Ruby v. Edwards

1923 OK 128, 214 P. 915, 89 Okla. 253, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 1062
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 27, 1923
Docket10926
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1923 OK 128 (Ruby v. Edwards) 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
Ruby v. Edwards, 1923 OK 128, 214 P. 915, 89 Okla. 253, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 1062 (Okla. 1923).

Opinion

COCHRAN, J.

The defendant in error, Josie Edwards, hereinafter called plaintiff, commenced this suit against G. R. Ruby, hereinafter called defendant, to recover the sum of $2,999 alleged to be due plaintiff by defendant because of the failure of the defendant to pay to the plaintiff a portion of *254 the money which was to have been paid to 'her put of the- proceeds of: a 'real estate mortgage executed on' plaintiff’s 'land, and alleging "that after' the mortgages were executed covering, hdr. property, the defendant know- , ingly, ~ wrongfully, 1 and '. corruptly withheld 'from' the plaintiff a portion of the money due her on said loan. The case was' tried to a jury'-and a verdict-returned for the plaintiff for $1,330, an® judgment was rendered thereon, from which defendant has prosecuted this appeal. • ....

The testimony discloses that in 1913 the defendant induced the plaintiff to place a loan of $2,000 on her land, and that the mortgage was executed for $2,000 principal, and $800 commission notes, the mortgages being taken in the name of M. H. Ruby, wife of the defendant; that the only amount actually paid to the plaintiff out of this loan was $45; but it is contended by defendant that he disbursed' the full amount of the $2,000 for the use and benefit of the plaintiff and with her -knowledge and consent in removing certain clouds on the title of her property, which were in the form of mortgages, deeds, and tax liens. The principal items which defendant claims to have paid in pursuance of . this alleged agreement was $1,830 for the ■ purpose of procuring a quitclaim deed from Josie Hill and release of mortgage executed by Josie Hill to M. Ij. Leith, the sum of $482 to procure a release of a mortgage ex- ' ecuted by Josie Edwards to Lombard, and the sum of $112.40 in payment of taxes. The plaintiff denied that she authorized the payment of any of the items except, the payment of taxes and the amount due on the Lombard mortgage, and specifically denied that khe ever consented to the payment of any sum for the quitclaim deed from Josie Hill and .release of the. mortgage executed by Josie Hill to Leith. The testimony shows that the plaintiff contended that the conveyance under which Josie Hill was claiming was a forgery and that the mortgage to Leith executed by Josephine Hill on this property was void. There was a suit filed involving the validity of these conveyances, which was appealed to the Supreme Court and dismissed upon agreement of the parties. The defendant claims that under this agreement, he paid $250 for a quitclaim deed from Josephine Hill, and $1,080 to procure a release of the Leith mortgage, Leith being the attorney for Josephine Hill in the transaction. The plaintiff’s testimony was that she authorized no such settlement, and that the defendant was never authorized to .expend this amount for her, but that her understanding was..that Josephine Hill was releasing the property in order to escape punishment for the forgery,' or else to redu.ce the .punishment therefor, and shie contended, .further,' that there was ' no proof showing that either Leith or Josephine Hill ivas paid any sums for the release of the mortgage and quitclaim deed, '.

Under assignments of error 1 to 4," inclusive, defendant argues that the verdict ;is contrary to the evidence because, he contends, the evidence conclusively shows .that •the loan was to be a -first lien upon the land ■and was to be based upon a clear title, and that the various instruments which were removed were liens upon the land and' of necessity had to.be discharged before title would be clear. As to this contention, it is sufficient to say that there was- ample testimony in the record from which the jury could find that the defendant paid no part of this money in settlement of the Leith mortgage or in procuring a quitclaim deed from Josephine I-Iill.- In passing we -may say that there was sufficient evidence in the record from which the jury would have been justified in finding that these items were in fact paid, and paid with the knowledge .and consent of the plaintiff, but there was a question of fact in this regard which was properly submitted to the jury and determined against the defendant. A fact which the jury had the right to consider in passing on this question was. that, although it was contended that the $1;080 for the release of the Leith mortgage was for his use ana Denefit and was handled tnróugh the Union State Bank, and although it was1 contended that the $250 was paid to Josephine' Hill, no representative of the Union State JBunk testified in the case, neither did Leith, nor Josephine Hill, and no explanation was made to account for their failure to testify in. regard to the receipt of this money; . :

The defendant testified that the bank was threatening to foreclose the Leith mortgage soon after he made this-loan and while the title was still unsettled, and that, in order ■ to satisfy the bank and prevent the foreclosure proceedings, he deposited the sum of $1,080, or perhaps more, in the bank out of the proceeds of this loan, but there is no testimony showing how the money was deposited, whether to the credit of the defendant, or to the credit of Leith, or the bank, or how this fund was finally disposed of. We think the jury was justified in concluding that'neither the $1,080 nor the .$250 was in fact paid by the defendant, and these two items total the exact amount-.- of ..the verdict rendered against the defendant, .•

*255 Under the fifth assignment' of error, the defendant complains of the--action of the court- in overruling the demurrer to plaintiff’s petition-; and in assignment 6 complains of the action of the court in sustaining demurrer to certain paragraphs of defendant’s answer,. • and contents himself with the following statement-: . • ■

.“The question involved here was either statutory' or elementary, and we do. not deem it necessary to burden this brief with the citation and quotation of 'authorities in support of this assignment.” •

Under tlie seventh assignment of error, defendant complains of the. actionof ,.the court., in denying defendant’s 'motion "'for judgment upon the pleading. In' Allison v. Bryan, 26 Okla. 520, 109 Pac. 934, this court quoted with approval from Elliott on Appellate Procedure, secs. 444, 445, as follows:

“It. is- essential that all points be made in the brief, -and properly made; if not so made, they are waived. * * *. It is not enough to assert in general terms that a ruling of the trial court is wrong; a fair effort must be made to prove that it is -wrong, or the point will not be considered as having been made. Counsel cannot make a point in -an appellate tribunal by a naked general assertion, for such an assertion will not be heeded. * * * But, in order to secure so much as notice -of the point stated, they must support it by a fair effort, adducing arguments, and, if they can, citing authorities. A bare designation of a ruling as erroneous, without discussion, is not sufficient to entitle counsel to successfully insist that he has made a point.”

In- Hatcher v. Roberson, 63 Okla. 296, 164 Pac. 1141, the syllabus is as .follows:

“Assignments of error presented by counsel in their brief, if unsupported by authority or argument, will not be noticed by the court, unless.it is apparent without further research that they are well taken.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1923 OK 128, 214 P. 915, 89 Okla. 253, 1923 Okla. LEXIS 1062, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ruby-v-edwards-okla-1923.