Brandenburg v. Sandidge's Comittee
Brandenburg v. Sandidge's Comittee
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the Court by
Reversing.
Prior to May 25, 1908, one James Matt Sandidge owned about 185 acres of land in one body in Hardin county, Ky. He was indebted to the Leitchfield Deposit Bank in the sum of about $2,300, which was secured by a mortgage on the land and to C. Z. Aud something over $100, which was also secured by a
-The case was referred to a master commissioner to take proof of and report claims against Sandidge’s estate. He reported the-amount thereof, which was, in substance, as stated.' The court directed a sale of all the land for the reason that it could not be divided without materially impairing its value, and directed that the creditors of Sandidge be paid out fc»f the purchase price. The land was sold by the commissioner, and -appellant, Brandenburg, -bid the sum of $4,450, about $1,200 -or $1,400 more than the proof shows that it was worth. The sale was reported by the commissioner to the -court, and at the first term after the sale, a guardian ad litem for Sandidge’s infant children filed exceptions to the sale of the whole of the land, stating that Sandidge and his children were entitled to a homestead, which should be set apart and the balance sold to pay the debts. Brandenburg appeared at the same time, and filed exceptions to the report of sale, making the point that the whole proceeding by which the land was sold was void; that the confinement of Sandidge in the asylum
Both parties agree that these contentions are true, and the court so stated in its judgment, but compelled Brandenburg to take the land at his bid for the following reasons: After it was discovered that all the proceedings leading up to the sale of the land by an order of the court were void, a deed was prepared from James Matt Sandidge to appellant, Brandenburg, the purchase price being fixed at appellant’s bid, which contained a clause of general warranty, and was sent or carried to Jefferson county, where the asylum is situated, and was signed and acknowledged by J. Matt Sandidge before Victor Swope, a notary public for that county, who certified that Sandidge freely ratified and confirmed the sale to Brandenburg. On the same day one W. E. Gardner made an affidavit stating, in effect, that he was the first assistant physician at the Central Kentucky Asylum for the Insane in Lakeland, Ky.; that as such physician J. Matt Sandidge was placed under his care when sent to the asylum; that he had been restored to his right mind, was then, and had been for several months, of sound mind, and thoroughly capable of attending to his own business, although somewhat physically disabled; that he had mind and capacity to understand a contract to sell and convey his real estate and other property. This .affidavit was filed in court, and the court directed its commissioner who made the sale of the land to join Sandidge in the deed to appellant, _ and from this order the appeal was prosecuted.
The only question to be considered is whether the court erred in compelling appellant to accept the deed so made and tendered and pay the purchase price.
The case at bar is not like those cases. We have found no case where the purchaser of land who believed -that he was getting a good title from the person who sold it to him was compelled to take the land when he discovered that the seller did not own it and his principal was an infant, idiot, or lunatic, or there were reasonable grounds to believe that the principal was laboring under any one of these difficulties. Brandenburg knew the owner of the land was in the asylum, and believed that the court had jurisdiction to make a sale and pass a good and perfect title to the land, and he should- not have been made to accept the deed from Sandidge made while he was in the asylum; the only evidence of his having-been restored to his right mind being an ex parte affidavit of the assistant physician of the asylum.
While it is agreed that all the pioceedings which led up to the placing- of Sandidge in the asylum were void, yet the record shows that a jury was impaneled, the proper oath administered, and a verdict returned to the effect that Sandidge was of unsound mind and a lunatic, and that he was immediately sent to the asylum, where he remained until after the court
For these reasons, the judgment of the lower court is reversed and remanded, with directions to set aside the sale and to dismiss the petition.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.