Mayhew v. Knittle
Mayhew v. Knittle
Opinion of the Court
On the 11th day of June, 1897, the plaintiff herein com-r. .ouced an action in the district court of Douglas county .inst the defendant, Elizabeth Knittle, to enforce the •s , jcific performance of a contract to convey certain real estate. The contract was entered into on the 20th day of July, 1891, and was alleged to be, in substance, as follows: That at the time it was entered into the defendant was the owner of the west thirty-three feet of lot 1, in block 92, original plat of Omaha; that one Lucien H. Spencer agreed to and with the defendant to build a brick block on the said lot, thirty-three feet front by sixty feet deep, and two stories high, the same to be built so that the median or middle line dividing the said building lengthwise should stand and be upon the middle line of the said lot; that the building should cost at least $5,000, and should be built according to certain plans and specifications, which were made a part of the contract. It was further provided that
1. The defense of the statute of limitations.
2. Laches on the part of the plaintiff, together with facts incident thereto, showing the want of equity in the plaintiff’s bill.
3. Gift of the property by Luden H. Spencer during his life time to the defendant, and facts constituting a complete execution thereof.
á. A denial of all the facts stated in the petition, except those specifically admitted by the answer.
The reply was a general denial. A. trial was had, and after the introduction of all of the evidence and arguments of counsel the court made the following findings:
“The court finds that there is no equity in the plaintiff’s bill, and that tire equities are in favor of the defendant as against the plaintiff.
“The court further finds that the defendant' is the absolute owner in fee simple of the premises described in the plaintiff’s petition, to wit: The west 33 feet of lot 1, in block 92, of the original plat of the city of Omaha, Douglas county, Nebraska, as surveyed, platted and recorded, and plaintiff has no right, title or interest therein by virtue of the contract set out in plaintiff’s petition, nor in any other manner whatsoever.
“And the court further finds that plaintiff’s cause, of action is barred by the statute of limitations, and further that plaintiff was guilty of laches in commencing her suit on said contract.”
And upon said findings the court made the following-judgment :
“Wherefore, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed, that*398 the plaintiff’s bill be dismissed, and that plaintiff be forever barred from having or claiming to have any right, title or interest in or to said premises, or any part thereof, and that defendant’s title in and to the same be and hereby is established and quieted as against, any and all claims of the plaintiff, and that the defendant recover from the plaintiff her costs herein expended, taxed at $——, to which plaintiff excepts.”
The plaintiff fthed a motion for a new trial, which was overruled, and she thereupon brought the case to this court upon a petition in error, which contained the following assignments:
“1. That the findings and judgment of the trial court are not sustained by sufficient evidence.
“2. That the findings and judgment of the district court are contrary to law.
“8. That the trial court erred upon the trial of said cause, and the proceedings connected therewith, in permitting the witness, J. W. West, to testify in regard to conversations with the deceased, Rucien H. Spencer, said conversations occurring before the execution of the contract sued upon in this case.
“á. The trial court erred in allowing the witness, Willie Knittle, son of the defendant, to testify concerning conversations with the deceased, Luden H. Spencer, after the completion of the building erected by the said deceased upon the premises in controversy in this suit.
“5. The trial court erred in refusing to grant a new trial herein upon the grounds of newly-discovered evidence, as shown by the affidavit of John O. Yedser, fthed in said cause, which evidence the plaintiff was unable to discover and produce on the trial for the reason that she did not know of the existence of said evidence until after said cause had been tried.
“6. The court erred in overruling plaintiff’s motion for a new trial.”
1. The plaintiff, by her brief and argument of the case in this court, presents but one contention, which is that
2. It will be observed that the court made certain findings, other than the one complained of, which are sufficient to sustain the decree. The court found that there was no equity in the: plaintiff’s bill; that the defendant is the absolute owner in fee simple of the whole of the real estate described in the petition; and that plaintiff has no right, title or interest therein by virtue of the contract set out in her petition, nor in any other manner whatsoever; and that the plaintiff was guilty of laches in commencing her suit on the contract. In her brief and argument plaintiff does not challenge these findings. Under the well-established rules of this court it is not necessary to' further examine the record in this case, but, in order to be sure that no injustice is done the plaintiff, we have carefully i*ead the evidence and find that it clearly shows that at the time the contract was entered into, the deceased, Lucien H. Spencer, stated, in the presence of a third party, that he was not particular about the contract himself, because the defendant had formerly been his wife; that he had done her a great wrong and injustice by putting her* away and obtaining a divorce from her. He also expressed much feeling over the matter, and stated that he had sold some property for a large amount of money,—something like §18,000,—and that he intended to erect the building in question on the lot owned by the defendant for her, and give it to her in lieu of money, so as to provide a source of income for her and his son, Willie Knittle (sometimes called Eddie Spencer), who lived with her. It is further shown that, as soon as the building was completed, Spencer informed the defendant and his son of that fact; that on
For the foregoing reasons, we recommend that the decree of the district court be affirmed.
By the Court: For the reasons given in the foregoing ' opinion, the decree of the district court is
Affirmed. .
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary Mayhew v. Elizabeth Knittle
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published