Tearney v. Donahoe

1931 OK 142, 299 P. 431, 148 Okla. 236, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 865
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 14, 1931
Docket19953
StatusPublished

This text of 1931 OK 142 (Tearney v. Donahoe) 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
Tearney v. Donahoe, 1931 OK 142, 299 P. 431, 148 Okla. 236, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 865 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

KORNEGAY, J.

This is a proceeding in error brought from the district court of Noble county, Honorable W. E. Rice being the trial judge. A search of the case-made discloses that a proceeding- was filed in that court to foreclose a mortgage in favor of D. J. Donahoe and J. J. Donahoe against Joseph M. Tearney and Mollie Tearney, his wife, these latter being the plaintiffs in error and the former the defendants in error.

The ease-made, on page 3, shows that the judgment was entered on the 23rd of February, 1928, all parties being represented by attorneys, other parties being in it for the purpose of clearing the title, but these being the parties really at interest. The plaintiffs in that suit recovered judgment for $7,870.92, and for $850.00 for attorney’s fees and for cost. They further secured a judgment ordering the sale of 240 acres of land in Noble county to satisfy a mortgage that had been made by the plaintiffs in error, and the amount of the mortgage was fixed as enumerated above.

The Federal Land Bank at Wichita, Kan., held a first mortgage upon the property, but *237 it does not appear to 'have been made a party to ihe proceedings, though a part of the plaintiffs’ judgment was to recover some advancements made on installments of interest paid to' go on the Federal. Land Bank’s mortgage.

The mortgaged property was ordered to he appraised, and directions were given to apply the proceeds of the sale to the cost of the action and to the taxes due, the balance to be applied to the satisfaction of the judgment, and the balance, if any, turned over to the court clerk for the benefit of the defendants, J. M. Tearney and Mollie Tearney, his wife.

On this judgment an order of sale was issued on the 5th of March, 1928, commanding the sheriff to sell the property, after advertisement, and to make return within 60 days. The sheriff made a return stating that he proceeded to advertise the land described, but that there was an incorrect description in the notice of sale, and that he was returning the order of sale not executed on account of the notice not being sufficient, and asked for an alias order. The date of this return was the 16th of April, 1928. The notice that is attached to it shows that the sale was to have been had' on the 9th of April, 1928. The notice prescribed that the property must sell for two-thirds of its appraised value subject to a first mortgage of $8,600 in favor of the Federal Land Bank. There was proof of this notice having been published five consecutive weeks in the Perry Journal.

The appraisement was returned showing ■that the appraisers appraised the land in four separate tracts. One tract was valued at $1,080, another tract at $1,200, another tract at $12,000, and another one at $1,200, total valuation being $15,480, and it was stated in the appraisement that it was subject to a first mortgage of $8,500 in favor of the Federal Land Bank of Wichita, Kan. That appraisement was filed on the 26th of March, 1928.

After the return on the 16th of April, 1928, an alias order was issued to the sheriff commanding him to sell the property to satisfy the judgment and the cost. This alias recited the former proceeding and the statement of the return as to the former oitler not having been executed. The sheriff's return on this was made on the 19.h of May, 192S. and it showed that the judgment creditors had bid the sum of $7,000 for the property subject to the mortgage of the Federal Land Bank of Wichita. It further showed that the $7,000 was more than two-thirds of the appraised value of tne property. Attached to this return was a copy of the appraisement made on, the 26th of March, 1926, the items of which have been set forth above.

The noaee of the sheriff’s sale was also returned with the return, which was dated the 16th of April, 192S, and appears to have been published for five consecutive weeks in the -Perry Journal, the first publication being made on the 19th of April, 1928. There is added to it the statement that the last publication was made on the 10th of April, 1928. On the 19th of May, 1928, the plaintiffs filed a motion to confirm the sale. On the 25th of May, the plaintiffs in error filed objections to the confirmation of the sale. According to the case-made, this is the first objection that had been raised by the plaintiffs in error to the proceedings so far as the files show.

In this motion the legality of the alias order was attacked because the sheriff had made a false return on the first one, which was not executed. The allegation was made •that in fact under the first order of sale, the sheriff had received a bid of the judgment creditors of $15,500 for the land, which was more than two-thirds of the appraised value, and that the sale had been made for this amount, subject to the first mortgage to the Federal Land Bank of AYichita, Kan.

It was further claimed that the sheriff had no authority to pronounce the sale void because of the misdescription of the property to be sold contained in the notice. There was a further attack upon the ground that the first appraisement- did not answer for the alias order of sale. The further ground was made that the notice of the sheriff’s sale under the alias order was not published as required by law, and that there was $18.50 more court cost included in the notice than the alias order called for and the alias order carried a statement of $10 due to the clerk for cost accruing, whereas it was only $1.20. A further attack was made upon the ground that the tracts • of land were not sold separately, but sold in bulk, subject to the Federal Land Bank’s loan. There was a further allegation that the property did not bring two-thirds of its appraised value, and that the appraisement was false and fraudulent and unfair, and it was made subject to a loan of the Federal Land Bank in the sum of $8,500, when in truth and in fact it was only $6,000, as it had been reduced by payments. An attack was made on the appraisement because it was too low, and it was affirmatively stated that the property was worth from $20,000 to $25,000 in the open market, and that the sale price obtained at the sale *238 was excessively low, and was $8,500 less than the same purchaser bid for it on the 9th of April. There was a statement of objection to the confirmatipn of the sale, and a request to the court to do equity in the premises by requiring the sheriff to amend his return to the original order of sale and speak the truth and, if the original sale under the said original order of sale was sufficient, to do equity thereunder, and' if not sufficient, to set aside the same, and a further request was made of the court, because of the irregularity in the second order of sale; to set aside and vacate the sale thereunder, and for all other relief that might be just and equitable in the premises.

The. notice of sheriff's sale on the first order of sale was set out. On the 28th day of May, the defendants filed a motion to cause the sheriff to amend his return on the original order of sale. On the same day the defendants asked the court to confirm the first sale.

With this state of the record, the parties introduced proof as to these allegations, and the court sustained a demurrer to the evidence of the plaintiffs in error, asking for the amendment of the return of execution and for confirmation of that sale. Motions for new trial were made and notice of appeal to this court was given after making the necessary exceptions.

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Bluebook (online)
1931 OK 142, 299 P. 431, 148 Okla. 236, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tearney-v-donahoe-okla-1931.