Walker v. Walker

30 N.E.2d 109, 307 Ill. App. 121, 1940 Ill. App. LEXIS 658
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 20, 1940
DocketGen. No. 41,294
StatusPublished

This text of 30 N.E.2d 109 (Walker v. Walker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walker v. Walker, 30 N.E.2d 109, 307 Ill. App. 121, 1940 Ill. App. LEXIS 658 (Ill. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinion

Mr. Presiding Justice Hebel

delivered the opinion of the court.

The appeal in the above entitled cause was brought upon two respective notices of appeal. The first notice of appeal was filed on May 27, 1939, and purports to appeal from an order entered April 24, 1939, directing the sale of real estate involved in the original affirmed decree of partition, the claim of homestead having been reserved in said order until the further order of court, and also from an order entered May 17, 1939, directing the division of certain cash and securities involved in the original affirmed decree of partition and accounting. The second notice of appeal filed on August 1, 1939, purports to appeal from an order entered August 1, 1939, affirming and approving the master’s report of sale and distribution, and from a finding in said order that both plaintiff and defendant are entitled to homestead in the real estate, and providing that the $1,000 reserved from the purchase price be divided equally among plaintiff and defendant, and also from a further order entered August 1,1939, directing the defendant to indorse over a certain beneficial certificate for 10 units in a certain liquidation trust and upon default thereof, that the master in chancery indorse over said beneficial certificate.

On December 16,1937, a final decree of partition and accounting was duly entered in this action by the circuit court of Cook county, and on appeal by the defendant, the decree was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Illinois in Walker v. Walker, 369 Ill. 627.

These notices of appeal were taken directly to the Supreme Court for the reason that a freehold estate of homestead and title to real estate was claimed to have been involved. The Supreme Court, in discussing the questions involved, filed an opinion on the 21st day of February, 1940 (Walker v. Walker, 373 Ill. 339), and, upon the question as to the jurisdiction of the court to consider the appeal of the defendant, Marie L. Walker, recited the following facts:

“John W. Walker, an appellee, brought a suit in the circuit court of Cook county against his wife, Marie L. Walker, appellant, asking partition of certain described real estate, the title of which was in the name of both parties, and for an accounting as to certain personal property. A decree was entered finding each entitled to an undivided one-half interest and partition was ordered and commissioners appointed. On appeal this decree was affirmed. 369 Ill. 627.

“The mandate of this court was filed in the trial court, and, thereafter, on April 24, 1939, the commissioners reported the premises indivisible and appraised the same. On that day appellant filed a petition alleging she had an estate of homestead in the premises and asked the property be sold subject to her homestead rights. On the same date a decree of sale was entered which recited that the question of homestead was reserved until the further order of the court. On May 17, a decree was entered in reference to the accounting feature of the litigation, and on May 27, appellant filed a notice of appeal to this court from the decree of sale of April 24 and the accounting decree of May 17. A praecipe for record was filed June 6 and on July 26, appellant presented a short record and obtained an extension of time within which to file a complete transcript of the proceedings. On May 29, the master sold the real estate and thereafter filed a report of sale. On June 14, appellant filed objections to the report of sale urging that the sale was held after she filed the notice of appeal from the decree of sale; that her petition for a homestead was undisposed of at the time of sale, that there were irregularities in the sale which affected the sale price and asked that the report be not approved.

“On August 1, a decree was entered overruling appellant’s objections, approving the report and directing a deed. The court found that neither appellant nor appellee had abandoned their homestead and directed that all the proceeds, including the $1,000 homestead valuation be divided equally. Appellant immediately filed a second notice of appeal from the two decrees entered August 1, one approving the master’s report of sale, the other directing division of said securities. The complete transcript, filed September 12, includes not only the proceedings up to the time of filing the first notice of appeal but also the proceedings entered by the court subsequent thereto, including the decrees of August 1 and the second notice of appeal.

“The case is brought direct to this court [Supreme Court] on the theory a freehold estate is involved. The only points appellant urges in her original brief are in reference to her claim of homestead estate and the accounting feature.”

From a consideration of the remainder of the opinion, the Supreme Court reached the conclusion that since the petition did not present a question of freehold, the objections, which were overruled by the decree approving the report of sale, likewise failed to raise a question involving a freehold, and that, therefore, no freehold is involved in this proceeding; and further that the other question involved in this proceeding is with reference to the accounting and distribution of the personal property as directed by the decree of August 1, 1939. Therefore, the Supreme Court, being without jurisdiction, transferred the cause to this court.

The first question that is to be considered is the motion to dismiss filed by appellee, which was reserved to the hearing. The appellee calls attention to the opinion of the Supreme Court in the case of Walker v. Walker, 369 Ill. 627, where the court said:

“From a consideration of the entire record we are of the opinion that the chancellor was correct in holding appellant and appellee were joint tenants and in ordering an equal division of the property.” Appellee further calls attention to paragraph 25 of the decree, which finds:

“That from the findings of fact and under the law, the court concludes and finds that the plaintiff, John W. Walker, and the defendant, Marie L. Walker, are each entitled ... to an equal division and partition of the said real estate and securities.”

Thereafter, on a further appeal to the Supreme Court, the court said in the case of Walker v. Walker, 373 Ill. 339:

“The decree of partition, having settled the rights of the parties as to the nature and extent of their various interests, could not be subjected to a review by appealing from a subsequent order made in carrying the original decree into execution. (Navigato v. Navigato, 268 Ill. 453; White v. VanPatten, 280 id. 215). There is no freehold involved in the notice of appeal from the order of sale. . . .

“The other question is in reference to the accounting and distribution of the personal property as directed by the decree of August 1,1939.” Therefore, it is suggested by the plaintiff that the pending appeal in this court relates only to the accounting feature of the personal property and securities involved, and should be determined and adjudicated by the finding and ruling of the Supreme Court with respect to the real estate, namely that the final decree as affirmed by the Supreme Court on October 17, 1938, “settled the rights of the parties as to the nature and extent of their various interests” in the personal property involved in the instant appeal.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Walker v. Walker
26 N.E.2d 117 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1940)
Walker v. Walker
17 N.E.2d 567 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1938)
Clements v. Lacy
51 Tex. 150 (Texas Supreme Court, 1879)
Brokaw v. Ogle
48 N.E. 394 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1897)
Hertz v. Buchmann
177 Ill. 553 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1898)
Navigato v. Navigato
268 Ill. 453 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1915)
Marx v. State Bank
128 N.E. 475 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1920)
Kaser v. Haas
7 N.W. 824 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1881)
McGrath v. Sinclair
55 Miss. 89 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1877)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
30 N.E.2d 109, 307 Ill. App. 121, 1940 Ill. App. LEXIS 658, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-walker-illappct-1940.