. That the said Jennie Cosar died intestate in Creek county, Okla., leaving surviving, as her sole and only heir at law, her husband, Tom Cosar, who inherited a one-third interest in her undivided one-half interest in said land, and the plaintiffs, Dave Martin, Beeker Bosen, nee Cosar, Lydia Wilson, nee Oosar, and Galvos Cosar, who inherited a on'e-sixth interest in and to her undivided one-half interest in said land. That Tom Cosar died intestate in Creek county November 26, 1923. leaving surviving him, as his sole and only heirs, plaintiffs Beeker Bosen, n'ee Cosar, Lydia Wilson, nee Cosar, and Galvos Cosar, each of whom inherited a one-third interest in and to the two-thirds interest owned by the said Tom Cosar prior to his death.

Petition further alleges that plaintiffs owned said land and were entitled to th'e possession thereof; that the defendant J. E.' Seifried is in possession of said land, and has been since February 6, 1920; that the defendant J. E. Seifri’ed 'claims to be the owner of said land deriving his title through a certain deed from Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar dated February 17, 1911, and certain m'esne conveyances, from B. L. Boot and Nannie J. Boot to W. D. Cooper; from Nannie J. Brown, nee Boot, and P. M. Brown to W. D. Cooper: and from W. D. and Nannie Cooper to J. E. Seifried. and also from a certain guardian’s deed dated May 6. 1911. from Tom Cosar. guardian of Lydia Cosar, and DaVe Martin, minors, to B. L. Boot; and also from a certain guardian’s deed dated September 7, 1912, from Horace Wilson, as guardian of Beeker Cosar, a minor, to B. L. Boot; that the deed from Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar to B. L. Boot was only intended to convey a life estate in said lands and that the same was approved as a life estate from Tom Cosar and Jennie Oosar, full-blood members of the Creek Tribe of Indians; that Jennie Oosar signed by her mark, against her wishes, and never appeared in county court or agreed to the approval of said deed; that petition for approval of said deed shows that they only intended to sell a life estate. The order of the county court approving the said deed shows the court found they were owners of a life estate.

Copies of the deeds, petition, and order of approval were attached to plaintiffs’ petition.

Plaintiffs further alleged that the deed from Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar showed on its face that it was not intended to convey the entire estate in fee simple, and further alleged that the plaintiffs became the owners in fee of the estate of Jennie Cosar upon her death and owners in fee of the estate of Tom Cosar upon his death.

Petition further alleged that the consideration. of $1,000 paid to Tom Cosar on the date of the approval of the deed was an inadequate consideration for the entire fee in said land and was only intended as a consideration of the life estate.

Plaintiffs ask judgment decreeing the deed from Tom Cosar and Jennie Oosar to be a deed of the life estate from the said Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar, and also for the cancellation of th'e mesne conveyances.

Answers were filed by the different defendants, which denied the allegations of plaintiffs’ petition and alleged that Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar intended to and did convey all the title and interest in and to the fee-simple title to the lands by h'er deed by general warranty delivered to B. L. Boot, dated February 7. 1911. and approved by the county court of Creek county. Okla. The case wás tried to the court: plaintiffs’ testimony introduced, and both sides rested. The court found for the defendants. Plaintiffs bring the cause here for review.

The assignment of error contains ’eight separate grounds, but all summed up in the brief under three propositions:

First, the deceased. Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar, did not convey other interest than a life estate, and the purchaser R. L. Boot did *126 not believe he was buying and did not. pay for a greater interest than a life estate.

Plaintiffs in 'error contend that the deed on its face shows that Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar did not intend to convey any except a life estate. This contention is inconsistent with plaintiffs’ request that the deed b'e reformed.

An examination of the deed and record discloses that all interests were conveyed by Tom Cosar and Jennie Cosar, and the deed dated February 7, 1911, to R. L. Root, reads in part:

' ‘‘Does hereby grant, bargain, sell and convey unto R. L. Root the following described property and premises situate in Creek county, state of Oklahoma, to wit (description), together with all improvements thereon and the appurtenances thereunto belonging, and warrants title to the ‘same, such interests as they have, to R. L. Root.”

The only logical construction to be placed on the deed would be that the grantors only warranted the title to such interest as they had in the premises, but the deed conveyed all interest owned by the grantors.

The record discloses that attorney James J. Mars wa's attorney for the grantors at the time the deed was prepared, executed, approved by the county court, and delivered to R. L. Root. The evidence further discloses that all the parties to this transaction, the grantors and the grantee, died prior to the filing of this action.

The petition filed in the county court in part is as follows:

“Comes now To¡m Cosar and Jennie Cosar, father and mother, the sole and only heirs at law, to the life estate of Sam Cosar, deceased, and show to the court”

—then a brief description of the heirship, the death of the allotte'e, description of the land, and the names of the heirs—

“That since the death of the said Sam Cosar, your petitioners as above set out have made and executed to R. L. Root a warranty deed conveying to the said R. L. Root all of their right, title, and interest in and to the said allotment as aforesaid.”

The court approved the d'eed of conveyance and marked his approval thereon, and in addition thereto entered an order of approval.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1928 OK 702, 272 P. 463, 134 Okla. 124, 1928 Okla. LEXIS 816, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-seifried-okla-1928.