Van Meter v. Zumwalt

206 P. 507, 35 Idaho 235, 1922 Ida. LEXIS 47
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 11, 1922
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 206 P. 507 (Van Meter v. Zumwalt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Van Meter v. Zumwalt, 206 P. 507, 35 Idaho 235, 1922 Ida. LEXIS 47 (Idaho 1922).

Opinion

BUDGE, J.

This action was brought by respondent to recover 20,000 shares of the capital stock of the Fern Quick Silver Mining Company.

In the complaint it is alleged that respondent transferred 25,000 shares of said stock to appellant, Mary A. Zumwalt, on October 25, 1918, 5,000 shares of which were transferred by her to one Drake prior to the commencement of this action; that on and prior to said date respondent was indulging in the use of intoxicants, which rendered him apprehensive and incapable of transacting business with ordinary safety and precaution, and that appellants, knowing such condition, induced respondent to transfer said stock to Mrs. Zumwalt, by means of threats of criminal prosecution. Appellants in their answer deny the allegations of the complaint relating to respondent’s mental condition, and the use of threats by them to procure the transfer of said stock, and allege that the stock was transferred pursuant to an agreement theretofore entered into between respondent and Mrs. [238]*238Zumwalt, by which the latter undertook to and did receive into her home ■ and care for two minor children for such reasonable compensation as she.might charge respondent; that respondent failed and refused to pay Mrs. Zumwalt therefor in money, but offered to and did transfer said stock to her in payment for such services.

The cause was tried to the court without a jury. Judgment was entered in favor of respondent from which this appeal is prosecuted. Appellants assign as error the insufficiency of the evidence to support the findings of fact, that the findings do not support the judgment, and that the court erred in not making certain findings of fact warranted by the evidence.

From the uncontroverted evidence on behalf of respondent it appears that on the morning of October 25, 1918, respondent walked with Mrs. Zumwalt from her home to the business district of Boise, during which time the transfer of the stock in question was discussed; that he left her on the street and went into a hotel for the purpose of getting something of an intoxicating nature to drink; that he had drank nothing prior to going into the hotel; that he went into a room in the hotel, where he remained about fifteen minutes, and took three drinks which were given him by a friend; that when he left the hotel he was feeling “pretty comfortably full,” but did not consider himself drunk; that after leaving the hotel he again met Mrs. Zumwalt, with whom he went, freely and voluntarily, to the office of attorney Adams, secretary of the company, where.he transferred the stock to her, filling out the certificates in his own handwriting; that he went from Adams’ office to the Pacific National Bank and purchased part of the revenue stamps necessary to be placed on the certificates, and Mrs. Zumwalt went out and procured the balance of the revenue stamps, during which time he remained in Mr. Adams’ office. Respondent testified that he knew clearly and exactly what he was doing, was perfectly rational, and was not nervous at the time he assigned the stock to Mrs. Zumwalt.

[239]*239Moreover, respondent upon cross-examination repudiated the very grounds upon which rested the cause of action stated in the complaint, by testifying in part as follows:

“Q. Was this portion of the complaint, Mr. Yan Meter, read to you or did you re"ad it and understand it at the time you were signing it: ‘ . . . . and on the twenty-fifth day of October, 1918, and for many days prior thereto, plaintiff had been and was indulging in the use of intoxicants to an extent which had rendered him and did render him subject to be controlled by fear, arising from threats such as hereinafter set forth, and incapable of transacting business with ordinary safety and precaution, and which such mental condition had then and there rendered plaintiff gloomy and apprehensive and without the possession and exercise of his mental faculties and judgment.’ Was that read to you at that time?
“A. I don’t know. If it had been I would have objected to it all right enough because if I am in that fix I had better be confined somewhere.
‘ ‘ Q. And you were in full possession of your mental faculties and judgment at that time as to this transaction?
“A. As to that transaction, yes. I am not denying the transaction at all, no way, shape, manner or form.
“Q. Calling your attention to the same complaint which we referred to a minute ago, I’ll ask you if this portion of it was called to your attention at the time you signed and swore to it: ‘and that the defendants Zumwalt, acting by and through the defendant Mary A. Zumwalt, well knowing the said mental condition and state of plaintiff, did at divers times on and preceding said October 25th, and for the purpose of cheating, swindling and defrauding this plaintiff, then and there threaten plaintiff with prosecution for contributing to the delinquency of a minor female child.’ Did they call your attention .... to that . ?
“A. He threatened me with prosecution.
“Q. In the complaint you state that on the twenty-fifth of October and at" divers times preceding that date she threatened you with prosecution.
[240]*240“A. Oh, no, there is a mistake there some way or other. She never threatened me with prosecution whatever that I remember of.
“Q. If they had called your attention to this complaint in that regard you would have cortected it?
“A. I undoubtedly would beeause that never occurred at all. I never knowed them to threaten me with anything.
“Q. You didn’t tell your attorney or anyone else you had any conversation with her in which she threatened you prior to October 25?
“A. No, sir, I did not beeause she never threatened me.
“Q. That was put in the complaint without your knowledge or without consent?
“A. I do not recollect that I know of.”

Notwithstanding respondent’s testimony, the court found that:

“On the twenty-fifth day of October, 1918, [respondent] was indulging in the use of intoxicants to an extent which had rendered him and did render him subject to be controlled by fear arising from threats, and such as had rendered and did render Mm incapable of transacting business with ordinary safety and precaution, and such as had rendered and did render him without the possession and exercise of his mental faculties and judgment to that degree which would enable him to protect Ms property and husband the same; that the defendant Mary A. Zumwalt well knew of said mental condition and state of plaintiff at said time, and did, on said October 25, 1918, for the purpose of cheating, swindling and defrauding plaintiff, threaten him, plaintiff, with prosecution for contributing to the delinquency of a minor female child unless he, plaintiff, did then and there transfer to the defendant Mary A. Zumwalt twenty-five thousand shares of such capital stock; and that plaintiff did then and there, being in such mental condition and being exercised by the fear or the notoriety which such threatened action would occasion to said minor child, cause to be transferred to said Mary A. Zumwalt twenty'-five thousand shares of said capital stock.”

[241]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 P. 507, 35 Idaho 235, 1922 Ida. LEXIS 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/van-meter-v-zumwalt-idaho-1922.