Ring v. Ring

174 N.E.2d 58, 131 Ind. App. 623, 1961 Ind. App. LEXIS 214
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 20, 1961
Docket19,065
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 174 N.E.2d 58 (Ring v. Ring) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ring v. Ring, 174 N.E.2d 58, 131 Ind. App. 623, 1961 Ind. App. LEXIS 214 (Ind. Ct. App. 1961).

Opinion

Ryan, J.

This was an action in replevin instituted by the appellee-plaintiff, Helen D. Ring, against the appellant-defendant for the possession of two' United States Government Series H Bonds which were purchased during the married life of the parties. One bond was purchased in October, 1953, and was registered:

“Mrs. Helen Ring R. R. No. 1 Spencer, Indiana or Walter Ring,”

the other bond was purchased in January, 1954, and was registered:

“Mrs. Helen D. Ring R. R. No. 1 Spencer, Indiana or Walter Ring.”

*626 At the time of the purchase of these bonds the parties were and had been husband and wife and had lived together at R. R. No. 1, Spencer, Indiana. They were divorced on December 22, 1955, and on December 31, 1955, the appellee took these bonds to the Owen County State Bank so that they could be cashed. She signed a request for payment on the backs of these bonds and received a receipt from the bank. In the ordinary course of the bank’s business the bonds, upon being signed, would have been mailed to the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago, Illinois, to be cashed. However, instead of being mailed to the Federal Reserve Bank the bonds were somehow mailed to R. R. No. 1, Spencer, Indiana, at which address the appellant was living, and thus the appellant obtained possession of them.

Along about March 1, 1956, an investigation was started as to the whereabouts of the bonds since payment had not been received. At this time the appellant was contacted by a Mr. Abrell and a Mr. Nelson of the Owen County State Bank. Appellant informed these gentlemen that the bonds had been received by him through the mail. Upon the appellant’s refusal to return the bonds, the appellee then commenced this action, trial was had by jury, with a verdict for the appellee and consistent judgment was rendered thereon. Appellant filed his motion for a new trial which was overruled, and this appeal followed.

United States Savings Bonds are issued by the Secretary of the Treasury by authorization of the Congress of the United States, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. Under such authority the Secretary has promulgated certain rules and regulations, the pertinent ones being as follows:

*627 “§315.13 Judicial proceedings (judgment creditors, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers of insolvents’ estates and conflicting claimants). A claim against an owner or co-owner of a savings bond and conflicting claims as to ownership of or interest in such bond as between co-owners or the registered owner and a designated beneficiary, will be recognized when established by valid judicial proceedings. . . .”
“§315.45 Payment or reissue. A savings bond registered in the names of two persons as co-owners in the form, for example, ‘John A. Jones or Mrs. Mary C. Jones,’ will be paid or reissued as follows :
“(a) Payment during the lives of both co-owners. During the lives of both coowners the bond will be paid to either coowner upon his separate request without requiring the signature of the other coowner; and upon payment to either coowner the other person shall cease to have any interest in the bond. The bond will also be paid to both coowners upon their joint request, in which case payment will be made by check drawn to the order of both coowners in the form ‘John A. Jones and Mrs. Mary C. Jones,’ and the check must be endorsed by both payees.”

While such regulations have the force and effect of law, Tharp v. Besozzi, Admrx., etc. (1957), 128 Ind. App. 73, 144 N. E. 2d 430, they are primarily intended to protect the government from becoming a party to conflicting claims as to ownership or interest between registered bondholders.

The nomenclature used in such regulations is not determinative and does not control the actual interest of each named party. Rather, such interest remains a question of fact to be determined by the courts of proper jurisdiction in each and every state under the laws of such jurisdiction. One of the named parties may as a matter of fact be a sole owner, or a *628 half owner, or some other fractional share, or may have no interest therein at all. United, States v. Stock Yards Bank of Louisville (1956), 231 F. 2d 628. The purchase of such a bond and the putting of the purchaser’s name and that of another on it, does not, in and of itself, vest an interest in such bond in the other. The present case is, and must be, distinguished from those cases where the question of ownership' does not arise until after the death of one of the parties. We are not here concerned with the devolution of property, but rather with the right to its possession.

In the present case we have an action in replevin instituted by one of the registered parties on the bond against the other named party. Replevin is a possessory action, the gist or purpose of which is to determine the plaintiff’s right to the possession of the property which is the object of the action and which the defendant has wrongfully taken or has wrongfully or unlawfully retained against the plaintiff’s demand. The primary object is to recover the possession of the property. Meyer v. Deifenbach (1934), 100 Ind. App. 360, 193 N. E. 693; 77 C.J.S. Replevin §4; 25 I.L.E. Replevin §2. The determination of this question is one of fact. It would thus seem apparent that it was not incumbent upon the plaintiff-appellee to introduce the Treasury Regulations into evidence at the trial since they would not be determinative or controlling of the question presented at the trial. Further, there is no merit to the argument that replevin could not be maintained by the plaintiff-appellee because this was an action between two “co-tenants” and that under the law of Indiana replevin cannot be maintained by one co-tenant against another co-tenant. The fact that the Treasury Regulations uses the term “co-owners” does *629 not mean that in this case the action is between that of “joint tenants” or “co-tenants”.

The evidence most favorable to the appellee reveals that the bonds in question here were purchased with money withdrawn from a checking account in ' the name of the appellee and were kept in a safety deposit box which was registered solely in her name. The evidence also tends to establish that the appellee did not at any time intend to make a gift of the bonds or any interest therein to the appellant. The evidence, however, reveals that the appellee intended the appellant could cash the bonds in the event of her death. The evidence most favorable to the appellee also shows that during their married life the appellee was employed, that her earnings were greater than appellant’s and that while some of the appellant’s earnings were co-mingled in the appellee’s checking account these bonds were actually purchased with the appellee’s money. Even though the evidence may be in conflict, where there is evidence which, if believed, fairly supports the verdict, the appellate tribunal will not disturb the verdict. Piggly Wiggly Stores v.

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Bluebook (online)
174 N.E.2d 58, 131 Ind. App. 623, 1961 Ind. App. LEXIS 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ring-v-ring-indctapp-1961.