Schuman v. Williams

1936 OK 217, 57 P.2d 821, 176 Okla. 420, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 218
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 3, 1936
DocketNo. 26511.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1936 OK 217 (Schuman v. Williams) 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
Schuman v. Williams, 1936 OK 217, 57 P.2d 821, 176 Okla. 420, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 218 (Okla. 1936).

Opinion

BAYLESS, J.

Morris Schuman, plaintiff below and plaintiff in error herein, appeals to this court from the superior court of Creek county. Okla., and complains of the action of that court in sustaining a demurrer to his amended petition, which demurrer was filed by the defendant, Mamie Williams, defendant in error herein. The parties will be referred to in this opinion as they appeared in the trial court.

The amended petition, omitting the caption, formal parts and exhibits, reads as follows:

“Comes now the plaintiff, Morris Schu- *421 man, and files Ills amended petition herein as follows, to wit:
“First Cause of Action.
“He alleges that at all times hereinafter mentioned he was and is the owner of the legal title to the following described real estate in Creek county, Okla., to wit:
“Lots 6-7-8 in block 16, and lots 2-4-5' in block 16, of the original townsite of Bris-tow,
—and is entitled to the immediate possession thereof; that the defendants, and each of them are now, and for a long time prior hereto have been unlawfully withholding possession thereof.
“Second Cause of Action.
“1. That on Sept. 20, 1930, plaintiff and defendant, Mamie Williams entered into a certain contract in writing, a copy of which marked ‘Exhibit A,’ is hereto attached and made part and parcel hereof, under the terms of which contract plaintiff sold to defendant the property above-described for the sum of $216 to be paid by the defendant, Mamie Williams, in manner and form, to wit: $60 cash, and $15 on or before the 20th of each succeeding calendar month, with interest from date at 8% per annum; that plaintiff agreed in said contract to execute and deliver to Mamie Williams a quitclaim deed to said property when fully paid for; that said contract provides that upon the failure of said Mamie Williams for two months to make a monthly payment it shall cease and terminate without notice, and all money previously paid shall be deemed to be rent.
“2. That defendant, Mamie Williams, has paid a total of $65 on said contract and has been long in default; that plaintiff now elects to rescind said contract and to hold the said $65 as rent; and that said contract is a cloud upon his title.
“Third Cause of Action.
“1. That the defendants and each of them are threatening to remove the improvements from said lots; that they and each of them are wholly insolvent; and that unless restrained from so doing, plaintiff will suffer irreparable injury.
“Wherefore plaintiff prays recovery of said real estate and its possession; cancellation of said contract as a cloud upon his title;, an order restraining the defendants and each of them, until final hearing, from removing or attempting to remove any improvements from said lots or to otherwise injure said property.”

The demurrer thereto reads as follows:

“Comes now the defendant, and demurs to the petition of the plaintiff herein for the reason that said petition does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant.
“Comes now the defendant and specially demurs to the petition of the plaintiff filed herein for the following reasons, to wit:
“Said petition and exhibits attached thereto upon the face thereof fails to disclose or properly recite and allege that the resale notice was published in the official county ¡newspaper or in some newspaper designated by the county commissioners of Creek county, Okla.
“The petition and exhibits attached thereto fail to disclose that within thirty days after said resale a return of said sale was filed' in the office of the county clerk of Creek county, Okla., and a copy thereof retained in the office of the county treasurer of Creek county, Okla.
“The petition and exhibits attached thereto failed to disclose that the said resale tax deed was upon a form prescribed by the State Examiner and Inspector of the State of Oklahoma.
“The petition and exhibits attached thereto affirmatively disclose and show that said resale tax deed does not contain ‘a provision expressly canceling and setting aside all the delinquent taxes, penalties, interests and costs previously assessed or existing against (he said real estate, including ad valorem and outstanding individual and county tax sale certificates’; and said tax deed affirmatively shows upon its face that all the taxes were not expressly canceled and set aside, and that special improvement taxes were specially excepted and not canceled. Defendant further specially demurs to the petition and exhibits attached thereto for the reason that the same does not show for what year or years taxes were delinquent against said land and for what year or years of delinquent taxes said sale was made.”

This demurrer was amended by the addition of another ground, to wit:

“Comes now the defendant and in addition to the allegations of her special and general demurrer, further specifically demurs to the petition for the reason that the same shows upon its face and the exhibits attached thereto, that the cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations of the state of Oklahoma, in such cases made and (provided.”

The trial court sustained the demurrer and in so doing construed the petition and exhibits by making certain findings of fact and conclusions of law which are:

“That the plaintiff’s petition shows upon its face that the cause of action is based *422 upon a resale tax deed, and that said resale tax deed is void upon its face.
“Tliat tlie cause of action to recover possession of real estate involved Tierein is barred by tlie general state (sic) of limitations of the state of Oklahoma, in such cases made and provided, and that the petition so shows upon its face.”

The trial court erred in sustaining' the demurrer to tlie amended petition of the plaintiff. ’

This court has said that the scope of inquiry and matters to be considered in passing upon a demurrer is as stated in Rhode Island Ins. Co. v. Glass, 131 Okla. 108, 267 P. 840:

“In considering a demurrer to the petition it is the duty of the court to examine the petition and the exhibits thereto attached, and if the petition, together with the exhibits, state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the defendant, it is the duty of the court to overrule such demurrer.”

This is a companion rule to the general rule for the construction of a demurrer which has been stated by us many times and may be found in Grubb v. Fay State Bank, 119 Okla. 199, 249 P. 341:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Curtis v. Shell Pipe Line Corp.
1953 OK 382 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1953)
Kelleam v. Kelleam
1946 OK 37 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1946)
Weatherman v. Victor Gasoline Co.
1942 OK 191 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1942)
Caldwell v. Indian Terr. Illuminating Oil Co.
1940 OK 325 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1940)
Clinkscales v. Mundkoski
1938 OK 336 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1938)
Sanders v. First National Bank of Pauls Valley
1938 OK 331 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1936 OK 217, 57 P.2d 821, 176 Okla. 420, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schuman-v-williams-okla-1936.