Miller v. Roberts

1953 OK 43, 257 P.2d 1068, 208 Okla. 549, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 838
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 10, 1953
DocketNo. 34768
StatusPublished

This text of 1953 OK 43 (Miller v. Roberts) 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. Roberts, 1953 OK 43, 257 P.2d 1068, 208 Okla. 549, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 838 (Okla. 1953).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Vice Chief Justice.

This case originated in the District Court of Carter County, Oklahoma on the 3rd day of July, 1948. The parties appeared therein [1070]*1070as W. L. Roberts, plaintiff, v. J. M. Miller, defendant, and hereinafter will be referred to as they there appeared. Therein the plaintiff alleged that on May 27, 1935, in a certain case then pending in said court, styled W. L. Roberts, plaintiff, v. J. M. Miller, defendant, the plaintiff recovered judgment against the defendant for $3,080, together with 6% interest thereon from said date until paid; the sum of $42.40 cost, and the court adjudged said judgment to be a lien upon an undivided one-fourth interest in certain land described in the plaintiff’s petition.

An execution was issued on said judgment on February 29, 1940, and returned unpaid; and another on March 19, 1945, was issued on said judgment and returned not collected. A copy of said judgment was attached to the petition as “Exhibit A” and made a part thereof. Plaintiff alleged that there was due upon said judgment the sum of $5,460.12 up to the 25th day of October, 1947. That on said date, the defendant paid the sum of $1,000, leaving a balance due on said judgment of $4,-460.12 for which plaintiff prayed judgment.

On August 7, 1948, a demurrer was filed raising the question that the executions issued on the judgment were general executions instead of special executions and that therefore the judgment was dormant.

Plaintiff then amended his petition and alleged that at the time the note was executed by J. M. Miller to W. L. Roberts (which note was the basis of the judgment in Case No. 21095) Miller was not the record owner of the land upon which the court adjudged and decreed plaintiff a vendor’s lien and foreclosure thereof; that prior to the execution of said note on September 21, 1925, Miller had conveyed said land to his wife, Carrie Miller, and on the 5th day of March, 1930, five days before said note was executed, Carrie Miller conveyed said property to Mira J. With-erow, who was at all times thereafter and prior to the 19th day of November, 1947, the record owner of the property and that plaintiff could not have sold said property under his judgment; that Miller conveyed said property and all other property which he owned to his wife and she in turn conveyed the same to Mira J. Witherow for the purpose of preventing the plaintiff from levying upon said property and for the purpose of defrauding his creditors and this plaintiff; that for this reason said defendant, Miller, is now estopped to plead that plaintiff should have levied upon said land by special execution and sold the-same prior to issuing a general execution.

Plaintiff further alleged that by reason of Miller’s conveying said property away that he was led to believe that Miller was insolvent and accepted the sum of $1,000 on said judgment by reason of the fact that he believed that because of Miller’s insolvency he could not collect the judgment but he now alleges that the sale by Miller was a sham sale and that Miller owned the property at that time; that immediately upon securing a release of said judgment he had the property re-conveyed to him; that prior thereto the property had been of little value; but that it suddenly became valuable for oil and in order to be able to lease said land Miller paid him the $1,-000 and secured a release of the judgment; that said release was obtained by fraud; that if he had known that Miller owned the land and that said sale was ai mere sham, he would never have released' said judgment; that for the reasons alleged the release of said judgment was and is void.

The defendant answered pleading several defenses, among which was that plaintiff’s cause of action was barred by the five year statute of limitations; that no valid execution was ever issued on said judgment within five years after the date of the judgment; that said judgment was dormant and dead; that the plaintiff’s exclusive remedy was by special execution and' order of sale of the property as provided for in the judgment.

Plaintiff’s reply to this answer was a general denial. Thereafter on the 1st day of September, 1949, the cause was set for pre-trial conference for the purpose of determining whether or not the judgment was dormant.

Plaintiff offered in evidence a deed from J. M. Miller to Carrie Miller, which deed was dated the 21st day of September, 1925, [1071]*1071and also a deed from Carrie Miller to Mira J. Witherow, dated the 5th day of March, 1930. It was then agreed that on the 10th day of March, 1930, J. M. Miller executed 'to W. L. Roberts a note for $2000, which note was introduced in evidence. Thereupon the Court Clerk of Carter County, Oklahoma was called as a witness to identify the record in case No. 21095. He stated that the style of the case was W. L. Roberts, plaintiff, v. J. M. Miller, defendant; that under date of June 18, 1935, a journal entry of judgment was filed; that on January 25, 1945, a second praecipe for execution was filed and another general -execution issued. Each writ of execution was returned marked “no property found”. It was then shown that on the 19th day of November, 1947, Mira J. Witherow deeded this land back to J. M. Miller, which deed was offered in evidence; that on the 5th •day of October, 1949, the court made and entered the following order after hearing the pre-trial conference, which reads:

“Now on this the 5th day of October, 1949, this matter came on for hearing upon pre-trial upon the question of whether or not the execution issued on the 24th day of January, 1945, in the case of W. L. Roberts versus J. M. Miller, No. 21095 on the docket of this court were sufficient to keep said judgment from becoming dormant, and the court having considered said matter and -being fully .advised in the premises is of the opinion that said executions were sufficient to keep the judgment from becoming dormant, to all of which the defendant duly excepts.”

Thereafter, on the 21st day of February, 1950, the cause was tried to a jury, resulting in a verdict for plaintiff, Roberts, in the sum. of $4360.12. This verdict was approved by the trial court and judgment rendered accordingly. Upon motion for new trial being overruled, the defendant, Miller, appeals.

For reversal the defendant pleads numerous assignments of error, which he presents and argues under three propositions.

He first contends that a general execution could not issue until the plaintiff had exhausted his remedy by causing a'special execution and order of sale to issue and sell the land upon which the lien was impressed in accordance with the judgment of foreclosure.

We do not agree. As a general rule this is true. Riddle v. Gamble, 99 Okl. 161, 226 P. 106, but herein it is undisputed that the record owner of the property was not a party to the action wherein the trial court decreed plaintiff, W. L. Roberts, entitled to a vendor’s lien on a one-fourth (⅛) undivided interest therein and for foreclosure thereof. It, therefore, was impossible for the plaintiff to have foreclosed a lien upon the property under these circumstances. Since the trial court did not have jurisdiction of the record owner of the property, the judgment declaring a lien and providing for its foreclosure was void. This being so, it was unnecessary to issue a special execution before a general execution was issued on the general judgment covering the indebtedness created by the note. The general executions were timely issued to keep the judgment alive and prevent it from becoming dormant.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1953 OK 43, 257 P.2d 1068, 208 Okla. 549, 1953 Okla. LEXIS 838, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-roberts-okla-1953.