Noel v. Harper

186 S.W. 503, 170 Ky. 657, 1916 Ky. LEXIS 114
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedJune 7, 1916
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 186 S.W. 503 (Noel v. Harper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Noel v. Harper, 186 S.W. 503, 170 Ky. 657, 1916 Ky. LEXIS 114 (Ky. Ct. App. 1916).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by '

Chief Justice • Miller

Reversing.

More tlian forty years ago John Harper died testate and a resident of Woodford county. He devised certain lands to be held in trust for Wallace. W. Harppr during his life, with power of disp9sition in said Wallace; by. last will and testament; and, upon his failure to exercise the power of disposition, the property should go to his children, or their descendants. John Harper also left a large personal estate which lie devised upon the same terms and conditions, by another clause of his will; Wallace W. [659]*659Harper taking a portion of this personal estate under the same terms and conditions that were placed upon the devise of the land above referred to.

In the action of John M. Van Meter, Admr. v. Frank B. Harper and others, filed in the Woodford circuit court for a settlement of the estate of John Harper, Adam W. Harper was appointed trustee of the estate devised in trust by John Harper, deceased, to Wallace W. Harper and his children. Under a judgment of the Woodford circuit court, Adam W. Harper, trustee, invested the personal property which he thus held in a farm of 255 acres, in Scott county, taking the title to himself as trustee, upon the terms and conditions of the original devise under John Harper’s will. . Adam W. Harper died in 1898, and no trustee was appointed in his place until 1915, as will be hereinafter explained.

On March 9th, 1915, Wallace W. Harper filed this action in the Scott circuit court against his six children, for a sale of the Scott county farm and a re-investment of the proceeds of sale in other realty. Two of the children are adults; the other four are infants under fourteen years of age.

The petition alleges there are no buildings or improvements of any kind on the farm; that the plaintiff is entirely without means; that the farm is badly worn and yields only about $300.00 as an annual rental; and that by reason of the want of a residence, barns and similar improvements, he is unable to live upon the farm with his family, or to care for it. The purpose of the sale is to buy another farm with a residence and other improvements on it suitable for a home for the plaintiff and his family. It is apparent that the income derived from the farm is wholly inadequate, considering its value.

A judgment directing a sale in accordance with the prayer of the petition was entered on January 8th, 1915; and, the land having been appraised at $45.00 per acre, an aggregate valuation of $11,475.00, Avas sold at public auction on July 19th, 1915, to the appellant, John C. Noel, for $14,761.25,

Noel executed his purchase money notes as.of the day of the sale. He excepted to the report of sale on October 6th, 1915, however, because, as he alleged in his exception, he could “get no title in this proceeding.” We are advised by the. briefs of-counsel that this exception was based upon the fact that no trustee had up to that time [660]*660been appointed to hold the legal title of the farm in question in place of Adam W. Harper who had died in 1898, and that the legal title did not pass by the sale.

By an order entered October 23rd, 1915, the hearing upon the exception to the report of sale was postponed until the February, 1916, term.

On November 1st, 1915, the plaintiff caused the old case of Yan Meter v. Harper to be re-docketed in the Woodford circuit court, and Bessie Lancaster Harper was therein appointed trustee in the place of Adam W. Harper, deceased. Bessie Lancaster Harper qualified as trustee by giving bond, and immediately thereafter, in November, 1915, she filed her intervening petition in this action setting forth her appointment as trustee, adopting and ápproving all that had been done, and asking that the sale which had been made to Noel be confirmed and the re-investment ordered be made in her name, as the new trustee. Upon the filing of the affidavit required by law, James F. Askew was appointed guardian ad litem for the four infant children of Wallace W. Harper upon the cross-petition of Bessie Lancaster Harper. The guardian ad litem answered for the four infants.

On July 10th, 1915, Noel, the purchaser, filed an amended exception to the report of sale stating that Wallace W. Harper, the life tenant and plaintiff in this action, had given the assurance when Noel made his bid that the purchaser would have the right to seed the land in small grain in the fall of 1915; and, that because of the defect of parties under the. original petition, a confirmation of the sale could not be made at the October term, 1915, and the purchaser was thereby prevented from seeding the land. Noel supported his exception with the affidavits of himself and of several other persons, to the effect that the seeding privilege was a valuable right to the purchaser, and that there was reasonably a difference of $2,000.00 between the value of the farm when sold.by the commissioner with the seeding privilege, and the value of the farm without the seeding privilege.

By an order entered February 14th, 1916, the circuit, court overruled the purchaser’s exceptions, and confirmed the sale. Noel appeals.

1.. Disposing of the amended exception first, it is sufficient to say that sales made under orders of court must be conducted under the terms and conditions of the ■ judgment directing the sale, and that the purchaser at [661]*661such sale cannot be heard to say that he was misled by statements of persons attempting to change the terms of the sale. Bethel v. Bethel, 6 Bush 65, 99 Am. Dec. 655; Cofer v. Miller, 7 Bush 546.

2. A good deal has been said in the brief for the appellant as to the hardship upon him in having to pay interest upon his purchase money bonds from July 19th, 1915, to February 14th, 1916, when the exceptions were overruled and the sale confirmed, during which time he could not get possession of the farm, and will not get the rents derived therefrom. No exception, however, was taken to the sale upon this ground; and, the record fails to show that appellant made any objection to the continuance of the exceptions to the February, 1916 term of the court for the purpose of perfecting the-record by the appointment of a trustee.

Moreover, it is well settled that the purchaser at a judicial sale is not entitled to the rents between the date of sale and date of confirmation of sale, though he is liable for interest on his purchase money for that period. Elliott v. Bush, 3 Ky. L. R. 466; Brown v. Berkley, 3 Ky. L. R. 469; Norris v. Williams, 23 Ky. L. R. 1497, 65 S. W. 439; Taliaferro v. Gay, 78 Ky. 496; Ball v. First National Bank of Covington, 80 Ky. 501; German Bank v. City, 108 Ky. 383; Smith v. Newman, 140 Ky. 80. The amended exception was properly overruled.

3. The original exception, to the effect that the purchaser acquired no title under the proceedings and sale, is broad enough to require a review of the entire proceedings.

Good practice requires that exceptions to a commissioner’s report of sale should state with particularity the errors or grievances complained of; otherwise, they will not be considered. But, in cases involving the property rights of infants the court' will be liberal in the application of this rule and will consider any question fairly raised by an exception, though it be general in its terms and scope.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
186 S.W. 503, 170 Ky. 657, 1916 Ky. LEXIS 114, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/noel-v-harper-kyctapp-1916.