Kenton v. Robbins
Kenton v. Robbins
Opinion of the Court
in chancery by the appellee against the appellants, to enforce a vendor’s lien, &c. The facts are substantially these;
In January, 1839, one Caleb Van Ausdol sold a tract of land in La Grange county to Kelly and Ford, for 2,000 dollars, on which they paid 300 dollars, and then sold the same land to John and Frederick Robbins, who refunded the last-named sum to Kelly and Ford, and agreed to pay
In May, 1843, Van Ausdol died in Ohio, where he then resided, and one William Holler, under the laws of that state, became his administrator. At his death he was still the owner of the land for which the above notes were given, and another tract situate in Jasper county, containing one hundred and sixty acres. When Van Ausdol died, he left a widow and ten heirs, who, with one Alexander Fleming, are the appellants, and were the defendants below; the said Fleming having purchased of said heirs three-tenths of the land bought of John and Frederick Robbins. About the 13th of August, 1840, Isaac Robbins, the appellee, Elizabeth Van Ausdol, the decedent’s widow, and Cornelius Van Ausdol, one of said heirs, met together at La Grange, when it was agreed between them that Robbins was to receive the land in Jasper county, in satisfaction of his note. Pursuant to this agreement, Elizabeth and Cornelius executed to Robbins a bond in the penalty of 750 dollars, conditioned that they would make, or cause to be made to him a deed in fee for said land, conveying to him a clear title to the same. Thereupon Robbins delivered up the note in question to Holler, the administrator, who
The bill prays that a special equitable lien, in favor of Isaac Robbins, on the land in La Grange county, be decreed; that the same be sold for the payment of said debt, &c., and should said land prove insufficient for the purpose, then that the land in Jasper county be sold, &c.; and for general relief.
The Court, upon a final hearing, decreed that Isaac Robbins recover 1,018 dollars; that for the payment of said note he had no specific lien on the land in La Grange county, but that he was entitled, as a creditor of said estate, to subject its property to the payment of his debt. Wherefore the Court ordered that all the above land situate in La Grange county, excepting the three-tenths purchased by Fleming, be sold to satisfy the amount found
Against this decree it is alleged that the appellee’s remedy was at law, on the title-bond, and not in equity; that the acceptance of the bond was a merger of the note—a satisfaction of it. We might add, that when the present suit was commenced, the note was not in existence. It had been surrendered up to the proper administrator of Van AusdoVs estate, as fully paid and cancelled. This was evidently the result of the agreement upon which the note was placed in the administrator’s hands, unless it can be inferred that there was fraud in the transaction. The evidence on the record, in our opinion, will allow of no such inference. It is true that Robbins, when he agreed to receive the bond in lieu of the note, evinced no great degree of skill in managing that branch of his business: still he was not the victim of any practised deception, because his knowledge of the facts connected with the agreement upon which the bond was executed and note given up, was at least equal to that of those with whom he contracted. Nothing in the evidence before us conduces to prove that the contract was either unfair or illegal. It violates no rule of law, is founded on a consideration which the law will not adjudge inadequate, and must therefore be considered binding on the parties.
It is said in argument, that the equity of the case made by the proofs, is sufficient to. sustain the decree, independent of fraud. This position is untenable. The land, at the time of the contract, was in value nearly the amount of the note, and it was not without the verge of probability that the vendors would make such an arrangement with the other heirs of said estate as would enable them to make or cause to be made a valid title to the premises.
It follows that Robbins, at the time this suit was instituted, was not, on account of the note, a creditor of said estate. His only appropriate remedy is against the vendors on their bond. We know of no principle of equity that would recognize their liability as a demand against Van Ausdol’s heirs.
It is, however, contended that “ the equity is clear upon the vendor’s lien.” While the note existed in the hands
The above conclusions seem to result from the material facts of the case.
We think the complainant was not entitled to the relief granted.
The decree must therefore be reversed, and the Circuit Court ordered to dismiss the bill without prejudice.
The decree is reversed with costs. Cause remanded, &c.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.