Winfield National Bank v. Johnson
Winfield National Bank v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
A preliminary question is presented by the defendant in error, who contends that the case-made contains no certificate as to its contents, and is therefore not reviewable. We find a certificate, sufficient in form and substance and signed by the attorneys for the plaintiffs in error, immediately following the journal entry of final judgment in the case, and
This action was brought on November 24, 1894, by the defendant in error to recover damages for the alleged unlawful conversion by the plaintiffs in error of 900 bushels of wheat, the property of the defendant in error, and of the value of fifty cents per bushel. Other claims for incidental damages were alleged, including a claim for an attorney’s fee, but such additional claims were eliminated from the case before its final submission to the jury. The answer, among other things, averred that one Lyman Johnson, the real owner of the land on which the wheat in controversy was grown and of the wheat, for the purpose of hindering, delaying and defrauding his creditors, and especially the defendant bank, had conveyed the said land, without consideration, to the plaintiff, who knowingly and fraudulently participated in the transaction. The reply alleged that .the conveyance by Lyman Johnson to the plaintiff of the said land was made in good faith and for valuable consideration.
The evidence shows that on September 30, 1893, Lyman Johnson, being the owner of two quarter-sections of land in Cowley county, deeded one tract, his homestead, to Martha J. Lassiter, in consideration of the assumption of the mortgage against the same, and the other tract, which was worth about $3500, to his brother, Ithamar Johnson, subject to a mortgage of $2025, in consideration of indebtedness due the latter, partly for labor performed, but principally for money
. Plaintiffs in error allege that the court erred in the admission of certain evidence and in its instruction to
Turning now to the instructions, we find that none was asked by the defendants below. We have read the entire charge with great care, to determine whether, as a whole, it was broad enough to cover the essential issues in the case, namely, Did Lyman Johnson deed away his land with the intent to defeat the Winfield National Bank in the collection of its. claim against him? and, if so, was Ithamar Johnson aware of such intention? In one instruction it was stated that a person, though insolvent and in failing circumstances, may convey his property to whomsoever he pleases, if the transaction be an honest omj, and that, if the conveyance be made in good faith and,
“You will observe the vital question that you are to determine in this case is as to whether or not there was a bona fide indebtedness from Lyman Johnson to the plaintiff, and as to whether or not Lyman Johnson honestly and in good faith was indebted to this plaintiff, and whether or not this plaintiff honestly and in good faith accepted a conveyance of the title to the real estate for the honest purpose of securing his debt, and as to whether or not the value of the real estate was greatly in excess of the debt due from Lyman Johnson to the plaintiff; and if you find that Lyman Johnson was honestly indebted to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff honestly and in good faith accepted the title to the real estate in payment of his debt, and that the value of the real estate sustained a fair proportion to the amount of the debt, then, in that event, this plaintiff would have had a right to accept said real estate and no creditor would have any cause to complain by reason of that fact. But, upon the other hand, if this was not a just debt, or if the value of the real estate was greatly in excess of any just debt due from Lyman Johnson to the plaintiff, then the law would not permit this plaintiff to take the property of Lyman Johnson and withhold the same from his creditors.”
It was not stated unqualifiedly anywhere in any of the instructions that if the conveyance from Lyman Johnson to Ithamar Johnson was made for the purpose of hindering, delaying and defrauding the creditors of Lyman Johnson, and if Ithamar Johnson purchased the property with knowledge of such intention on the part of his grantor, then the conveyance would be void. (Haskett v. Auhl, 3 Kan. App. 748, 45 Pac. 608.) The instructions did not cover
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The Winfield National Bank and J. W. Skinner v. Ithamar Johnson
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published