McIlvaine v. Smith

42 Mo. 45
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 15, 1867
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 42 Mo. 45 (McIlvaine v. Smith) 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
McIlvaine v. Smith, 42 Mo. 45 (Mo. 1867).

Opinion

Holmes, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The case is submitted upon the questions, first, whether, under the terms of the trust deed, Thomas F. Smith took an estate or interest in the land that was vendible under execution; and second, whether the plaintiff 'is entitled to any relief upon this bill, or can, by any proceeding in equity, reach the profits of the land during the life of Smith.

There is no allegation of fraud, and the validity of the deed is admitted. It is to be taken as a voluntary conveyance in good faith and upon a good consideration. . The deed creates a trust; and the trusts declared are of such a nature as to preclude the execution of a use in Smith as the original grantor under the statute—Guest v. Farley, 19 Mo. 147. It is a trust of which the scheme has been completely declared in' the outset, and may [55]*55be considered so far as an executed trust. It is not executory in any sense that would require the aid of a court of equity to prescribe the mode in which the trusts are to be executed ; but the execution of the trusts, as declared, would be enforced, in equity. It is an express trust, and there is no room to infer a resulting trust by operation of law for the benefit of Thomas F. Smith.

The first question is, whether the trust declared for his benefit creates an equitable estate in the land that could be levied on and sold under execution. By the statute, all real estate, whereof the defendant, or any person for his use, was seized in law or equity,55 is subject to sale under execution; and the term real estate includes all estate and interest in lands, tenements, and hereditaments55—R. C. 1855, p. 740, §§ 17, 73. The statute contemplates an interest or estate in the land, of which the defendant, or the trustee for his use, is seized in law or equity; and when there is no seizin of such an equitable estate, there is no interest in the land which is liable to execution—Brant v. Robertson, 16 Mo. 149. It was said in Broadwell v. Yantis (10 Mo. 403) that there must be an interest in land which a court of law can protect or enforce, in order that it may be subject to the lien of a judgment and execution,'5 and that “ a mere equity, unaccompanied with possession, is not such an interest.55 The previous decision of. this court would seem to warrant a distinction, in reference to the beneficiary, between a vested equitable estate in possession and a mere ground of equitable relief against the trustee, as a simple right to maintain a suit in equity—Anthony v. Rogers, 17 Mo. 394; Rankin v. Harper, 23 Mo. 579; Dunnica v. Coy, 24 Mo. 167. The case of Broadwell v. Yantis recognized the authority of the case of Bogert v. Perry (1 Johns. Ch. C. 52), which appears to have proceeded upon a distinction of this nature; and it was there said that there must be an equitable title or estate within the purview of the statute of uses, and not a mere equitable interest in the land. It is not very clear what was meant by such an interest, but it may He supposed to mean such an interest only as might fmÉEsh a ground for equitable relief- against the trustee to enforc» the execution of the trust, or “ an equitable chose in action”^ s it was said in that case.

[56]*56A life estate in land, at common law, was evidenced by the tenant being clothed with the possession under the name of livery of seizin, and he became a freeholder. Trusts are cognizable only in equity, and it was for the reason that the collateral obligations of trusts were not known at law as interests in lands that they took the name of equitable estates. A simple trust supposes the legal estate merely to be vested in the trustee, and that the cestui que trust is entitled in equity to the rents and profits, and has power to dispose of the lands, and a right to call upon the trustee to execute a conveyance to him — 2 Washb. Real Prop. 166, 220. Under this deed it is plain that Thomas F. Smith had no seizin or possession of the land, no power to dispose of any estate in the land, or to enjoy the occupancy or to collect the rents ; nor could he call upon the trustee to execute any conveyance to himself. His interest, whatever it may have been, does not appear to have had the ordinary incidents of a life estate in land, either at law or in equity. We think it is sufficiently clear that the deed did not vest in him an equitable estate in the land itself, to be enjoyed in possession or otherwise. The levy, sale, and sheriff’s deed to the purchaser, under the execution, described the property as “all the right, title, interest, claim, estate, and property, of the said Thomas F. Smith, in and to” the lots mentioned and designated by metes and bounds. Wo must hold that he had no estate in the land which could pass by that description.

In England, a judgment is made a charge in equity on all lands and equitable interests, and the lien may be enforced by the courts of equity and be made available even by a sale—Adams’ Eq. 130, 133. In that way there is less danger of a sacrifice of property in consequence of the difficulty of ascertaining what those interests are ; but if all equitable estates and interests were subject to sale under execution, the seller could seldom know what he was selling, nor the purchaser what he was buying, and valuable property would almost inevitably bo sacrificed, or the levy and sale would prove., utterly futile. Considerations like these may justify us in confining the meaning of the statute to its clear and express terms.

[57]*57Many cases from other States have been cited by the defendants’ counsel, which may be taken as examples of equitable interests that are not vendible under execution; and some cases also of bounties given by the donors for the maintenance and support of the beneficiary, or of a man and his family, under limitations and restrictions as to the interest conferred that were held to preclude the vesting of any interest or property which could be subjected to the payment of debts even by a judgment creditor’s bill—Johnston v. Zane, 11 Grattan, 552; Fisher v. Taylor, 2 Rawle, 33; Holdship v. Patterson, 7 Watts, 547; Brewster v. Striker, 2 Comst. 19; Ashhurst v. Given, 5 Watts & S. 323; Markham v. Guerrant, 4 Leigh, 284. Upon the question whether this interest was subject to levy and sale under execution, they give a strong support to the construction we have given to the statute, but none of them can be regarded as decisive of the point that the interest of Smith, under this deed, was not a vested interest for life in the net product of the rents, issues, and profits arising out of this land, which may be reached by the creditor and applied in equity to the satisfaction of this debt.

This brings us to the second question, whether the plaintiff is entitled to any relief on this bill, or can, by any proceeding in equity, reach this net income during the life of the beneficiary. What interest, then, did he take ? By the terms of the deed, during his life the trustee is to control and manage the property, to make loans and receive the rents and profits, to pay all the taxes, charges, insurance, and other expenses, and to pay over to Thomas F. Smith at the end of each quarter, during his life, “the net product of said property,” under the restrictions mentioned, with remainders over and a power of appointment as therein expressed. This gave him a vested life estate in this net product, of which the trustee could not deprive him by the exercise of any discretion. He was bound to pay it over to Smith, and it is not given to any other person. So far the case is similar to that of Green v. Spicer (1 Russ. & M. 395).

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42 Mo. 45, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcilvaine-v-smith-mo-1867.