Miller v. Stevenson

78 N.W. 626, 58 Neb. 305, 1899 Neb. LEXIS 175
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 22, 1899
DocketNo. 10210
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 78 N.W. 626 (Miller v. Stevenson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Stevenson, 78 N.W. 626, 58 Neb. 305, 1899 Neb. LEXIS 175 (Neb. 1899).

Opinion

Harrison, C. J.

Albert Miller, the appellee herein, who purchased at a sale under process in an attachment suit the undivided one-half of lot 19, in Cain Place, in Omaha, instituted this action to quiet title and secure a partition, and was awarded a decree, from which this appeal has been perfected.

On or about April 14, 1890, Renfrew Stevenson and. certain other parties formed a partnership and purchased some land, which was platted into lots, nineteen in all, and the whole was named Cain Place. The purchase was from one Martha M. Ish, who conveyed the property to Orrin R. Cain in trust for the partnership. Cain and the appellee were partners and entered into a contract with the firm of Stevenson, Bohn & Spotswood to erect dwelling-houses on eighteen of the.lots in Cain Place. This contract was performed, and Miller and Cain, who claimed to not have received full payment for building the- houses and to recover a balance alleged to be due, commenced and prosecuted to the end the attachment [306]*306proceedings which resulted in the sale of the undivided one-half of lot 19, in Cain Place, to the appellee. Lot 19 had been left vacant. Orrin R. Cain conveyed the title to lot 19 to Bohn, and Stevenson and Bohn conveyed the undivided one-half of said lot to William S. Roberts, who conveyed to Thomas Rowland by quitclaim deed, and Rowland conveyed to one- John Stevens, Sr. When the land was purchased of Martha M. Ish, two notes evidencing a portion of the purchase price were executed and delivered to her, one in the sum of $11,050 and the other $11,450, and to secure their payment a mortgage on the land sold was executed and delivered. The note for $11,450 was subsequently sold to Edward or Sarah Ainscow and the mortgage in part assigned. During the time the eighteen houses were in process of construction one A. J. Whidden, secretary of the Star Union Lumber Company, was treasurer of the partnership, the owner of Cain Place, and Stevenson, of the partnership, was vice-president of the Star Union Lumber Company. One John R. Davis was its president and Ben W. Davis a stockholder and director. John R. Davis was also president of the Davis Lumber Company, and he and Ben W. Davis were its owners, directors, and officers. . The place of business of the Davis Lumber Company was in Wisconsin, and the Star Union Lumber Company was a branch house located in Omaha. The latter company furnished the lumber which was used for the erection of the eighteen houses in Cain Place, and it also made advances or loans of money to the partnership, the owners of Cain. Place. During the course of the transactions more or less connected from which originated the present litigation the Star Union Lumber Company assigned its assets to the Davis Lumber Company, and the latter assumed and agreed to pay the debts of the former.

To convey information in regard to the issues litigated we deem it best to quote to some extent from the pleadings. It was of the allegations of the petition:

“1. The plaintiff alleged that on April 14,1890, Steven[307]*307son, Bohn, and Spotswood formed a partnership and acquired title to an undivided one-half of lot 19 in Cain Place, in Omaha, Douglas county, Nebraska, together with other property; that the title was first conveyed to Spotswood and by him to one Orrin R. Cain, and by Cain to Stevenson and Bohn; that all of these persons held the title in trust for said partnership; that subsequently Spotswood conveyed his interest to Stevenson and Bohn; that all of said instruments were duly recorded in the office of the register of deeds of Douglas county, Nebraska, and were legal and valid conveyances of the parties hereto.
“2. That on March 28, 1891, Bohn c<mveyed to Roberts the title to the undivided one-half of said lot 19, which deed was recorded June 15, 1891, in the office of the register of deeds, and was wholly without consideration and for the benefit only of the partnership.
“3. That on January 2, 1894, Roberts conveyed said title to Thomas Rowland, which deed was recorded April 7, 1894, and was a quitclaim deed in form and wholly without consideration, and procured from said Roberts by said Rowland, knowing Roberts held the title in trust for said partnership, and was procured for the purpose of cheating and defrauding the creditors of said firm.
“4. That on January 3, 1894, Rowland conveyed the title to John Stevens, Sr., defendant, which deed was recorded April 27,1894, and was wholly without consideration, and made for the purpose of preventing the creditors of said partnership from recovering payment out of the assets of said partnership, and was fraudulent in fact.
“5. That Spotswood executed a purchase-money mortgage upon said lot and other property, which has been paid. Nevertheless, the Davis Lumber Company, a corporation, defendant, had fraudulently procured an assignment of two notes, whereon an alleged balance of $3,487.71 was claimed to be due it, and then assigned the notes and mortgage to George A. Davis, defendant; that the assignment was made February 6 and recorded Febru[308]*308ary 14, 1894; that the Davis Lumber Company claims the said mortgage valid upon said lot 19 and other property, although said notes have been fully paid, and that the assignment to the Davis Lumber Company and George A. Davis were without consideration and fraudulent and were made for the purpose of defeating the claims of the creditors of the firm of Stevenson, Spotswood & Bohn.
“6. That John R. Davis and George A. Davis are brothers; that Rowland is in the employ of the Davis Lumber Company;, that John Stevens, Sr., is a brother-in-law of John R. and George A. Davis; that the conveyance of Roberts to Rowland and Rowland to .Stevens, Sr., and the assignment to the Davis Lumber Company of said notes, and the assignment by the Davis Lumber Company, to George A. Davis of the note and mortgage securing them, were without consideration and a part of a fraudulent scheme to cheat and defraud the creditors of said partnership and prevent the collection of their just demands against the partnership.”

There followed allegations relative to the. attachment suit and the sale of the undivided one-half of lot 19, in Cain Place, and its purchase by appellee; also some other facts to make appear his right to a partition.

In the answer it was pleaded:

“The defendants Thomas Rowland, George A. Davis, John Stevens, Sr., John R. Davis Lumber Company answered on April 10,1897. They admitted the statements a,nd allegations in paragraph 1 of the petition.
“2. Defendants admit that on March 28, 1891, Bohn conveyed to Roberts the undivided one-half interest in lot 19; that said deed was duly recorded on June 15, 1891, Defendants deny that the deed was without consideration and for the benefit of the partnership, and allege that they had no knowledge whereon to form a belief that said transfer was without consideration and for the benefit of the partnership.
“3. Defendants admit that on January 2, 1894, Roberts conveyed said undivided one-half of lot 19 to Rowland; [309]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Dunn v. State
79 N.W. 719 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1899)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
78 N.W. 626, 58 Neb. 305, 1899 Neb. LEXIS 175, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-stevenson-neb-1899.