Standidge v. Creveling

6 N.W.2d 56, 142 Neb. 334, 1942 Neb. LEXIS 35
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 30, 1942
DocketNo. 31424
StatusPublished

This text of 6 N.W.2d 56 (Standidge v. Creveling) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Standidge v. Creveling, 6 N.W.2d 56, 142 Neb. 334, 1942 Neb. LEXIS 35 (Neb. 1942).

Opinion

Messmore, J.

Plaintiff seeks, in an equity action, to impress a constructive trust on real estate, in that a fiduciary'relation existed between the plaintiff and defendants, and that the defendants, using plaintiff’s money inequitably, purchased real estate, taking title thereto in their names. The trial court found for the defendants and dismissed the plaintiff’s action. From this judgment plaintiff appeals.

The pleadings detail the factual situation, are sufficient in form to "raise the issue involved and denial thereof, and in the interest of brevity will not be detailed in the opinion. The record discloses: Plaintiff, 95 years of age at the time [335]*335of the trial, and a resident of Imperial for 55 years, owned considerable property, among which were a' residence, in which he lived alone, and another house, one vacant lot removed from his residence, where the defendants resided, for which they paid as rent $15 a month from July, 1934, to April, 1940. Defendant Mae Creveling, from and since the time she moved onto the plaintiff’s premises, performed certain services for him. On occasions she mowed his lawn, did his washing and ironing, cleaned his house, swept the snow from his sidewalks, took him occasionally to the cemetery, where his wife, who had died about seven years previously, was buried; helped him to sow down the cemetery lot, and performed other small services and courtesies which need not be set out. She received small sums of money for some of these services. She- assisted in the payment of his taxes, telephone and other bills, and on occasions made out checks for him. The record reflects two checks, totaling $25, received from him by her. It is not clear for what purpose the checks were given; she testified they were for services she had rendered and money she had loaned the plaintiff on occasional trips when she had taken him to Sterling and Holyoke, Colorado, and to North Platte and McCook, when convenient for him to go, and on these occasions she generally received money from him for gasoline and meals. They were trips on which he transacted some business. About six years previous to- the trial, the plaintiff gave her some household furniture, on one occasion a piano, and on another supplied her with sufficient money to obtain for herself a wrist watch. These matters are detailed in the record, but we deem the foregoing sufficient.

The principal item is with reference to two checks, one in the amount of $775 and the other in the amount of $200. These checks had to do with what was known as the Bremer property which was to be sold at referee’s sale, and was finally bought in by one of the Bremers. Defendant Mae Creveling negotiated a deal with the purchaser to buy the property for $2,500 and payment of some delinquent taxes, and costs, and made application for an F. H. A. loan in the [336]*336sum of $2,000. The balance owing constituted the amount of the two checks. When plaintiff was asked about the checks, he replied that he gave them to her and “that was all there was to it,” and indicated, but not specifically, in his testimony that .he expected to have the property for which the checks were given, and that defendants would rent it. Plaintiff’s son, living in Chicago, called upon him periodically and was there on or about the 12th of April, 1940, which was plaintiff’s birthday, and a conversation at that time between the son and defendant Mae Creveling appears in the record. We here set out the substance of these conversations for the reason that, if the plaintiff has established a cause of action for a trust, as pleaded, this evidence will be sufficient to either sustain or deny it.

The following is the testimony of defendant Mae Creveling as to the conversation of April 12, 1940 : “He (plaintiff) came to the door, knocked; I went to the door; he came into the kitchen. He says, ‘What is this I hear about you purchasing the Bremer property?’ I said, T haven’t purchased it yet, but I did tell John Bremer if he bought it I would take it off of his hands.’ Mr. Standidge said, ‘In order to do that you have to have some money.’ I said, ‘Yes, I would.’ He said, ‘You didn’t know this little house here — there has been a deed made out in escrow to you for three years;’ and he said, ‘Rather than have trouble from this deed, I have decided to give you the money you will need over and above your loan to buy this home.’ Q. What did you say to that? A. Well,' that surprised me. I had no idea of his intentions at all. I told him that would be fine and thanked him; told him I couldn’t use no money because I had applied for no loan whatever and didn’t know how much money I would need. * * * Q. Now, what, if anything else, did Mr. Standidge say about wanting to make you this gift? A. He said he had always been going to help me, give me something for what I had done for him; he wanted to see me get a start; he thought more of me than a lot of people, and he believed he would give me money then for what I had been doing for him.” As to another conversation in plaintiff’s home, wit[337]*337ness was asked: “What, if anything, was said relative to his purchasing the Bremer property, if you recall ? A. When I asked him if he would buy it and me rent it from him he said he was land and property poor; he didn’t care for any more property at all. He said he wished it was his home that was selling, and he was sure of getting it sold.” The witness testified as to a later conversation, June 28, 1940, in plaintiff’s home, after the loan had been negotiated for the purchase of the property, as follows: “A. Yes; I told him that the loan had finally come and, well, we was going to complete the sale that day and I would need — he told me any time I needed the rest of the money — what the loan didn’t cover — to come back. I told him I was ready for the rest of my money.” This referred to the $775. She testified : “I told him the amount of money that was needed to be in the bank was seven hundred seventy-five dollars, and that was to be on deposit in order for me to get my loan; and he said he was going to help. I told him I was needing the, money that day. He said he was going to give this to me.” The check was made out that day and deposited in the Farmers & Merchants Bank in her name and remained there from June to November. Referring again to the conversation at the time the check was given, .the witness testified: “Yes; he said he was a man of his word; he had wanted to help me, he was going to help me, and here was my money. He said he had been wanting to make a gift to me for the work I had been doing and the kindness I .had shown him; he would rather see me get ahead than any one; he wanted to help me, gave me my check. * * * He said if this wasn’t enough to come back and he would be glad to give me what more I was needing; in finishing up the sale any time more money was needed, to come to him, he would give it to me. * * * He says, ‘Do you think this is going to be enough money ?’ I said, ‘Enough for now until they go a little farther, see what more is needed;’ he said he would be glad to help me then if I needed more.”

Mrs. Creveling testified to another conversation on November 22, 1940, at the plaintiff’s home. She stated that [338]*338she went into his home and.

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Bluebook (online)
6 N.W.2d 56, 142 Neb. 334, 1942 Neb. LEXIS 35, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/standidge-v-creveling-neb-1942.