Smith v. Rockett

1920 OK 199, 192 P. 691, 79 Okla. 244, 1920 Okla. LEXIS 84
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMay 4, 1920
Docket10649
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 1920 OK 199 (Smith v. Rockett) 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
Smith v. Rockett, 1920 OK 199, 192 P. 691, 79 Okla. 244, 1920 Okla. LEXIS 84 (Okla. 1920).

Opinion

McNEILL, J.

This action was commenced in the district court of Carter county by Ida M. Rockett, on behalf of herself and as guardian for her three minor children, and Louis H. Rockett for possession of some 4,500 acres of land and to quiet title in the plaintiffs. The petition alleges that the plaintiffs are the owners of said land, and on the 13th day of August, 1917, a contract for sale of said ■land was executed by Ida M. Rockett, for herself and as administrator of the estate of Louis Rockett, deceased, and as guardian for the three minor children, to R. R. McLish and Luther Eoff, which contract was assigned to defendant, Smith; that thereafter plaintiffs Ida M, Rockett and Louis H. Rockett entered into an additional contract on the 10th day of April, 1918, with W. L. Smith, agreeing to convey all of the lands of *245 said plaintiffs and the minors to said Smith, but said contract was obtained by fraud, in* that the contract provided for the payment of $2,000 at the time of signing said contract; that said contract had been' executed and ' Smith had obtained possession of said land under said contract, but had never paid said $2,000 or any portion of the contract price. Plaintiffs asked for judgment canceling the contracts, and damages for the withholding of said lands in the sum of $5,-000, and an additional $5,600 for injury and damages to the freehold. To this petition the defendant filed his answer and cross-petition, claiming cex-tain rights by virtue of the contract with McLish and ■ Luther Eoff and the contract to himself, and denied he had breached his- portion of the contract; and further pleaded that he had delivered a check to the plaintiffs in payment of said contract, but there was an agreement that the same should not be- cashed for the reason that a portion of the px-operty was in the hands of Alva E. Smith, who was in bankruptcy, and that said cheek was not to be paid until defendant was given possession of said land; that although plaintiffs had attempted to cash said checx, it was contrary to their agreement. Defendant pleads that he is ready to carry out the contract, but the plaintiffs have broken their portion of the contract and failed and refused to have the land belonging to the minors sold through the probate court.

Defendant further pleaded that Ida M. Rockett and Louis H. Rockett, were the owners of 2,500 acres of said land, and 1,800 acres were owned by the minors. Defendant states that he is ready to pay into court the money under said contract, and to comply with the contract upon plaintiffs tendering into court a good and sufficient abstract and deed, or at least their portion of the land, and alleges -that since the making of the contract the lands have advanced in value, and by reason of said fact and the breach of the contract the defendant' has been damaged in the sum of $23,000. The case was tried to the jury, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs fox-possession of the land, awarding the plaintiffs $900 for damages for the rent of the property. The court approved the verdict of the jury, and rendered judgment for possession of the land, and found that the plaintiffs were the owners of said land, and found what portion of the land belonged tp each one of the plaintiffs, and made a further finding that the terms of the contract dated April, 1918, "entered into between the plaintiffs and the defendant, Smith, had been violated and the $2,000. provided for in said contract was never paid, and no valid or legal tender had ever been made, and that Smith had breached the terms of the contract and lost whatever right he had under and by virtue of the same, and, on account of the breach, said contract had -terminated and should be declared null and void.

The court further found that, under .the terms of the contract, it was agreed that upon a failux-e to pay the money provided in the contract Smith should pay the sum of 75 cents per acre per annum as rental. The court found, under said contract, there was $900 due for the use and occupancy of the premises. The court then quieted title in the plaintiffs and decreed that the defendant had no interest in the premises. - Prom said judgment, the defendant has appealed to -this court.

Por reversal the plaintiff in error has divided his assignments of error into eight separate and distinct assignments. We will consider them in the order set forth in the printed -brief. The first assignment of error is as follows:

“That the court erred in sustaining -the objection of the plaintiff to certain evidence offered by the defendant, and especially that evidence in which the defendant sought to prove that the McLish and Eoff contract referred to in the record and the Palkner lease were a part of the consideration for the contract made between Ida M. Rockett and Louis H. Rockett.”

This assignment of error is not briefed by plaintiff in error, and it will therefore be deemed that plaintiff in error has abandoned the same. However, since the contract with Mr. Smith provided that, upon the signing of said contract between plaintiffs and Smith, the contracts that plaintiffs -had with Palkner Brothex-s and with McLish and Eoff should be void, and that Smith should have no further interest in said land, by reason of said contracts, we are unable to see how the question presented could be material in the case at bar.

The second assignment of error is that the' court erred ■ in -overruling , the defendant’s demurrer at the close of plaintiffs’ testimony. In this, we do not think the court erred. The plaintiffs produced testimony as to the execution of the contract, and the failure on behalf of the defendant to comply with .any portion of said contract, and his failure to pay the $2,000 mentioned in said contract which was due upon the signing of said contract. The record further discloses that, prior to the time -of the signing of said contract, the defendant had given to plain *246 tiffs a check in the sum of $2,000, which said cheek was presented for payment and protested, and the record discloses that the defendant was in possession of the premises, and had never paid any portion of the purchase price.

The rule adopted by this court in determining whether it was error to sustain a demurrer to the evidence introduced is stated in the case of Rose v. Woldert Grocery Co., 54 Okla. 566, 154 Pac. 531, as follows:

“The test applied to a demurrer to the evidence is that all the facts which the evidence in the slghtest degree tends to prove, and all inferences or conclusions which may be reasonably and logically drawn from the evidence, are admitted. The court cannot weigh, conflicting evidence, but must treat the evidence as withdrawn which is most favorable to the demurrant.”

The plaintiffs having introduced evidence of the fact above stated, it was not error for the court to overrule the demurrer to the evidence.

The third assignment • of error is that the court.erre'd in overruling the defendant’s motion for judgment at the close of the testimony on behalf of the defendant. The rule to be applied to the evidence in determining said question is as stated in the case of Buckeye Engine Co. v. City of Cherokee, 54 Okla. 509, 153 Pac. 1166:

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

Related

Webber v. Spencer
27 N.W.2d 824 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1947)
Emery v. Goff
1947 OK 93 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1947)
Hayes v. Oklahoma City
1940 OK 213 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1940)
O. K. Storage & Transfer Co. v. Hagen
1937 OK 257 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1937)
Martin v. Coogan
1936 OK 277 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1936)
Ward v. Coleman
170 P.2d 113 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1934)
Morris v. McLendon
27 P.2d 811 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1933)
Neu v. J. I. Case Threshing MacHine Co.
1932 OK 327 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1932)
Ransom v. Robinson Packer Co.
1926 OK 852 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1926)
Reynolds v. Brock
1926 OK 3 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1926)
Penny v. Vose
1924 OK 988 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
Harwell v. Wood
1923 OK 474 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)
Rock v. Fisher
1923 OK 273 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)
Owens v. Taylor
1923 OK 103 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)
Stuard v. First State Bank of Waurika
1923 OK 23 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)
Rosenberg v. Olsan
1922 OK 368 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1922)
Oklahoma Hospital v. Brown
1922 OK 193 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1922)
Atchison, T. & S. F. R. Co. v. Lyon
1922 OK 188 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1922)
Meyers v. Caruthers
1921 OK 225 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1921)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1920 OK 199, 192 P. 691, 79 Okla. 244, 1920 Okla. LEXIS 84, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-rockett-okla-1920.