Patterson v. Miller

241 S.W. 875, 154 Ark. 124, 1922 Ark. LEXIS 453
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 5, 1922
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 241 S.W. 875 (Patterson v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Patterson v. Miller, 241 S.W. 875, 154 Ark. 124, 1922 Ark. LEXIS 453 (Ark. 1922).

Opinion

Smith, J.

This suit originated as a bill in equity to quiet title to the north half and the fractional southwest quarter section 31, township 8 north, range 6 east, Crittenden County, Arkansas. The plaintiffs are Geo.' W. Patterson and H. A. McGhee, who purchased the lands from Mrs. Olivia Hill Grosvenor, who had, in turn, acquired them from her mother, Mary M. Hill, the widow of Napoleon Hill. The defendants, among others, included the heir of D. E. Myers, deceased, viz., his daughter, Mine-try Myers Miller, and the heirs of ¥m. M. Sneed, deceased, viz., Mary B. Neely, Louise Sneed Hill, Bichard Sneed, and Hampton Fenton Sneed. The complaint deraigned title and prayed that title to the lands' be quieted in the plaintiffs. 1

The defendant, Minetry Myers Miller, filed an answer and cross-complaint, in which she sought, as the sole heir of D. E. Myers, deceased, to assert an undivided one-fourth interest in said lands. She prayed that her interest be established and that partition of the land be made in kind.

Minetry Miller, a daughter of Minetry Myers Miller, filed an intervention and cross-complaint, in which she averred that under the will of D. E. Myers she was entitled to a remainder interest in the land sought to .be' recovered by her mother, and she adopted the answer and cross-complaint of her mother. As an additional cross-complaint she averred that Mary N. Hill and Olivia Hill Grosvenor had collected rents and profits for which they should account. The heirs of Sneed averred their ownership of an undivided one-fourth interest in the lands, and adopted the answer and cross-complaint of Minetry Myers Miller. They also prayed judgment for rents and profits. All other defendants defaulted.

Mary M. Hill and Olivia Hill Grosvenor filed an answer to the several cross-complaints in which defenses are set up which will later be discussed, The plaintiffs Patterson and McGhee adopted as their answer to the several cross-complaints the answer thereto of Mrs Hill and Mrs. Grosvenor.

The cause was heard by the chancellor on the very .voluminous record now before us, and a recovery of a certain part of the lands was awarded Mrs. Miller and her daughter, and the Sneed heirs were also awarded a recovery of a certain interest in the lands; but the court denied any recovery against Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Grosvenor for rents and profits. The plaintiffs’ title was quieted against the other defendants as. to all parts of the lands not recovered under the cross-complaints.

Under the finding thus made the parties stipulated as to the taxes and improvements, the claim for rents being disallowed; but this stipulation does not suffice for us to render a final decree here, because we do not concur in certain of the chancellor’s findings, as will later appear, and the parties may, if they are so advised, take further testimony on the question of rents and profits and betterments. Prom the findings and decree of the chancellor all parties whose interests in the litigation have been set out have appealed.

The chancellor prepared an opinion in which he recited a number', of facts. Such of these as are essential to a statement of the case are as follows:

On April 18, 1870, E. N. Apperson acquired as trustee the title to about 40,000 acres of swamp land lying in Crittenden and other counties in Arkansas, the land in litigation being the first tract described in his deed. The equitable title to the lands at that time was held as follows: E. N. Apperson, 3/8; Gr. Y. Eambaut, 1/8; Napoleon Hill, 2/8; W. H. ’Wood, 2/8. Eambaut sold Ms 1/8 interest to Apperson. • The deed under which Apperson held as trustee gave him power to convey the fee title, the beneficiaries being interested only in the proceeds of the sales of the lands. These titles became incumbered with tax sales, and Apperson employed D. E. Myers and W. N. Sneed, law partners as Myers & Sneed, to discharge these liens and to straighten up the titles to the lands. This contract was evidenced by a deed dated July 18, 1887, which recited that it was to take effect as of October 28, 1882.- This deed conveyed to Myers & Sneed an undivided half interest in all the lands there described as compensation for services performed and to be performed. This deed was not filed for record until June 13, 1890.

■ On January 28, 1888, Apperson, as trustee, executed to Napoleon Hill a deed conveying an undivided half interest in certain of these lands, including all of section 31, township 8 north, range 6 east. We quote from this deed, as we think it has a very important hearing on the litigation. The grantor recites that, for the consideration of $1,401.75, he has “this day sold and do by these presents alien and convey unto Napoleon Hill aforesaid, an undivided one-half interest in the following real estate.” Following a description of the lands, it is recited that “all of said lands herein conveyed being an undivided one-half of all the same. * * * But I, the said E. M. Apperson, do hereby convey not only such claim as I own or have in said undivided half of said lands in my own right, but likewise any and all claim or title vested in me as trustee. It being my intention to make to said Hill, and his heirs and assigns, a clear deed to one-half of said real estate as trustee and otherwise.* * *” It will be borne in mind that at the time of the execution of this deed the trustee owned only an undivided one-half, as he had previously conveyed an undivided one-half to Myers & Sneed. The deed to Hill was filed for record June 16, 1888.

W. M. Sneed died testate in 1895, and devised the bulk of his estate to his executrix as trustee, and through a bill filed by D. E. Myers, as attorney for the executrix, in the chancery court of Shelby County, Tennessee, the estate was administered in insolvency; and it is insisted that neither in the will nor in the insolvency proceeding was any reference made to the deceased’s claim of an interest in the lands here in litigation.

In 1899 D. E. Myers, as his own attorney, brought suit against all persons for whom Apperson (who was then dead) had been trustee. This suit did not include the land in section 31-8-6, for the reason, no doubt, that the trustee had previously divested himself of the title by his deed to Myers & Sneed and the deed to Napoleon Hill. The lands involved in the suit by Myers were sold, and the bulk of them was purchased by Noland Fontaine as trustee for those interested in a syndicate, the decree reciting the beneficiaries and their interests. Fontaine was the business associate of Hill, and Myers represented Hill as attorney in many matters, particularly in the management of the Arkansas lands, and the testimony shows that a close and intimate friendship existed between Hill and Myers. It is also shown that Myers frequently borrowed money from Hill, and on one occasion at least had given Hill a deed of trust on his Tennessee property, to secure such advances, but the deed of trust was not placed of record. Fontaine, as trustee, managed the lands vested in him as trustee under the supervision of Myers until 1910, when the trust was finally settled.

Myers.died testate in 1910, and by his will vested his estate in the Union & Planters Bank & Trust Company of Memphis, as trustee, to manage the estate and to pay the income thereof to his daughter, Mrs. Miller, for her life, with remainder to her children.

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

Related

Barton Land Services, Inc. v. Seeco, Inc.
2013 Ark. 231 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2013)
Welder v. Wiggs
790 S.W.2d 913 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 1990)
Adkins v. Adkins
529 S.W.2d 144 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1975)
Herford v. Scales
399 S.W.2d 653 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1966)
Gilleland v. Meadows
351 S.W.2d 656 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1961)
Fundaburk v. Cody
72 So. 2d 710 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1954)
Seawood v. Ozan Lumber Co.
252 S.W.2d 829 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1952)
Wright v. Curry
187 S.W.2d 880 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1945)
Gibbs v. Pace
179 S.W.2d 690 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1944)
Newman v. Newman
169 S.W.2d 667 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1943)
Hackett v. Linch
116 P.2d 868 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1941)
D.C. Roberts v. A.S. Roberts
150 S.W.2d 236 (Texas Supreme Court, 1941)
Elrod v. Elrod
92 S.W.2d 211 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1936)
Ward v. Pipkin
27 S.W.2d 523 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1930)
Roberts v. Miller
291 S.W. 814 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1927)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
241 S.W. 875, 154 Ark. 124, 1922 Ark. LEXIS 453, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/patterson-v-miller-ark-1922.