O'Connell v. Madden

7 N.Y.S. 338, 26 N.Y. St. Rep. 251
Superior Court of Buffalo·Decided October 15, 1889·Published

Opinion

Hatch, J.

The deeds of conveyance which vested title in Ruth C. Madden

were each without consideration. John Madden was, at the time, unable to pay his debts in full. His only property was the house and lot conveyed; •so that at the time of the conveyance, as well as the date of his death, he was insolvent. The rule of law under such circumstances is that failure of consideration and insolvency, coupled together, furnish controlling circumstances for finding fraudulent intent. Erickson v. Quinn, 47 N. Y. 410; Wheel Co. v. Fielding, 101 N. Y. 504-508, 5 N. E. Rep. 431; Cole v. Tyler, 65 N. Y. 73; Potts v. Hart, 99 N. Y. 168,1 N. E. Rep. 605. The law gives no preference to a vigilant creditor in the estate of a deceased debtor. It simply impounds his property for the benefit of all his creditors. Lichtenberg v. Herdtfelder, 103 N. Y. 302-306, 8 N. E. Rep. 526. In this case, deceased, at the time of the conveyance, was insolvent. The debts existing were more than the value of all the property he then or subsequently owned. The conveyance was without consideration. This, coupled with the fact that the debts were all of the same class, the obligation to pay being the same, morally and legally, furnishes evidence sufficiently satisfactory upon which to base a finding that the deeds from Madden to Cooper and wife, and by them to Ruth C. Madden, were in law fraudulent and void as hindering, delaying, and defrauding creditors. Being so void, the estate became an asset in the hands of his administratrix for the payment of his debts, and it became and was her duty to pursue the estate in the hands of the fraudulent grantees, to the end that it might be applied to liquidate his indebtedness. Lichtenberg v. Herdtfelder, supra.

The direction, assuming it to have been made, by John Madden to pay Mary Madden’s debt, created no trust in her favor to have her debts first paid. It ■may be assumed that if Ruth C. Madden obtained title to the property by virtue of an agreement to pay the debt of Mary Madden, so that she became personally liable for its amount, that it would furnish sufficient consideration to uphold the conveyance. Such is the contention of Mr. Locke. It must fail, however, for the reason that it finds no basis in fact. Ruth C. Madden nowhere so testified. On the contrary, her claim is that she owned one-half of the property, and was consequently entitled to it upon John Madden’s death; while Mary Madden says that, just previous to John’s death, he stated to Ruth, in her presence, “for her to pay me all the money he ever owed me, and the interest. He didn’t say where she was to get it. * * * She [Ruth] asked how much it was. * * * He told her $1,800. Question. What did she say? Answer. Some friends came in, and she didn’t say any more.” She further testified that she did not know of the conveyance to Ruth until after John’s death. This evidence fails to establish the agreement contended for, and there is none other adding to its strength. It cannot therefore be [340] said that the payment of Mary’s debt formed, or was intended to form, any consideration for "the execution of the deed; nor did Ruth 0. Madden at any time assume to enter into any agreement by which she charged herself personally with the payment of the debt as a condition upon which she accepted the conveyance. John Madden’s object, so far as expressed, was that he desired Ruth to have the benefit of it upon his decease, in preference to his heirs. There was no intimation made at the time of the conveyance as to the condition or rights of the other creditors; so that in no aspect did Ruth become in any manner chargeable with the payment of their debts. Such being the status of the property, and the conveyance which vested title in Ruth C. Madden being void, it became part of the estate of John "Madden, and, as such, liable for his debts.

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O'Connell v. Madden, 7 N.Y.S. 338, 26 N.Y. St. Rep. 251 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1889).

7 N.Y.S. 338 (O'Connell v. Madden) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Royer Wheel Co. v. . Fielding
5 N.E. 431 (New York Court of Appeals, 1886)
Lichtenberg v. . Herdtfelder
8 N.E. 526 (New York Court of Appeals, 1886)
Erickson v. . Quinn
47 N.Y. 410 (New York Court of Appeals, 1872)
Niver v. . Crane
98 N.Y. 40 (New York Court of Appeals, 1885)
Bertles v. . Nunan
92 N.Y. 152 (New York Court of Appeals, 1883)
Cole v. . Tyler
65 N.Y. 73 (New York Court of Appeals, 1875)
Potts v. . Hart
1 N.E. 606 (New York Court of Appeals, 1885)