Vander Vate v. Watson

140 P.2d 964, 19 Wash. 2d 68
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 9, 1943
DocketNo. 28957.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 140 P.2d 964 (Vander Vate v. Watson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vander Vate v. Watson, 140 P.2d 964, 19 Wash. 2d 68 (Wash. 1943).

Opinion

Robinson, J.

J. — This action arises out of an unfortunate and long-standing quarrel between a mother and her son, on the one hand, and her daughter and her daughter’s husband, on the other. The action was brought by the daughter, Anna Vander Vate, against her mother, Anna Watson, and Frank Watson, for the purpose of enjoining interference with the quiet and peaceable possession of leased premises.

Although both defendants have appealed, Anna Watson has the principal interest in the matter, and, for convenience, we will refer to her in this opinion as though she were the sole appellant.

Charles Watson died on May 7, 1939, leaving a will in which his daughter, Anna Vander Vate, was appointed his executrix. Her mother, Anna Watson, acquired the full ownership of a large wheat farm near Pomeroy, Washington, as a result of a partition agreement between herself and daughter in the course of the adjustment of the affairs of the Charles Watson estate. As part of this agreement, the appellant’s farm was leased to her daughter, Anná Vander Vate. Her mother repudiated the settlement, and made an unsuccessful attempt to have it set aside. She later brought an action for unlawful detainer. The appellant has quoted, in her brief, the decree entered by the trial court, omitting only the formal portions thereof. We think that the nature of the case, as well as the questions raised on appeal, may be best shown by requoting the decree as set out in appellant’s brief, since the appellant says that, *70 In quoting the decree, she has italicized those portions which she believes erroneous:

“ . . . the Court finds that the plaintiff is in possession of the real estate described in the lease attached to the amended complaint herein as Exhibit A, as the tenant thereof under defendant, Anna Watson, as landlord, except that said landlord has reserved to herself that portion of said premises used in connection with the buildings thereon, including the garden patch, as it existed on the 16th day of December, 1939, yard, barnlot, together with all the farm buildings on said premises, including the use of the land leading thereto from the highway for ingress and egress, such land to• be jointly used for ingress and egress by both the landlord and the tenant, each without interference with such use by the other, and that each of such parties shall have free use of the well, each without interference with such use by the other; and that plaintiff is entitled to the possession, use and occupation of said real estate for the term ending on the 1st day of November, 1944, subject to the terms and conditions of said lease, and so long as she complies with such terms and conditions she is entitled to the quiet and peaceable possession thereof, .without interference on the part of defendants; that defendants have interfered with such quiet and peaceable possession and enjoyment, wrongfully and in violation of plaintiff’s rights; they have interfered with plaintiff’s right to pasture grass and stubble thereon; have interfered with the removal of property of plaintiff from said premises; have trespassed upon the leased premises by pasturing horses, cattle and hogs thereon; have interfered with plaintiff’s use of the water from the well on the reserved premises, and with ingress and egress through the lane leading to the highway by plaintiff, her servants and employees; have extended the area formerly used as a garden and have fenced the extended area; have interfered with the use of gates on the leased premises, and on the lane referred to herein; have removed hog wire from the fences on the leased premises; have wrongfully interfered with fence repairs on the leased premises; and the defendant, Anna Watson, has in many of these things been aided and abetted by and has acted through the defendant, Frank Watson; that the use or employment of the defendant, Frank Watson, by defendant, Anna Watson, has tended and will tend to aggravate and annoy the plaintiff and to interfere with and disregard her rights; all to plaintiff’s damage, *71 but that except for nominal damages the plaintiff has, in open court, waived actual damages. That the court has filed herein a memorandum opinion, which is hereby referred to and made a part hereof.
“Now, tlie law and the evidence being by the court understood and fully considered, on motion of plaintiff,
“It is ordered, adjudged and decreed by the court that the said defendants and each of them, so long as said lease shall remain in force and effect, be and they are hereby enjoined and restrained from doing or committing any of the acts or deeds hereinbefore set forth, or continuing the same, by themselves or through their agents, servants or employees; that the defendant, Anna Watson, be and she is hereby ordered and directed forthwith to vacate the extended portion of the garden ground and to remove the fence enclosing such extended portion of the garden ground, and she be and is hereby ordered and directed to restore the hog wire to the fence, which she has heretofore removed; and she be and is hereby enjoined and restrained from using or employing the said Frank Watson as her agent to go upon the leased lands or to inspect fences, buildings, orchard, windmills, plowing, cultivating or any other work thereon, and the said Frank Watson be and he is hereby enjoined and restrained from acting as such agent.
“And the said defendants and each of them, so long as said lease shall remain in force and effect, be and they are hereby restrained and enjoined from doing or committing any other or similar acts or deeds, or in anywise or at all interfering, wrongfully, with plaintiff’s quiet and peaceable possession of said leased premises; from pasturing any livestock thereon; from interfering with the free use of the water from the well by plaintiff; from opening gates found closed and from closing gates found open; from interfering with the use of the lane from ingress and egress by plaintiff, her servants and employees, and from doing any other act or thing to interfere with plaintiff’s quiet and peaceable possession wrongfully.” •

The attorney who represents the appellant in this court did not represent her at the trial, and, to a large extent at least, has had to depend on the written record, as we are wholly compelled to do. His first point is that many of the things enjoined are trivial, and authority is cited to the effect that an injunction is an extraordinary remedy *72 and should not be employed except in extraordinary cases. We agree that, to a large extent, the things complained of are trivial when considered individually, but they were continually recurring, and, in our opinion, an application for injunctive relief was not inappropriate.

We have read the record, and we are not disposed to meddle with the trial court’s purely factual findings; nor do we think a discussion of the evidence would serve any useful purpose.

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Bluebook (online)
140 P.2d 964, 19 Wash. 2d 68, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vander-vate-v-watson-wash-1943.