Ziebarth v. Donaldson
Ziebarth v. Donaldson
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiffs and the defendant Philip‘Plaisance, Jr., are the heirs of Philip Plaisance, Sr., whose estate is under administration, the defendant Donaldson being the administrator. The complaint so alleges, and also that among the several tracts of land belonging to the decedent was a farm of 320 acres in McLeod county upon which the defendant Plaisance, Jr., was a tenant; that, to facilitate the consummation of sales of the real estate mentioned, plaintiffs and the defendant Plaisance, Jr., executed a power of attorney to defendant Donaldson, individually and not as administrator, “to grant, bargain, sell, exchange, lease, transfer and' convey, and make any other disposition of all of said property or of any portion thereof * * * deliver any agreement * * * deed, conveyance or other writing,” etc.; that said power of attorney was executed and delivered to Donaldson “upon the distinct understanding and agreement had with plaintiffs, that in the event of a sale of any of the real estate belonging to said decedent (Plaisance, Sr.) the same was to be at a price and upon terms agreeable to plaintiffs and the other heirs and next of kin of said decedent;” that, without informing plaintiffs of the price, said Donaldson, acting^ under said power, by a written contract sold and agreed to convey by deed of warranty to the defendant Philip Plaisance,’Jr., plaintiffs’ interest, being an undivided 91/99 in the 320 acre farm above mentioned for the price of $19,119.20, $1,806.90 of which was paid in cash and the balance to be paid when the estate was probated; that said farm was then worth not less than $35,000; it is also charged that the defendants conspired to obtain the property from plaintiffs surreptitiously and for an inadequate consideration; and plaintiffs ask that the contract made by Donaldson under the said power be declared null and void and for such other relief as may be appropriate. The appeal is from the order sustaining the demurrer to the complaint.
The court below was of the opinion that plaintiffs had a complete remedy in their own hands by simply revoking the power of attorney. It' is true that a revocation will deprive Donaldson of the power to execute the conveyance contemplated by the contract. But the power of attorney is of record, and the contract, executed in recordable form, purports to bind plaintiffs, their heirs, executors, administrators and assigns to convey the farm in question to defendant Plaisance, Jr., his heirs and as
An agent’s violation of express instructions to his principal’s loss and to the gain of the other party to the transaction, the latter at the time having knowledge of the instructions, is undoubtedly a legal fraud upon the principal, and we cannot,follow appellants when they say that the issues of fraud, conspiracy and bad faith are immaterial. Nor do we understand their position when stating that they present squarely the
Order reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DELIA ZIEBARTH AND OTHERS v. C. R. DONALDSON AND OTHERS
- Status
- Published