Penn v. Shon-kah-tsa-a

111 Okla. 177
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 23, 1925
DocketNo. 12701
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 111 Okla. 177 (Penn v. Shon-kah-tsa-a) 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
Penn v. Shon-kah-tsa-a, 111 Okla. 177 (Okla. 1925).

Opinion

Opinion by

PINKHAM, C.

This -cause involves a controversy over the settlement of the estate and the probating of the will of an Osage allottee who died testate in Osage county.

The facts, briefly stated, are as follows:

Wah-shah-she-me-tsa-he, a member of the Osage Tribe of Indians, died on August 20, 1919. Her first husband was Anthony Penn, who died a number of years ago. Of this marriage three children, Eddie Penn, Walker Penn, and Angie Bonnicastle, survived. Later she married one Laban Miles, and of tills marriage one child, Amos Miles, was born, who is now living. In 1908 she obtained a divorce from her second husband, and in' 1914, several years subsequent to' the Allotment Act of Congress (Osage Allotment Act June 28, 1906), she married one Tom Steele, the defendant in error in this court. Of this marriage no children were born.

At the time of her death the following heirs at law survived: Tom Steele, surviving husband and defendant in error; Eddie Penn, a son; Walker Penn, a son; Angie Bonnicastle, a daughter; and Amos Miles, a son.

All of her estate was acquired prior to her marriage to the defendant in error.

Deceased left a will which was duly approved by the Secretary of the Interior as provided by section 8 of the Act of Congress approved April 18, 1912. By the terms of this will she gave each surviving heir a one-fifth interest in her Osage tribal rights.

The said will was -admitted to probate in the county court of Osage county, and H. H. Brenner, the executor, proceeded to administer on said estate and in due time filed his final report and a petition for the distribution of said/ estate as provided by the terms and provisions of said will.

Prior to the hearing on the final account of the executor and his' application for final distribution the surviving husband, defendant in error, filed his motion asking the county court to reduce the devise of each surviving child in a proportionate amount so as to increase his own devise from a one-fifth interest given to him by the will to a one-third interest.

Upon a hearing being had the county court denied the motion of Tom Steele, defendant in error, and made and entered an order of final distribution of said estate -according to the provisions and terms of said will from which judgment the defendant in error appealed to the district) court lof Osage county.

Upon a hearing being had in the district court a judgment was rendered overruling [178]*178the judgment of the county court and reducing the interests of'the other devisees or beneficiaries under the will so a-s to make their interests amount to a two-thirds interest in said estate and increase the interest •of Tom Steele, defendant in error, the surviving spouse, by making his interest in said estate amount to a one-third interest therein; and ordering distribution accordingly.

From the judgment of the district court sustaining defendant in error’s motion, and an order overruling the motion for a new trial, the plaintiff in error appealed to this court.

A motion to dismiss this appeal was filed in this court by the defendant in error on March 21, 1923. This motion was fully briefed and presented and this court, upon consideration thereof, made and entered an order on April 24, 1923, denying the motion to dismiss.

ut is urged, however, that a rule should be announced defining what are and what are not joint judgments, and also a definite rule establishing the rights or lack of rights of nonappealing parties.

This motion was upen the grounds: .First, that the executor of said estate and three devisees named in the said will are necessary parties herein 'and are not before this court; second, the case-made herein was not served on any of the parties to this controversy except this defendant in error.

It is further urged “that if this court, after full consideration of the motion to dismiss, holds that said case should not be dismissed and so holding decides that the judgment herein is not a joint judgment, then and in that event the court must not overlook the controlling authorities to the effect that ‘a reversal is binding on the parties to the suit, but does not inure to the benefit of - the parties against whom judgment was rendered in the lower court and who did not join in the appeal,’ ” citing 4‘ O. J. 1206.

We are clearly of the opinion that the judgment of the district court was a several, and nt t a joint, judgment. No authorities have been cited by defendant in error that hold that such a judgment as in the instant-case is a joint judgment.

Furthermore, an appeal is perfected by complying with section 782, Oomp. St. 1921, which provides for notice in open court and:

“Upon the giving of such notice and entering same on the trial docket all parties of record in the court from which such appeal is to be taken shall become parties to the appeal in the Supreme Court and no further notice shall be required to be served upon them of such appeal, but such notice above provided and showing intention to appeal shall automatically make all parties of record in the lower court parties in the appellate court.”

The statute providing for the service of case-made, section 785, Comp. St. 1921, enacted in 1917, provides, among other things:

“The ease so made or a copy thereof shall, within 15 days after the judgment or order is rendered, be served upon the opposite party or his attorney. * * *”

It is4 urged that the case-made herein was-not served on any parties to this controversy except the defendant in error, Tom Steele.

The question arises, Who is “the opposite party?”

In Morrison v. Leach (W. Va.) 47 S. E. 237, it is held that a statute requiring notice to-the opposite party means all parties who-have an interest -in upholding the decree-sought to be reversed. The word “opposite” is a synonym of “adverse”. Prunty v. Consol, Fuel Co., 82 Kan. 541, 108 Pac. 802.

In McDonald v. Denton (Tex.) 132 S. W. 823, it is said:

“Where there was no adverse interest between defendants in the trial court any one of them could appeal without making the other defendants parties.”

W-e think all parties- in the lower court were made parties in the Supreme Court by the notice (f appeal given in open court and full jurisdiction was obtained over sa-id parties. The persons entitled to service of case-made were served. It is not contended by either party to this appeal that the other devisees are adverse to the plaintiff in -error.

It appears that all parties in interest appeared and were parties in the district court; that all parties in interest further appeared and were parties on the hearing for a motion for a new trial; and that all were present in court and had notice of appeal provided for by the amendment of 1917, and the case-made was, as before stated, served on all adverse parties, as shown by the record.

The motion to dismiss this appeal will not be further considered and the cause will be considered on its merits.

There is no dispute as to the facts which were found in the findings of the county court and of the district court.

The one question in the case, as we view it, is: What prrtion of the estate of W-ah-[179]*179Shah-she-me-tsa-he, deceased, has the surviving spouse, the

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111 Okla. 177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/penn-v-shon-kah-tsa-a-okla-1925.