Miller v. Kimmel

1919 OK 270, 184 P. 762, 76 Okla. 233, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 168
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 30, 1919
Docket10355
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 1919 OK 270 (Miller v. Kimmel) 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
Miller v. Kimmel, 1919 OK 270, 184 P. 762, 76 Okla. 233, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 168 (Okla. 1919).

Opinion

RAINEY, J.

On July 2nd, 1914, for and in consideration of the sum of $100.00 to him in cash paid, Ambrose Miller executed to J. D. Kimmel an option to purchase, within six months for $30,000.00, an undivided one-half interest in Miller’s allotment of land in Creek. county, Oklahoma, and on the 7th day of November of the same year Ambrose Miller and Alice Miller, his wife, conveyed to the said J. D. Kim-mel an undivided one-fourth interest in and to the same land. On June 21, 1917, thereafter, Ambrose Miller and Alice Miller, as plaintiffs, instituted this action against J. D. Kimmel to cancel and set aside and declare null and void said deed. R. H. Fitzgerald, F. E. Stephens,, and Fred S. Clinton were also made parties defendant in that action. The plaintiffs, in their petition, in substance, alleged that the plaintiff, Am-brose Miller, was, at the time of the trans *234 actions had with the defendant Kimmel, and had many years prior thereto been, a confirmed drunkard; that plaintiff's land had become very valuable, but that through the long use of intoxicating liquors his mind had become so weakened that he did not appreciate the value of money or property and that he would sign anything for anyone in whom he had confidence, or to get money or whiskey; that the defendant Kimmel knew the value of said land, knew the weakness of Ambrose Miller, had gained his confidence, and through drink and intoxicating liquors had secured the six months’ option to buy the land at the price above stated; that thereafter, for the purpose of securing ■ the land for nothing, the said Kimmel entered into a conspiracy with Fred S. Clinton to secure an interest in Miller’s allotment, and as a result thereof, procured the signatures of the plaintiffs to a deed and contract for an undivided one-fourth interest in said land, and that at the time of procuring said deed the said plaintiff was in an intoxicated condition and that his intellect and mind were so weakened through the use of intoxicating liquors that he did not know what he was doing or what he was about. It was further alleged that Kimmel had conveyed some interest to Fitzgerald and Stephens and that they had knowledge of, or with the exercise of due diligence could have ascertained, the circumstances under which Kimmel obtained his title. It is also alleged that Fred S. Clinton claimed some right, title, or interest in and to the land. The prayer was for a cancellation of the contract and deeds of record and for a judgment decreeing the title to be in the plaintiff, and for an accounting. The defendant, Clinton, ■ did not file an answer. The defendants, Kimmel, Fitzgerald, and Stephens, by way of answer, admitted that Ambrose Miller was a member of the Creek Nation of one-eighth Indian blood, according to the enrollment records; that the land in controversy was his allotment; that on or about July 2, 1914, the defendant Kim-mel secured from the plaintiff a six months’ option to buy a one-half interest in the land for $30,000.00, said conveyance to be subject to the prior oil and gas lease on said lands then owned by C. B. Schaeffer; that thereafter the plaintiffs executed to the defendant Kimmel a warranty deed for an undivided one-fourth interest in the land; that said deed was made subject to the prior oil and gas leases thereon; that the consideration for the execution of said deed moving from the defendant Kimmel to the plaintiff was the defendant Kimmel’s quit-claiming, releasing, and relinquishing his option on the premises, as evidenced by a written contract of July 2, 1914, and the further consideration of $12,600.00, which was to be paid plaintiffs by causing to be paid over and delivered to them the one-eighth part of all proceeds of all royalties accruing upon said oil and gas mining leases. The defendants denied that the defendant Kimmel drew all the royalties from said land, but alleged that under the terms of the written agreement between the plaintiffs and the defendant, Kimmel, one-eighth of the royalties was paid to the plaintiffs until March 28, 1916, at which time, at the special request of the plaintiff, Ambrose Miller, defendant Kimmel drew one-fourth of said royalties, and in accordance with his contract with the plaintiffs, promptly and immediately paid ver to the plaintiffs one-half of the royalties so received by him, and that up to the time of bringing this action the defendant, Kimmel, had received and retained for himself and the defendants, Fitzgerald and Stephens, about $7,300.00, and that a like amount of royalties had been paid to and received by the plaintiffs. The answer also admitted that Kimmel duly conveyed to the defendants, Fitzgerald and Stephens, an undivided one-sixteenth interest in and to the lands described in the petition. The answer further denied that either Paul Clinton or Fred S. Clinton ever acted as the agent of J. D. Kimmel or of defendants, Fitzgerald and Stephens; denied that Kimmel, or any of the answering defendants, ever entered into any conspiracy with Paul Clinton or Fred S. Clinton, or any other person or persons to secure the warranty deed above mentioned. They expressly denied that any of said instruments were procured through fraud, or without ' consideration, or by the exercise of any undue influence by any of them, and denied that Ambrose Miller was so weakened in mind that he did not fully comprehend the effect of his contract with defendant Kimmel, and alleged that at all times during the transactions he fully comprehended and understood the force and effect of said instruments. They further specifically denied the affirmative allegations in plaintiffs’ petition, except those which were admitted. The answer further alleged that the plaintiffs were guilty of laches, for the reason that though plaintiffs understood and comprehended the facts attending the execution and delivery of said deed and contract, they did not make any demand upon, or indicate to. said defendants any desire or intention to rescind said contracts and deed within a reasonable time; that they had ratified *235 tiie same, both directly and indirectly, and asked that the plaintiffs’ cause of action be dismissed at their costs. By way of amended reply plaintiffs alleged that O. R. Howard was in a conspiracy with defendants to obtain the plaintiff’s allotment and that the transactions by which Howard, the Clintons, and Kimmel obtained an interest in said •allotment were all part of one transaction and that each depended and was conditioned upon the other. The cause was tried to the court, without a jury, and at the conclusion of the trial the court made the following findings of fact and conclu-. sions of law:

“The court finds that at the time that J. D. Kimmel obtained his option to purchase the lands in controversy from Am-brose Miller in so far as the consideration is concerned as appears from the testimony in this ease it was sufficient and said option was valid and binding upon the parties thereto for the term that it was to run; that at the time of executing said option Ambrose Miller was in a position and condition to know, and did know the consequences of his acts.
“The court finds that at the time the defendant, J. D. Kimmel, released his option and received a consideration therefor the sum of $1,000.00 and an undivided one-fourth interest in the land in controversy that said land had increased materially in value subsequent to taking the option, and that the increase in value was an' adequate consideration for the execution of said deed from Ambrose Miller and wife to J. D.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1919 OK 270, 184 P. 762, 76 Okla. 233, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-kimmel-okla-1919.