Pruitt v. Pruitt

91 Ind. 595, 1883 Ind. LEXIS 421
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 11, 1883
DocketNo. 10,697
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 91 Ind. 595 (Pruitt v. Pruitt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pruitt v. Pruitt, 91 Ind. 595, 1883 Ind. LEXIS 421 (Ind. 1883).

Opinion

Hammond, J.

— This was an action by tbe appellant against the appellees to enforce a lien alleged to exist upon real estate in favor of the appellant, by virtue of a. conveyance from Nancy Pruitt to the appellee Alexander Pruitt.

The complaint alleges that Nancy Pruitt, who was the mother of the appellant and the appellee Alexander, being the owner of the real estate in controversy, conveyed the same to said Alexander by warranty deed on the 12th day of November, 1860.

The deed, after the description of tbe real estate, contains the following provision respecting the payment of the purchase-money : “ The consideration to be paid for said tracts of land is this, to wit: That said Alexander Pruitt is my son, and’in consideration of the affection I bear him, and tbe further consideration that the said Alexander Pruitt is to pay to my son Joseph Thomas Pruitt the sum of $300 when the said Joseph Thomas arrives at the age of twenty-one years, which the said Alexander Pruitt hereby obligates himself to do, and that said Nancy Pruitt is to have the possession, use and benefit of the said tracts of land so long as she shall live, free of any charge, rent or other obligation whatever.”

The appellee Alexander Pruitt accepted said deed, and, as an evidence of his acceptance thereof and his agreement to pay the appellant the sum specified at the time named, signed his name to said deed and joined with the grantor in the acknowledgment of its execution. He also caused said deed to bo duly recorded.

[597]*597At the time of said conveyance, the appellant, to whom the purchase-money was to be paid, was only fi.ve years of age. He attained his majority’October 9th, 1876. Nancy Pruitt died in 1874. The appellees Nevitt and Isenogle became the owners of the land by purchase after the conveyance to said Alexander. At the time of bringing this action said Alexander was, and had been for a number of years prior thereto, a non-resident of the State, and had no personal property in the State. The complaint averred that the amount to be paid the appellant by the terms of the deed, with interest after his majority, was due and unpaid.

The appellees demurred jointly and severally to the complaint, for want of sufficient facts. These demurrers were overruled and proper exceptions saved.

As they have assigned as cross errors the overruling of these demurrers, they will be noticed before proceeding to the consideration of the errors assigned by the appellant. No objection to the complaint is urged in behalf of the appellee Pruitt. As to the other appellees, two objections are made against the complaint: First. That it does not aver that said appellees were the owners of the land at the time of bringing the action; and, Second. That no demand before suit is alleged. These objections are not well taken. The complaint avers that the appellees Nevitt and Isenogle became the owners of the land by purchase after the conveyance from Nancy to Alexander Pruitt. The contrary not appearing, the presumption would bo that their ownership still continued. The complaint, as to them, only authorized a judgment in rem. If they had ceased to own the land, no judgment could be rendered that would harm them.

No demand before suit is necessary where the time for payment is fixed in the contract. Frazee v. McChord, 1 Ind. 224; Ferguson v. State, ex rel., 90 Ind. 38. The contract embraced in the deed, upon which the appellant predicates his action, provides for the payment of $300 to him on his arriving at the [598]*598age of twenty-one years. Thus the time of payment was fixed. It was ascertainable by inquiry, and no demand was necessary. The provision in the deed that the grantee should pay the appellant the sum named, and the acceptance of the deed by the grantee, made the latter personally liable for its payment. This sum being the unpaid purchase-money of the land became a lien thereon in favor of the appellant. 1 Jones Mort., sections 205 and 214. The record of the deed showing that the purchase-money was unpaid, and that it was payable to the appellant, was constructive notice to the appellees Nevitt and Isenogle, as subsequent grantées. Croskey v. Chapman, 26 Ind. 333; Sample v. Cochran, 84 Ind. 594.

The complaint stated a good cause of action against the appellees, and there was no error in overruling their demurrers thereto.

The appellees Nevitt and Isenogle answered in four paragraphs, the last being the general denial. The appellee Pruitt answered in one paragraph. The appellant demurred to the ^ first, second and third paragraphs of the answer of Nevitt ' and Isenogle and also to the answer of Pruitt. These demurrers were overruled. A reply was then filed. Trial by the court; finding for the appellees, and judgment on the finding, over the appellant’s motion for a new trial. The assignment of errors challenges the correctness of the overruling of the demurrers to the special answers, and the overruling of the motion for a new trial.

The facts stated in all the special paragraphs of the answer were to the same effect, and substantially as follows:

When Nancy Pruitt made the conveyance to Alexander Pruitt the appellant was only five years of age. The agreement to pay the appellant $300 was not founded upon any valuable consideration moving from him. On September 11th, 1867, before the appellant had any knowledge of the provision made in the deed in his behalf, said Nancy and Alexander, by mutual agreement, rescinded their said con[599]*599tract, and in consideration of the said sum of $300 which Alexander was to pay to the appellant, he reconveyed by warranty deed said real estate to said Nancy, which she accepted in full payment of said sum, and released said Alexander from his agreement to pay the same to the appellant. The ■■answers of Nevitt and Isenogle also aver that after the re-conveyance by Alexander to Nancy they purchased the real -estate of the latter, paying her full value therefor, without any actual notice of the appellant’s claim.

The question is, whether, under the facts stated, Nancy’s •attempted release of Alexander from the payment of the sum, ■stipulated in his deed from her to be paid to the appellant, had the effect intended.

The delivery of the deed to Alexander, containing the provision for paying the purchase-money to the appellant, became,'as to Mrs. Pruitt, an executed gift of Alexander’s promise to pay the purchase-money to the appellant. The placing of the deed upon record operated in favor of the appellant as well as the grantee. From the beneficial character of the provision for the appellant, an acceptance may be presumed. In the case of a minor, no formal acceptance of a gift is required to make it binding. The law implies an acceptance even though the infant be ignorant of the gift. It becomes binding and irrevocable as soon as it passes from the_ control and dominion of the donor. Stewart v. Weed, 11 Ind. 92; Rinker v. Rinker, 20 Ind. 185; Wyble v. McPheters, 52 Ind. 393; Baker v. Williams, 34 Ind. 547; Williams v. Walton, 8 Yerger, 387 (29 Am. Dec. 122); Minor v. Rogers, 40 Conn. 512 (16 Am. R. 69); Kerrigan v. Rautigan, 43 Conn. 17.

In Howard v. Windham County Savings Bank, 40 Vt. 597, one Almira Goodell deposited of her own money $200 in a bank in the name of her niece, Adaline F.

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91 Ind. 595, 1883 Ind. LEXIS 421, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pruitt-v-pruitt-ind-1883.