Muns v. Mooty
Muns v. Mooty
Opinion of the Court
Edward Muns held a contract from Gerke Heidebrink for a deed to 320 acres of land in Nobles county which the latter owned. On March 1, 1920, Muns assigned , the contract to his two minor sons, Loren and Robert. The boys would not become 21 years of age until May 8, 1922, and September 22, 1923, respectively. It was specified in the assignment that the assignees were to keep and perform all of the terms and conditions of the contract of sale, which of course would include the payment of the interest.thereon.
On August 1, 1921, the sons sold and assigned all their right, .title and interest in said contract and the land therein described to the defendant Mooty, who immediately went into and has ever since remained in possession thereof. The defendant failed to pay the interest which became due on April 2, 1922, upon the contract, and thereafter his assignors caused the same to be paid in order to protect and preserve the contract of sale. The interest amounted to $1,982.19 per annum and became due and payable on April 1 of each year. In the assignment to him, defendant did not obligate himself to pay the interest on the contract.
On April 5, 1923, the interest which became due April 1 of that year not having been paid, Heidebrink caused a notice of cancelation of the contract to be served upon Mooty, who was in possession of the premises, and upon Edward Muns, the grantee therein named, because of the nonpayment of the interest due and unpaid. On April 17 a guardian ad litem was appointed for Robert Muns, for the purpose of instituting proceedings to disaffirm the assignment which the two boys had given the defendant. The present action followed.
The facts are quite fully set forth in the complaint, and the prayer for judgment asks for the cancelation of the assignment to
As stated on behalf of the appellant in the brief before us, when the interest became due in the spring of 1922, the defendant refused to pay the same or any part thereof until the title to the land was perfected as per his stipulation which he claims to have made with Edward Muns on August 1, 1921; that Heidebrink then caused to be served a notice of cancelation of his contract on account of the nonpayment of such interest; that thereafter the interest was paid by some party to the defendant unknown, and the contract was thereby reinstated; that when the April, 1923, instal
At the close of the testimony, as shown by the record, the defendant moved the court to dismiss the action upon the ground that the proofs supported the allegations of the answer. The motion was denied by the court but, with the consent of the plaintiffs, it made and filed an order adjudging and decreeing the affirmance of the assignment of the contract given by the minor sons, Loren and Eobert, to the defendant on August 1, 1921, as prayed for in the answer; and, further, that plaintiff have and recover judgment against the defendant for $1,932.19 with interest from May 16, 1922, and that they be permitted to withdraw the amount left with the clerk.
The action was, of course, properly disposed of insofar as the judgment affirms the title of defendant as a vendee’s assign of the land contract, since plaintiffs at the trial consented that their assignment thereof to him, made when minors, .should stand affirmed. But the personal money judgment against defendant for the amount paid the vendor after such assignment, in order to prevent a can-celation of the contract, is not warranted, by the record. It is no doubt true that defendant purposely failed to pay this amount so that the vendor might cancel the contract and thus cut off the right of plaintiffs to have their assignment to defendant set aside, and then make a new contract of sale with defendant; and it is likewise true that the amount was paid the vendor so as to prevent that result. There can be- no question that, if the assignment made by plaintiffs to defendant was to be affirmed by them when of age, it was the duty of defendant to pay the vendor the amount that was. paid on May 16, 1922. Defendant took over the con
The judgment is reversed with direction to the court below to modify its conclusions of law and enter judgment in conformity to this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- LOREN MUNS AND ANOTHER v. J. W. MOOTY
- Status
- Published