Sowers v. Archer

1931 OK 203, 298 P. 595, 148 Okla. 292, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 899
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 28, 1931
Docket20312
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 1931 OK 203 (Sowers v. Archer) 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
Sowers v. Archer, 1931 OK 203, 298 P. 595, 148 Okla. 292, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 899 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

HEFNER, J.

Manson Sowers, adminis-tratrix of the estate of Ellen Archer, deceased, and Hardy Archer, ihe plaintiffs in error, brought this suit in the superior court of Pottawatomie county against Lonnie Archer and Samuel Archer, executors of the last will and testament of Ed Archer, deceased. On refusal to plead further after the trial court had sustained a demurrer to the petition of the plaintiffs, judgment was entered against the plaintiffs, and the case is-brought here for review.

The suit was brought to recover an undivided interest in the estate of Ellen Archer, deceased, and it was alleged that her estate consisted of both personal and real property.

In order to determine the sufficiency of the petition it is necessary to examine the allegations therein. Some of them are as follows:

‘•Plaintiffs further allege that on or about the 9th day of June, 1904, on the Mahala Crowe farm in the county of Pottawatomie, then the territory of Oklahoma, now the state of Oklahoma, there was a family settlement or agreement entered into among Ed Archer, for himself, and Mahala Crowe, Gillian Archer, and Manson Sowers, acting for themselves and on the. behalf of the other children of Ellen Archer by her first husband, in which said family agreement it was agreed that the interest and estate, of said Ellen Archer, including the homestead as aforesaid described, was at said time of the value of $6,200, and in order to hold said property and real estate intact and to avoid administration upon the estate of Ellen Archer, deceased, the parties to said settlement entered into an agreement, in writing, of which the following is a copy and of the tenor as follows:
“‘Asher, O. T., June 9th, 1904.
“ ‘Family Settlement.
“ ‘We, Ed Archer, for himself, Mahala Crowe, Gillian Archer and Manson Sowers, for themselvels and the other children of Ellen Archer by her first husband, agree to hold the property together and not have an administrator appointed ' for the separate property of Ellen Archer, now dead. We agree that the value and kind of property of Ellen Archer is as here agreed to, and a part of this settlement:
“ ‘That two-thirds of the value of. her property is property which belongs to the children of Ellen Archer by her first husband, and one-third of said property is the interest of Ed Archer, the husband of said Ellen Archer. The agreed value of hex-property is $6,200. It is agreed that no administration be had on her property while the husband, Ed Archer, lives, but at his death the land, money and stock will go to *293 the children as before agreed on. Any land bought by Ed Archer from the money and stock of Ellen Archer be taken and held in the name of Ed Archer for the children of Ellen Archer, if living,, and if dead, their children as long as he lives, and at his death belong to Ellen Archer’s children in the'same parts. The expenses for keeping and taking care of the land and stock be paid from the crops grown on the places, and the profits of the stock and taken from the value of the land and property at the same time this division is made. After this agreement the land, money and stock is turned over to Ed Archer to be held by him as long as he lives without administration. The value and number of head and kind of property agreed io be. the property of Ellen Archer at her death is here set out:
30 head of cattle worth _._$700.00
2 mares valued at _ 200.00
4 mules valued at -6U0.00
1 lack valued at - 400.00
1 second hand wagon and harness worth— 50.00
Cash to the sum of_ 750.00
The homestead SW% oí 24-6-3 _ 3500.00
All worth six thousand two hundred dollars.
“ 'Two copies — one for each.
“ ‘Ed Archer, husband.
“ ‘Mahala Crowe and Gillian Archer,
“ ‘for all of the first children.’ * * *
“Plaintiffs further allege and aver that upon the. death of the said Ellen Archer, intestate as aforesaid, the said real and personal estate passed to, and became the property of the heirs at law of Ellen Archer and of the real and personal property of said Ellen Archer, the said Ed Archer had only an inheritable interest of one-third and subject to testamentary disposition as aforesaid. * * *”

Ellen Archer, the deceased, was the mother of ten children, five by her first husband and five by her second husband. The plaintiffs in this case, Hardy Archer and Manson Sowers, are children by her first husband. At the time this suit was filed three of the children by her first husband and one by her second husband were dead. Each of them left children surviving.

It is first contended that there is a mis-joinder of parties, but on oral argument this contention was waived.

The above allegations, when taken in connection with the other allegations of the petition, constitute a cause of action, and the trial court committed error in sustaining the demurrer to the petition unless the petition on its face shows the cause of action barred by the statutes of limitation. Does it do sod It is so contended,, and this contention is based on an allegation of plaintiffs’ petition which is as follows:

“* * * And Ed Archer took and retained the possession and control of the real and personal property of Ellen Archer and exercised dominion over the same until the death of Ed Archer on or about the 14th day of June, 1926, and during all of the time intervening between the death of Ellen Archer and the death of Ed Archer, in 1926, the plaintiffs herein under said agreement and settlement were denied access to or control over said real and personal property which was in the possession and under the control of the said Ed Archer. * * *”

This allegation standing alone in the petition perhaps might justify the trial court in sustaining a demurrer to the petition on the ground that the. cause of action was barred by the statutes of limitation. The demurrer, for the purpose of testing the sufficiency of the petition, admits as true all the facts alleged. It is therefore admitted that the family agreement was entered into as- is alleged in the petition, and that the property described therein was the separate property of Ellen Archer. This agreement was executed by Ed Archer, the second husband, and under whom the defendants claim title. By the terms of the agreement the land, money, and stock were to be turned over to Ed Archer, to be held and managed by him as long as he lived, without administration, and the estate of Ellen Archer was not to be divided until he died. Under these admitted facts we do not think the statutes of limitation would begin to run against any of the heirs of Ellen Archer, deceased, who were parties to the family agreement or who acquiesced therein until the death of Ed Archer. Under the allegations of the petition the property belonged to Ellen Archer as her separate estate.

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Bluebook (online)
1931 OK 203, 298 P. 595, 148 Okla. 292, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 899, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sowers-v-archer-okla-1931.