Wailuu v. Kainoakupuna
Wailuu v. Kainoakupuna
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OP THE COURT BY
The plaintiff filed her bill in equity to obtain a decree canceling a deed to certain lands made by her to the defendant. She alleges in her bill that the real consideration for the conveyance was the maintenance of herself by the defendant who agreed to furnish her with the necessaries of life and “sufficiently and comfortably support and maintain
The defendant filed his answer to the said bill in which he alleged that the said deed was made to him by the plaintiff of her own volition and not by request; that prior thereto he had expended on the property in building and repairing houses money to the extent of $595, and had spent other sums in addition thereto which he is unable to state; that he advanced to the plaintiff at one time $100 in money and at other times large sums; that the plaintiff and defendant did have a secret understanding that “he would provide her with all the necessaries of life and sufficiently and comfortably support and maintain her during her natural life in accord and commensurate with her station in life;” that he did, from the date of the execution of the deed to the 24th day of December, 1914, provide the plaintiff with all the necessaries of life, and did sufficiently and comfortably support and maintain her in accord with such
The cause was heard by the circuit judge who rendered his decision in favor of the plaintiff, finding among other things that the sum of $30 per month is a reasonable sum for the support and maintenance of the plaintiff; that there is due up to and including July 31, 1915, to plaintiff from the defendant the sum of $247 for support and maintenr anee, and that the defendant pay the plaintiff such sum on or before August. 15, 1915, and pay to the plaintiff thereafter, beginning September 1, the sum of $30. monthly, payable the first day of each month, during the term of her natural life; that upon failure of the defendant to make any of the said payments his interest in the property should cease and an additional decree should be entered confirming the title of the plaintiff in and to the said property; that the amounts decreed to be paid by the defendant to the plaintiff shall be and are declared to be a lien upon the said property; that upon payment by the defendant to the plaintiff of all amounts due and to become due her title in said property should vest in him but not prior thereto, and that all said amounts should be paid by the defendant to the clerk of the court who should in turn pay the same to the plaintiff.
From the said decree the defendant has appealed and
The only ground upon which the circuit judge, sitting as a court of equity, is asked to cancel the deed is the alleged failure of the defendant to support and maintain the plaintiff. Whether a court of equity should cancel a deed like the one in question upon the mere ground of failure of consideration, total or partial, is not necessary to a decision here, as, in our view, the allegations of the bill are not sufficiently established by the evidence, and the defendant’s second assignment of error must be sustained. We will therefore only discuss the second assignment of error.
The allegations of the answer, supported by uncontra-dicted evidence, show that for three years before and more than three years after the execution of the deed the defendant supported and maintained the plaintiff. The plaintiff testified that the defendant had supported and provided for her properly for three years prior to the making of the deed. She complained that after the deed was executed she did not have a sufficiency of poi at times and was compelled to eat Japanese diet. Her evidence in this regard is corroborated by Anna Kalau. The circumstance that the plaintiff lived upon the premises and was supported by the defendant for a period of about three years and nine months after she executed the deed is important evidence that the defendant had kept his promise to support her and negatives the allegation of the bill that he failed to support and maintain her. The defendant and his older daughter both testified that after the execution of the deed and up to the
The plaintiff complained that the defendant brought to the house the Japanese husband of plaintiff’s older daughter, after which she had to eat Japanese diet. There is no merit in this contention. Uncontradicted evidence shows that this daughter and Japanese married soon after the execution of the deed, after which time they lived upon the premises, and this Japanese husband of defendant’s older daughter ate poi and other food as well as rice and vegetable's. It seems somewhat incredible that it took the plaintiff more than three years to become dissatisfied with the diet furnished, after the deed was executed, upon the grounds on which she places it — that after the Japanese son-in-law
Defendant kept his promise for nearly four years after the execution of the deed, and when the plaintiff left the premises without his knowledge he promptly sent a letter to her asking her to return, and testified' that he had been at all times ready and willing to support and maintain the
The decree is reversed, and the cause remanded to the circuit judge with instructions to dismiss the plaintiff’s bill. Costs are awarded to the defendant-appellant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- WAILUU v. KAINOAKUPUNA
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Equity — cancelation of instrument. In a suit In equity to obtain judgment canceling a deed It was alleged that the consideration moving to the plaintiff was defendant’s promise to “sufficiently and comfortably support her during her natural life,” and that defendant had failed and refused so to do; the evidence showed that defendant and his family had lived on the premises conveyed with the plaintiff for nearly four years after the execution of the deed, during which time defendant had furnished plaintiff with clothing and had furnished the food used; plaintiff occasionally complained that she did not get a sufficient amount of poi, but never so complained to the defendant; plaintiff finally left the premises without the knowledge or consent of the defendant, who wrote her asking her to return and testified that he had at all times supported, and has at all times been ready and .willing- and able to sufficiently and comfortably support, plaintiff in - accord with her rank and station in life, pursuant to his promise so to do; held, that the plaintiff’s suit is without equity and the judgment in her favor reversed with instructions to dismiss plaintiff’s bill.