McClendon v. Johnson

337 S.W.2d 77
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJuly 11, 1960
Docket47278
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 337 S.W.2d 77 (McClendon v. Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McClendon v. Johnson, 337 S.W.2d 77 (Mo. 1960).

Opinion

HOLLINGSWORTH, Judge.

Action to determine title to and, in the alternative, for partition of certain real estate in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, to wit: Lot 66 of Finney Avenue Addition, in Block 3746, together with improvements thereon, known as 4256 W. and 4256a W. Cook Avenue. Cortnt one of the petition alleged that plaintiff, Magnolia McClendon, was- the. fee simple owner of said lot and sought to quiet her alleged title as against any claim of title' asserted by defendant, Herman Johnson. Count two prayed that should the court ascertain and adjudge title to be in both plaintiff and defendant, then that partition be decreed and the real estate ordered sold and the proceeds divided between the parties as their interests appeared. Defendant, by answer and cross bill, denied plaintiff’s title to any portion of said real estate and asserted that defendant was the record and fee simple owner of an undivided one-half interest therein. Plaintiff, in reply, alleged that the record title asserted by defendant was procured by fraud, undue influence and coercion and through an instrument that was testamentary in character, without consideration and was void. The trial court found and held that plaintiff and defendant were the owners of said real estate as tenants in common, each owning an undivided one-half interest, and ordered partition and sale thereof. Plaintiff appealed.

Although other questions are presented and hereinafter considered, the essentially basic issue turns upon the proper construction and validity of a deed appearing in the chain of title, whereby the real estate was conveyed to Alexander Johnson and plaintiff, Magnolia McClendon, “as joint tenants and not as tenants in common, with right of survivorship.” Thereafter, Alexander conveyed his interest in the joint tenancy to himself and to defendant, Herman Johnson, “as joint tenants, and not as tenants in common.” Plaintiff contends, in substance, that, by virtue of the conveyance to her and Alexander as joint tenants with right of survivorship, she and Alexander (now dead) held mere life estates in the land until the fee vested in plaintiff as the survivor of them, and that the deed made by Alexander to defendant conveyed nothing more than Alexander’s life estate. Defendant contends that the conveyance to Alexander and Magnolia vested in them a classical joint tenancy, whereby they became the fee simple owners of the property as joint tenants and that, when Alexander conveyed his interest therein to himself and defendant as joint tenants, the joint tenancy theretofore existing between Alexander and Magnolia was severed by operation of law and Alexander and defendant became the owners of an undivided one-,half interest in said real estate as joint tenants; and that, upon the death of Alexander, defendant became and is now the owner of an undivided one-half inter- ■ est .in the real estate.

*79 Alexander Johnson was the father of plaintiff Magnolia and the uncle of defendant Herman. On and prior to September 17, 1947, Alexander owned the real estate in fee. The several subsequent conveyances thereof were as follows:

(1) On September 17, 1947, Alexander, joined by his wife, Lula, executed and delivered to plaintiff Magnolia their general warranty deed to the real estate in question, reserving unto themselves and the survivor of them a life estate therein;

(2) On April 26, 1949, by deed delivered and duly recorded, Lula (from whom Alexander had obtained a divorce) quit-claimed all of her right, title and interest in said real estate to plaintiff;

(3) By general warranty deed dated July 23, 1949, and recorded August 15, 1949, plaintiff Magnolia and Alexander, for a recited consideration of $10, conveyed said real estate to Henry F. Brauer (obviously a party used as a conduit of title) of the City of St. Louis;

(4) By quitclaim deed dated August 10, 1949, recorded August 15, 1949, Henry F. Brauer, for a recited consideration of $10, conveyed the property to Alexander and plaintiff Magnolia “as joint tenants and not as tenants in common, with right of sur-vivorship, * * * to have and to hold the same, * * * as joint tenants and not as tenants in common, with right of survivorship, and to their heirs and assigns forever”;

(5) By quitclaim deed dated and recorded March 29, 1955, Alexander, for a recited consideration of $1, conveyed to “Alexander Johnson and Herman Johnson (defendant herein), as joint tenants, and not as tenants in common, * * * all my right, title and interest in and to [the property] to have and to hold the same, * * * unto [Alexander and Herman], and to the survivor of them, and to the heirs and assigns of such survivor forever.”

At trial, plaintiff testified: Alexander had divorced his second wife, Lula, and lived in the property. When he retired from railroad work (as a porter) in 1947, he was in pretty good health, but his eyes were getting bad. About eight years ago, he had one eye removed and the sight in the other was not good. He had been ill for the past three or four years before his death on March 8, 1957, at the age of 90 years, but not bedfast. (A certified copy of his death certificate, the factual data for which was admittedly furnished by plaintiff, states that he was 76 years of age at his death.) He could read until the latter years of his life but could not see to write too well.

On cross-examination, plaintiff stated that when she furnished the data from which the death certificate was made she did not know Alexander’s age; that she knew of no facts showing or tending to show that the deed executed by Alexander to defendant was obtained by fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence, duress or coercion, other than that defendant was supposed to “do something for him and he didn’t”; and that defendant “never came to see about him or nothing of the kind, and he wanted to take him to some lawyer after I brought him from the hospital. He called and wanted him to take him to the lawyer’s and wanted some papers. He wasn’t even able to walk around the house.”

Plaintiff proffered in evidence certain portions of a deposition of defendant taken at the instance of plaintiff. Defendant objected, primarily upon the grounds that they were violative of the provisions of the Dead Man’s Statute (Section 491.010 RSMo 1949, V.A.M.S.). 1 During the course of proffering the various portions of the deposition numerous specific objections, interspersed by lengthy colloquy between the court and counsel, were also made. Apparently, the court was of the opinion that inasmuch as it appeared that each of the *80 parties had taken the deposition of the other, the provisions of § 491.010 may have been waived, but that none of the portions offered had any material bearing upon the issues and that all of them should be excluded. The portions proffered cannot be precisely determined. We, therefore, deem it advisable to set forth all portions of the deposition that can have any possible bearing upon the issues and hereinafter determine the propriety and effect of the ruling made by the court.

In his deposition, defendant had testified : He is 44 years of age, a nephew of Alexander, and had known and frequently visited him since childhood. He first met Magnolia in 1950. He never saw her again until 1957, the year Alexander died. He claims an interest in the property here in suit.

“Q.

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Bluebook (online)
337 S.W.2d 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclendon-v-johnson-mo-1960.