Rose v. Howard

670 S.W.2d 142, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 3722
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 24, 1984
DocketNo. WD 33936
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 670 S.W.2d 142 (Rose v. Howard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rose v. Howard, 670 S.W.2d 142, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 3722 (Mo. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

TURNAGE, Chief Judge.

This is a suit for specific performance of an agreement to assign Indian headrights. The trial court declined to order specific performance.

The contention now made is that the agreement should have been specifically performed because it was supported by a valuable consideration. Affirmed.

This suit was instituted by Joannie Barclay Grant Rose, Timothy Hall Dunn, and Mary Ann Dunn Thorngate against the executor of the estate of Joseph E. Schuetz. Joannie, Timothy, and Mary Ann are grandchildren of Dora Dunn Schuetz. Dora, an Osage Indian of ⅝ blood, was married first to Dr. Dunn. Three children were born of that marriage; Marie, Ida Grant, and Timothy J. Marie is not involved in this case because she died before Dora without leaving children.

Dr. Dunn died at a date not shown in the record and, subsequently, Dora married Jo[144]*144seph Schuetz, on April 24, 1920. There were no children born of her marriage to Joe.

Dora’s son, Timothy J., died and left two children, Timothy H. and Mary Ann, plaintiffs in this action. Ida had two children, Constance, known as Nancy Grant Powell, and Joannie Grant Rose. Of these two children, only Joannie is a plaintiff in this action.

Dora died in October of 1966, survived by her husband, Joe, her daughter, Ida, and the two children of her deceased son, Timothy J., Timothy H. and Mary Ann. Dora had executed a number of wills, but only those executed in 1963 and in 1956 figure in this law suit. The 1963 will made provision for the two minor children of Nancy Powell, whereas the 1956 will did not. A guardian ad litem was appointed for the two minor children, Julie and Robert, and an application was filed to admit the 1963 will to probate. Pursuant to federal law, the will which involved an Osage Indian was probated in Osage County, Oklahoma. “Headright” is a term commonly used to describe the interest each member of the Osage Indian Tribe has in the mineral, oil, and gas royalties paid by the United States Government for the development of those assets on the Osage Reservation in Osage County, Oklahoma. Each member of the tribe was given an allotment number. These headrights can pass by will or intestate succession to a person of Indian blood. Joe and Dora were married prior to the enactment of a federal statute which prohibits non Indians from inheriting all or any portion of headrights. Consequently, the parties agree that Joe was eligible to receive headrights from Dora’s estate.

After the guardian ad litem sought to admit the 1963 will to probate, an agreement was entered into between Joe, Ida, Timothy H. and Mary Ann, and the guardian ad litem for the Powell children. It is this agreement which Joannie, Timothy H. and Mary Ann attempt to have specifically performed. By this agreement, dated November 17, 1967, the Powell minors were to receive a sum of $7,000, and the application to probate the 1963 will was to be withdrawn. The agreement recited that it was doubtful Dora possessed testamentary capacity to execute the 1963 will. The agreement also recited that Joe agreed that he had, or would, execute an assignment of the headright interest which he would receive from the estate of Dora to the four grandchildren of Dora, to-wit: Joannie, Nancy, Timothy H. and Mary Ann. The assignment in equal shares was to become effective upon Joe’s death.

An agreement identical to that of November 17, 1967, was entered into on January 6, 1968. The 1968 agreement bears the approval of the superintendent of the Osage agency.

Subject to the just mentioned agreement, application to probate the 1963 will was withdrawn and an application was filed to probate the 1956 will. At a hearing held in Osage County, Oklahoma, before the field solicitor of the Department of Interior on the admission of the 1963 will, Joe testified that it did not matter to him which will was admitted to probate because he intended to elect to take against the will. True to his word, Joe elected to take against the 1956 will and received a one-third interest in Dora’s property. Dora died possessing 2.68750 headrights which she had acquired from various relatives throughout her 88 years. Joe received .89583 headrights as his one-third interest. The income from Joe’s fractional headright interest increased from about $2,600 in 1970 to about $24,200 in 1980.

The parties stipulated that pursuant to Joe’s agreement to assign his headright interest to his four step-grandchildren a law firm in Osage County, Oklahoma prepared an assignment for Joe. An undated assignment signed by Joe is in evidence but was accepted only by Timothy H. and Nancy and was not approved by the superintendent of the Osage Indian agency. The assignment signed by Joe stated the consideration to be love and affection. Also introduced was an unsigned assignment on a printed form, which also showed the consideration to be love and affection.

[145]*145The record reveals that Ida died in 1974 or 1975, and that Joe died in October of 1977. Joe left a will in which he devised his headright interest to Nancy Powell for life with remainder to her children. He also devised the sum of $1,000 to Joannie and five dollars each to Timothy H. and Mary Ann. This suit for specific performance was filed thereafter.

During the trial of this case, Timothy H. and Joannie testified that Joe’s promise to assign his headright interest to them and to Nancy and Mary Ann in equal parts was important and explained their willingness to sign the 1967 and the 1968 agreement. Each testified that he or she understood that Joe signed the agreement to avoid a contest over the 1963 will and to get Dora’s estate closed in an expedient manner.

With the exception of the testimony of Timothy and Joannie just mentioned, the facts heretofore recited are contained in a stipulation of facts which the parties filed. That stipulation concluded that the only issue for the court to decide was whether or not there was consideration for Joe’s promise contained in the 1967 and 1968 agreement to execute an assignment of his headright interest to the four step-grandchildren. The stipulation was later amended to allow the estate to raise certain defenses.

In addition to the stipulation of facts, the voluminous legal file contains many exhibits which were before the trial court. The trial court entered 87 findings of fact and 15 conclusions of law. The court concluded that, except for love and affection, no consideration was given for the agreement of Joe to assign his headright interest to the four step-grandchildren. The court concluded that this consideration was insufficient as a matter of law. The court also concluded that elements of fraud, mistake and undue influence, and of reliance on a confidential relationship were evident in the record. Joannie, Timothy, and Mary Ann contend that the finding that the sole consideration for Joe’s agreement to assign his headright interest was love and affection is not supported by the evidence. In support of this argument they cite first, the fact that Joe avoided the anticipation of a lengthy and expensive will contest, and second, the importance to each of them of Joe’s promise.

Although the facts in this case are rather lengthy, the legal proposition involved is actually simple. That is, the issue to be resolved is whether the evidence supports the court’s finding that the only consideration for Joe’s agreement was love and affection.

Clearly, the agreement does not state any consideration flowing to Joe for his promise to make a future assignment of his headright interest.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
670 S.W.2d 142, 1984 Mo. App. LEXIS 3722, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rose-v-howard-moctapp-1984.