Wyuta Cattle Co. v. Connell

299 P. 279, 43 Wyo. 135, 1931 Wyo. LEXIS 12
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 1931
Docket1669
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 299 P. 279 (Wyuta Cattle Co. v. Connell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wyuta Cattle Co. v. Connell, 299 P. 279, 43 Wyo. 135, 1931 Wyo. LEXIS 12 (Wyo. 1931).

Opinions

RiNER, Justice.

This case has been brought here by direct appeal to review a judgment of the District Court of Uinta County, in favor of Wyuta Cattle Company, a corporation, plaintiff in *139 that court, and against Lucile Tobin, one of the defendants there. The litigation arose out of substantially the following set of facts:

During the month of March, 1928, and thereafter, Dru-silla Connell and her daughter Lucile Tobin were the owners of certain lands situated in Uinta County, Wyoming, all of which appear to be designated in the record before us as the “Connell” ranch. The daughter resided in Tracy, California, while the mother lived on the ranch in Wyoming. On or about March 16, 1928, pursuant to a newspaper advertisement, Thomas Saxton, the manager of Wyuta Cattle Company, consulted with Mrs. Connell regarding the leasing of this ranch property to his company. The result of this conversation was the signature by Mrs. Connell of the following typewritten memorandum:

“Evanston, Wyoming, March 16th, 1928 RECEIVED from Youta, Cattle Company .Fifty & 00/100.Dollars for option on lease to be given said Company on April 1st, 1928, on all Ranch Property on Bear River owned by Lucile Tobin; said lease to be for a rental of $1700.00 per year for a period of six years, half of one years rent to be paid April 1st, 1928, and half of years rental September, 1928, except second half year payment which will be paid July 15, 1928.
Lucile Tobin
$50.00 By Mrs. M. B. Connell
Her Agent. ’ ’

This was delivered to Saxton, who gave Mrs. Connell a company check for $50 payable to her order, which she cashed. Thereafter Mrs. Connell directed the preparation of a form of lease, which was sent to her daughter in California for the latter’s signature and acknowledgment, thereby undertaking to comply with the agreement embodied in the written memorandum. The lease form was signed by the daughter and returned to the mother, who, about April 18, 1928, submitted it to the officials of the Wyuta Cattle Company. This lease form purported to run for three years *140 only and contained several covenants to which objection was made by the proposed lessee. In an effort to reach an agreement relative to the lease covenants which would be satisfactory to all parties concerned, the representatives of the Wyuta Cattle Company and Mrs. Connell subsequently had an extended conference, after which Dr. Solier, the president of the corporation, himself drew up another form of lease, also for the term of three years, and with covenants therein varying in some respects from those contained in the lease form Mrs. Tobin had executed and to which objection had been made, as aforesaid. This instrument was then— the record is not clear on the matter — either sent to Mrs. Tobin in California by Dr. Solier, or was turned over to Mrs. Connell to send. The testimony in the record for the plaintiff is that Mrs. Connell expressed her satisfaction with the lease form thus prepared. Mrs. Connell, however, says that she told the Wyuta Cattle Company’s officers that: “Well it is all right if my daughter wants to sign it that way.” However these matters may be, the next day Mrs. Connell advised the officers of the company that she had called up her daughter over the long distance phone and Mrs. Tobin had said that she would not sign any more leases. Thereupon the corporation, by its manager, sent a wire to Mrs. Tobin inquiring as to whether her mother was her authorized agent in the transaction, and insisting on the signature of the lease “as executed.” Mrs. Tobin made no response to this inquiry and nothing more was done in the matter until February 25, 1929, when this litigation was commenced by the Wyuta Cattle Company.

The action instituted by the plaintiff was one for damages for breach of the agreement to give a lease as described in the memorandum hereinabove quoted, and was brought against both Drusilla, Connell and Lucile Tobin, as defendants, the petition alleging:

“That on March 16th, 1928, defendant Lucile Tobin was, ever since has been and now is the owner of lands situate in the County of Uinta, State of Wyoming, known and de *141 scribed as all section fifteen and all section seventeen and all section twenty and all section twenty one except tbe lot four thereof and except the northeast quarter southeast quarter thereof, all situate in township twelve north, of range one hundred nineteen west of the sixth principal meridian. That on said date the defendants Lucile Tobin and Drusilla Connell were, ever since have been and now are the owners jointly of said northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of said section twenty one. And that on said date defendant Drusilla Connell was the lessee from the State of Wyoming, by its State School Land Board, for all section sixteen in said township and range which lease is for a term to expire January 15, 1931. ’ ’

It was also alleged that the defendant Lucile Tobin “promised and agreed in writing to lease” all the aforesaid premises to the plaintiff pursuant to the written memorandum aforesaid, which was set forth in the pleading verbatim.

The defendants filed separate answers, in form general denials, but admitting that “application was made for a lease of the premises in dispute,” and alleging, “upon information and belief, that Lucile Tobin, one of the defendants herein, made and executed and delivered or offered to deliver a, lease to the plaintiff and that the said plaintiff failed and refused to accept the same. ’ ’ A reply was made by plaintiff, putting in issue the above excerpted portion of the several answers.

On January 13, 1930, the case came on for trial before the court without a jury, resulting in the judgment of which complaint is here made. Therein the court found generally in plaintiff’s favor, that the plaintiff and the defendant Lucile Tobin “modified to 3 years the term first intended for said lease,” that the defendant Lucile Tobin “wrongfully refused to execute the lease for the modified term according to the provisions of the agreement sued upon,” and that “the use of said land was and is reasonably worth to plaintiff for each year of said modified term $1200 per year above the rental to be paid.” Eecovery of *142 $3750 and costs was adjudged against Lucile Tobin, but it was ordered that the action be dismissed as to Drusilla Con-nell. The judgment further recited the issuance and levy of a writ of attachment upon the aforesaid real property of the defendants at the commencement of the action, and it was ordered that the attachment be sustained as to—

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Bluebook (online)
299 P. 279, 43 Wyo. 135, 1931 Wyo. LEXIS 12, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wyuta-cattle-co-v-connell-wyo-1931.