Union Investment Co. v. Abell

181 N.W. 353, 148 Minn. 229, 1921 Minn. LEXIS 509
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 11, 1921
DocketNo. 22,091
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 181 N.W. 353 (Union Investment Co. v. Abell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Union Investment Co. v. Abell, 181 N.W. 353, 148 Minn. 229, 1921 Minn. LEXIS 509 (Mich. 1921).

Opinion

Taylor, C.

This is an action in ejectment and involves the title to the property known as number 820 on Laurel avenue in the city of St. Paul. The trial court found that defendant Harris is the owner and entitled to the possession of the property, that plaintiff has no right, title or interest therein, and directed judgment in favor of defendant Harris. Plaintiff appeals from an order denying a new trial.

Prior to the transactions hereinafter mentioned, Emma L. Plunk was the owner of the property subject to two mortgages. She resided with her husband, Benjamin F. Plunk, in the state of Montana and rented the property to defendant Abell. On December 12, 1918, she and her husband entered into a written contract with one John J. Scott, by which 'Scott agreed to convey to them a farm in Montana, in consideration of which they agreed to pay Scott the sum of $3,000 and to convey to him the above mentioned property, subject to the mortgages thereon. This contract was fully performed by both parties, except that, at Scott’s request, the name of the grantee was not inserted in the deed delivered to him for the property in controversy. On April 1, 1919, each party took possession of the property received from the other, and thereafter Abell became the tenant of Scott by agreement between them.

On October 26, 1918, the second mortgage was foreclosed and the property was sold thereunder to Helen A. Harris; the holder of the mortgage and a daughter of defendant Harris.- On February 8, 1919, the first mortgage was foreclosed and the property was sold thereunder to the mortgagee, who assigned the certificate of foreclosure sale to defendant Hams before the expiration of the year for redemption.

On October 25, 1919, George W. Getts caused an attachment issued against the property of Emma L. Plunk and Benjamin F. Plunk to be [231]*231levied on this property. Claiming a lien under this attachment, he redeemed, or attempted to redeem, from the foreclosure of the second mortgage, and, on October 29, 1919, received the usual sheriffs certificate of redemption, but Helen A. Harris, the holder of the certificate of sale, refused to accept the redemption money. On December 19, 1919, Getts executed a mortgage on the property to plaintiff. On February 13, 1920, plaintiff, claiming a lien under this mortgage, redeemed, or attempted to redeem, from the foreclosure of the first mortgage, and received the usual sheriff’s certificate of redemption, but defendant Harris, the holder of the certificate of sale, refused to accept the redemption money.

Plaintiff states that the questions presented are: (1) Did Emma Plunk have an attachable interest in the property when the attachment was levied on October 25, 1919? (2) Did the attachment give Getts the right to redeem from the foreclosure of the second mortgage? (3) If Emma Plunk in fact had no attachable interest in the property, did Getts, by his attachment, acquire an interest therein under the registry laws which gave him the right to redeem? We answer each of these questions in the negative.

At the time the attachment was levied, the title to the property stood of record in the name of Mrs. Plunk. But in fact she had sold the property and had received the full purchase price for it, and the purchaser was in possession by his tenant, Abell. She had also executed a warranty deed and delivered it to the purchaser for the purpose of conveying the title to him, but this deed was ineffective, for the reason that it did not contain the name of the grantee. While the purchaser had implied authority to insert the name of the grantee and thus make the deed operative, he had not done so, and consequently the legal title still remained in her. Board of Education v. Hughes, 118 Minn. 404, 136 N. W. 1095, 41 L.R.A.(N.S.) 637; Werntz v. Bolen, 135 Minn. 449, 161 N. W. 155; Schauble v. Hedding, 138 Minn. 187, 164 N. W 808.

She had no beneficial interest in the property, however, but merely held the 'bare legal title as trustee-for the purchaser. Where a vendor who retains the legal title no longer has any beneficial interest in the property, his creditors can acquire no lien thereon, unless by virtue of the registry laws. Minneapolis & St. L. Ry. Co. v. Wilson, 25 Minn. [232]*232382; Welles v. Baldwin, 28 Minn. 408, 10 N. W. 427; Baker v. Thompson, 36 Minn. 314, 31 N. W. 51; Berryhill v. Potter, 42 Minn. 279, 44 N. W. 251; Fleming v. Wilson, 92 Minn. 303, 100 N. W. 4. The ease last cited is much like the ease at bar. There two landowners agreed to exchange tracts of land. The deeds of conveyance were not executed, but each took possession of the tract to be conveyed to him by the other. The two tracts were treated as of equal value so that no part of the purchase price remained unpaid. It was held that a subsequent judgment against one of the parties did not attach as a lien to the tract which he had agreed to convey to the other.

Under the decisions above cited, it is clear that Mrs. Plunk had no attachable interest in the property at the time Getts attempted to levy his attachment, and consequently that he acquired no lien thereon, unless the facts brought him within the provisions of the registry laws.

Although the title to the property stood of record in the name of Mrs. Plunk, Getts could acquire no lien thereon under the registry laws, if he had notice of the rights of the purchaser at the time he levied his attachment. The purchaser was in possession by his tenant. It is settled in this state, in accordance with the weight of authority, that such possession operated as full notice of his rights both to creditors of the vendor and to subsequent purchasers. Wilkins v. Bevier, 43 Minn. 213, 45 N. W. 157, 19 Am. St. 238; Wolf v. Zabel, 44 Minn. 90, 46 N. W. 81; Northwestern Land Co. v. Dewey, 58 Minn. 359, 59 N. W. 1085; Thompson v. Borg, 90 Minn. 209, 95 N. W. 896; Ludowese v. Amidon, 124 Minn. 288, 144 N. W. 965; Oxborough v. St. Martin, 142 Minn. 34, 170 N. W. 707. The tenant had been the tenant of Mrs. Plunk. He remained in possession and became the tenant of the purchaser, Scott. Plaintiff invokes the rule, which obtains in some jurisdictions, that where the tenant of the vendor continues in possession as tenant of the purchaser, such possession does not operate as notice of the rights of the purchaser for the reason that there has been no visible change in the occupancy. But this state has adopted the rule that, where the tenant of the vendor attorns to the vendee, his possession thereafter operates as notice of the rights of the vendee to all parties subsequently dealing with the property. Wilkins v. Bevier, 43 Minn. 213, 45 N. W. 157; Ludowese v. Amidon, 124 Minn. 288, 144 N. W. 965. The same [233]*233rule is applied in other jurisdictions. Hannan v. Seidentopf, 113 Iowa, 658, 86 N. W. 44; Collins v. Moore & Culver, 115 Ga. 327, 41 S. E. 609; Duff v. McDonough, 155 Pa. 10, 25 Atl. 608; Wood v. Price, 79 N. J. Eq. 620, 81 Atl. 983, 38 L.R.A.(NS.) 772, Ann. Cas. 1913A, 1210. It follows that Getts was chargeable with notice that Mrs. Plunk had parted with all beneficial interest in the property. Consequently he acquired no lien thereon under his attachment, and was not entitled to redeem from the sale under the second mortgage. His attempted redemption gave him no interest in the property, and he could convey none to plaintiff.' A's plaintiff’s claim was based solely on the mortgage executed by Getts, plaintiff was not a creditor having a lien, and its attempted redemption from the sale under the first mortgage was of no effect.

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Bluebook (online)
181 N.W. 353, 148 Minn. 229, 1921 Minn. LEXIS 509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/union-investment-co-v-abell-minn-1921.