Southwick v. Jones

1936 OK 500, 60 P.2d 774, 177 Okla. 409, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 704
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 8, 1936
DocketNo. 25122.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 1936 OK 500 (Southwick v. Jones) 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
Southwick v. Jones, 1936 OK 500, 60 P.2d 774, 177 Okla. 409, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 704 (Okla. 1936).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Linus E. Southwick died testate, a resident of Lancaster county, Neb. His will was duly admitted to probate on March 4, 1927, and Homer J. and Phillip O. Southwick, his two sons, were appointed as executors of his last will and testament by the county court of Lancaster county. On October 13, 1927, Homer J. and Phillip O. Southwick, as executors of the last will and testament of Linus E. Southwick, as parties of the first part, entered into a ion-tract with R. E. Jones and Sid Jones, as parties of the second part, wherein they agreed to sell to the Joneses the southwest quarter of section 16, township 1 south, range 7 west in Stephens county, Okla., of which Linus E. Southwick died seized -md possessed,, for the sum of $5,600; $1,000 cash in hand paid, $1,000 to be paid on or before April 15, 1928, at which time the first parties were to deliver to the second parties a warranty deed, and the parties of the second part were to execute a real estate mortgage on said real estate for the unpaid balance of $3,600 payable within three years, same to bear interest at the rate of 6 peí-cent. per annum, payable semiannually on November 15th and April 15th of each year.

On the suggestion of the attorneys, who represented the Joneses in the matter of obtaining fee-simple title thereto for them, that said will be admitted to probate in Stephens county, Okla., said executors, Homer J. and Phillip O. Southwick, did on the 16th day of January, 1928, file their petition for letters in the county court of Stephens county, with a copy of the will and the probate thereof duly authenticated, and on the 9th day of February, 1928, said foreign will was duly admitted to probate, and said Homer J. and Phillip O. Southwick were appointed executors of said estate, and after giving bond, - letters testamentary were issued to them by the county court of Stephens county.

On December 13, 1928, said executors filed their return of sale of real estate showing that they had sold it to Robert E. Jones and Sid Jones for the recited consideration of $5,600 cash. After due notice of hearing return of sale of real estate, and on 24th *411 day of December, 1928, an order confirming sale of real estate was entered whereby said executors were ordered and directed to con-rey to Robert E. Jones and Sid Jones said real estate, which was done.

The record reflects that Robert E. Jones and Ima Jones, his wife, and Sid Jones and Ida Jones, his wife, executed to said executors as a part of the purchase price of said real estate their note in the sum of $3,600, and to secure the payment thereof executed their real estate mortgage on the real estate so sold to them by said executors. The Joneses, haying made default under the terms of said note and mortgage, Homer J. South-wick and Phillip O. Southwick, executors of the last will and testament of Linus E. Southwick, deceased, as plaintiffs, commenced the present action against the Joneses and others to reduce said note to judgment and to foreclose their mortgage lien on the real estate involved herein. The Joneses, after filing a motion to dismiss, a motion to make more definite and certain, and a motion to require the plaintiffs to give security as provided in section 1207, O. S. 1931, filed their answer and cross-petition, wherein they refer to the foregoing contract-of October 13, 1927, and allege that said note and mortgage were void and without consideration for the reason that the plaintiffs were residents of the state of Nebraska and had never been residents of the state of Oklahoma, and had never personally submitted themselves to the courts of the state of Oklahoma, and that the ancillary proceedings instituted in the county court of Stephens county by said executors were instituted through their attorneys and without them personally appearing for any purpos 5, and that they by fraud and mistake failed and refused -before entering upon the duties of their trust to file a written appointment in said county court of Stephens county of an agent upon whom service of process might be had and failed to file their consent that service on such agent should have the same legal effect as if served on them personally within the state as provided by section 1073, O. S. 1931, and that such was a fraud upon the county court of Stephens county and upon said defendants, and that all proceedings had thereafter were void and of no legal effect, and that the county was not authorized to approve the sale of said real estate, and as a further ground of fraud and mistake, defendants asserted that the will of said Linus E. Southwick authorized «aid executors to buy and sell real estate, exchange the same, and to sell the same for cash, but that in the making of said salo the said plaintiffs sold said real estate for part cash and part on credit and made a return of sale to the county court showing that said real estate was sold to the defendants for cash and that such return was a legal fraud upon the judge of the county court and upon the defendants and the beneficiaries under said will; that they had no notice of said fraud and mistake until the filing of the present action; that certain of the beneficiaries under said will were minors and would have two years after obtaining their majority in which to attack said order of confirmation and deed for fraud and irregularity. The defendants then offered through their answer and cross-petition to rescind and offered to reconvey the premises and surrender the possession of the premises to the plaintiffs upon the payment of $2,000, less the rental value of said real estate; and that if the plaintiffs failed and refused to accept said offer to rescind, the defendants have judgment for $2,000 paid, less rentals, and that the court impress said real estate with a lien to the extent of the amount due them.

On the issues thus framed said action went to trial and judgment was entered declaring the contract between the executors and the defendants of October 13, 1927, void, as well as the executors’ deed, and dismissing plaintiffs’ action, and further adjudging defendants the relief demanded in their answer and cross-petition on account of fraud as charged therein, including a personal judgment against the plaintiffs in the sum of $2,000, the amount paid on the purchase price of said land, and interest in the sum of $432 paid on the note suea onf’ and taxes paid by defendants in the sum of $159.99, less the rental value of said land in the sum of $200, and decreeing the same a lien on said land.

At the outset we are confronted with the question as to whether or not the provisions of section 1073, O. S. 1931, relating to the appointment by a nonresident executor of an agent upon whom service of process may be made, is jurisdictional. If so, the county court of Stephens county never acquired jurisdiction, and hence the sale was void, otherwise not. This section of our statute was taken from the Dakota statute, and we are unable to find where said section has been construed by either the Dakota or Oklahoma court. Therefore, it presents a question of first consideration. An examination of the provisions of said section discloses .that no condition is found therein which says that unless a non-resident executor or *412 administrator complies therewith the proceedings relative to the administration of an estate are void; neither do we find any prohibition therein against such an executor or administrator maintaining a suit in the courts of this state without complying with said statute.

By section 1207, O. S.

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Bluebook (online)
1936 OK 500, 60 P.2d 774, 177 Okla. 409, 1936 Okla. LEXIS 704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southwick-v-jones-okla-1936.