Darling v. Darling
Darling v. Darling
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff in error and certain defendants in error are tenants in common, in certain lands, fifty acres of which are in Ashland county, and the other lands, consisting of about three hundred and twenty acres, are situate in Richland county.
On the 4th day of March, 1908, Camille King, one of said tenants in common, filed in the court of common pleas of Richland her petition praying for the partition of all of the lands, and she alleges that she is seized in fee simple of one-seventh part, and that G. L. Darling, Willard E. Darling, Plerbert Darling, Laucena P. Glasgow, Florence Statler and Relia M. Stichler, are each seized of one-seventh part as tenants in common with the plaintiff.
Most of the defendants waived summons and entered their appearance. The others were duly served with process.
On the 4th day of August, 1908, the court found the interests of the several tenants as alleged in the petition and ordered partition ac
On the 20th day of August, 1908, the commissioners reported that the estate could not be divided without injury to the value thereof, and returned appraisement of the lands in Ashland county separate from the appraisement of the lands in Richland county. The record shows the following: “And thereupon neither of the said parties electing to take the said estate or any portion thereof at its appraised value, on motion of the plaintiff, it is ordered that said estate be sold at public auction according to law, and that an order issue therefor to the sheriff of Richland county.”
The writ issued the next day.
The foregoing order of sale was made at the February term, 1908, and on August 20th of that year.
The next step disclosed by the record was taken on the 21st day of September, 1908, when W. E. Darling filed his application to take the premises (fifty acres) situate in Ashland county at the appraised value thereof, and the record says: “And the court being advised in the premises do adjudge the same to W. E. Darling, upon his paying into the sheriff the amount of said appraised value less his proportionate share, and said sheriff of this county is ordered upon his so doing, to make, execute and deliver a deed for said premises. Order of sale with reference to said Ashland county tract is hereby recalled.”
Having approved of the election of Willard E. Darling as to the fifty acres in Ashland county and disregarded the offer to elect made by G. L. Darling, the court confirmed the sales as to the other lands and ordered distribution.
G. L. Darling prosecuted error in the circuit court to reverse the order and proceedings of the court of common pleas in relation to the fifty acres in Ashland county.
Willard E. Darling prosecutes error here to reverse the judgment of the circuit court.
The order of partition and also the order of sale of all the lands, were made during the February term, 1908, although made in August of that year. The sheriff, in pursuance of the order of sale, advertised the sale to take place on the 26th of September, 1908. All parties in interest would naturally look forward to that date as the time fixed to dispose of the entire estate. No tenant in common had announced an election to take any part of the premises at the appraisal. But at the subsequent September term, and only five days prior to the day of sale as advertised, Willard E. Darling made an election to take the Ashland county land at the appraisal, and the court recognized his election and ordered that the “order of sale with reference to said Ashland county tract is hereby recalled.” This election and the order quoted were had and made without any notice to the other co-tenants, certainly without notice to or knowledge of G. L. Darling, and, as said, at a term of court subsequent to that when the first order of sale was made. G. L. on the day of sale promptly endeavored to have the court set aside the proceedings, so summarily had, but without success in that court, and it seems that Willard E. was permitted to secretly gain an advantage over his co-tenants. We think this was error.
The next section provides, “that if one or more of the parties elect to take the estate at the appraised value, the terms of payment, unless the court on good cause shown by special order direct and require the entire payment to be made in cash, or unless all the parties in interest agree thereon, shall be one-third cash,” etc.
Section 5764 provides: “If no such election to take the estate be made, the court may, at the instance of a party, make an order for the sale thereof at public auction, by the sheriff who executed the writ of partition, or his successor in office.”
The next section directs the manner of conducting the sale.
If Willard E. Darling, on confirmation of the report of the commissioners appraising all the estate, had elected to take the Ashland county land at the appraised value, he could have properly done so, as it had a separate value. However the
The record shows that no one had made an election when the order of sale was issued and not until five days previous to the day fixed for the sale by the sheriff.
As before stated, the finding- of the court that no one had elected, and the order to sell, was made at the February term of court, and the election of Willard E. and the order of the court recalling the order of sale as to the Ashland county land and adjudging it to Willard E., were made at the subsequent September term, without notice to the other co-tenants, especially G. L. Darling. The court had no jurisdiction to entertain such an election and was without jurisdiction to adjudge the premises to Willard E. and order the sheriff to convey to him.
When the proper time and opportunity for election had passed by and a public sale of the entire lands was being advertised, the right of election had gone by, unless it could be consented to by the other co-tenants. No such consent was asked or obtained, and the election in controversy is-void, and the proceedings of the court of com
This view is in harmony with the judgment of the circuit court and the same is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.