Yaden v. Kinney
Yaden v. Kinney
Opinion of the Court
In 1909, Kinney’s wife died leaving him with four children, one of whom, Roe Kinney, was a six or seven year old boy. Kinney “bached” until becoming “mighty tired of it” he arranged on February 4,1912, for Lena Barkhurst to act as his housekeeper. The defendant Barkhurst was at that time a married woman with two children aged respectively one and two years. The defendant Lena Barkhurst concedes that she was obliged to accept the employment for the reason that she was without funds. Kinney promised to pay Lena $10 per month, with board and lodging
In 1913 Lena was divorced from her husband, and, in settlement of their property rights, he conveyed to her two lots in Klamath Falls on April 7, 1913.
The Klamath Development Company, the owner of the Kilgore land, had contracted to sell half of it to Minnie Hozin and the other half to John Corboff. Kinney acquired Corboff’s equity, and Minnie Hozin relinquished her equity to the defendant Lena Barkhurst. The Kilgore land was irrigated land and there were unpaid water charges against each half of it. Kinney transferred four lots in Klamath Falls to Corboff for his equity; and Lena conveyed her two lots in Klamath Falls to Minnie Hozin for the latter’s equity. The Klamath Development Company, through its representative M. L. Johnson, participated in the negotiations, and as a part of the transaction the Klamath Development Company deeded the Corboff half of the Kilgore land to Kinney and the Hozin half to Lena. The “back water charges” were paid by Kinney. It appears from the record that the conveyances to Kinney and Lena were subject to a mortgage held by Frederic F. Hall who had financed the Klamath Development Company. It also appears that both Kinney and Lena signed notes for deferred payments to be made on the purchase price and that these notes were secured by a mortgage on the land.
“Mr. Kinney objected to paying the judgments, saying that they were unjust debts and he didn’t feel morally obligated to pay them. I told him that the deal couldn’t go through unless they were paid because the papers were all drawn up in his name. He said he wished he had known it before the deal started, he would have the whole property put in Mrs.*585 Barkhurst’s name. I told him it was too late to make any change in the papers now, the K. D. Co. had stood attorney’s hills on the thing, and spent a lot of time on it and gone to a lot of expense, and it had to go through as outlined, or not at all. Whereupon in due course, Mr. 'Kinney cleared up the judgments and also the back water charges against the property,”
Under date of July 30, 1917, Kinney conveyed his half of the Kilgore land to Lena, and the deed was recorded on the same day. One of the important questions of fact presented for decision is whether this conveyance was made in good faith and in payment of indebtedness due Lena, or whether it was made to hinder Kinney’s creditors. The defendants say that the deed was given in satisfaction of a debt of $800 at that time found to be due from Kinney to Lena for services rendered by her as housekeeper. This question of fact must be solved by what occurred-before July 30, 1917, and also by what happened after that date.
Lena says that she worked continuously for Kinney as his housekeeper from February 4, 1912 until July 30, 1917, except about two months. During a period of about two years she served as postmistress, and received approximately $200 per year for her services. She had no other income whatever except the wages earned by her as housekeeper for Kinney and the salary received for her services as postmistress. In other words, the only moneys received and earned by her during a period of five years and six months were the wages earned as housekeeper and the salary as postmistress. Giving to Lena the benefit of every doubt and crediting her with four months each year at $30 per month and all the remaining- months during which she worked at $15 per month instead of $10 per month, the aggregate amount is approximately $1,260.
According to the testimony of Kinney, he was broke in 1909. He bought a threshing-machine and that transaction broke him again. Commencing with probably 1909, or at least as early as a few years prior to
In October, 1916, H. F. Chapman deeded to Kinney 160 acres of land and Kinney gave a mortgage for part of the purchase price. Chapman says that Kinney
“advised me not to have my mortgage recorded; said he wasn’t going to have the deed recorded. * * I asked him why and he says, ‘They will come on to your creditors and take it away from you.’ ”
Chapman recorded his mortgage, but Kinney did not record his deed. Kinney failed to pay the note given for part of the purchase price, and the land reverted to Chapman.
On March 10, 1914, P. L. Fountain and C. K. Brandenberg conveyed 80 acres of land to B. A. Kinney, a son of the defendant Kinney. For this conveyance Fountain and Brandenberg received from the defendant Kinney three lots and two houses in Klamath Falls and some money. The “trade” was made with the defendant Kinney, and the conveyance to the son was made “at Mr. A. Kinney’s directions.” In 1918, B. A. Kinney deeded this land to Lena Bark
On November 19, 1917, Lena Barkhurst conveyed the Kilgore land to Iva Drew, subject to the Hall mortgage amounting to $1,760 and to a second mortgage in the sum of $815.32 in favor of the Klamath Development Company. For this conveyance Charles Drew gave a check for $1,600 payable to Lena Barkhurst and delivered twenty-eight head of cattle. Lena says that she indorsed the check and gave it to Kinney, who, both say, expended it for her.
Clarence Harris was paid $500 for his equity in the Beaughan land, and the money paid him was a part of the proceeds of the Drew check. The negotiations leading up to this purchase were conducted by Clarence Harris and Kinney. According to the testimony of E. M. Chilcote who acted as scrivener the papers as first prepared ran “to A. Kinney and then later I was given instructions that contract should be made out in the name of Lena Barkhurst, and consequently the old papers were destroyed and new papers made out in her name.” Chilcote further stated that “all of the instructions came from Mr. Kinney and Clarence Harris.”
Lew A. Davidson and wife conveyed the Davidson land to Lena Barkhurst by deed dated April 2, 1918 and recorded July 10, 1918. William McClure conveyed the McClure land to Lena Barkhurst by a deed dated July 9, 1918, and recorded April 28, 1919. The negotiations were conducted by Davidson and Kinney.
“When we came to make the deeds, [Kinney] spoke about having run to his son; seems it was talked over for a while, then he said — in a few days afterwards he said he couldn’t have it go to his son, son wasn’t of age, wasn’t old enough, so he would have the deed go to this Mrs. Barkhurst, I think; some lady, I think that is the name.
“Q. And the papers as finally executed, do you know how the deed run, to whom?
“A. Well, the first time that was made, the deed was made and give to me and I sent it to Mr. McClure to sign; it was made out, — deeding it to Kinney. When the deed came back, it didn’t suit and Mr. Chilcote said, I think he said over there in the bank, would have to be made, deed to Mrs. Barkhurst; so there was another deed made and I signed it and Mr. McClure signed it, deed to Mrs. Barkhurst.”
The testimony of Davidson concerning the proposal to deed the land to the minor son is in material particulars corroborated by two other witnesses. Furthermore, it will be observed that the McClure deed, which was finally delivered, is dated three months later than the Davidson deed.
Lena Barkhurst continued to act as housekeeper for Kinney until she entered upon her homestead in 1919. Since entering upon the homestead she has lived in a house upon the homestead during a part of the time, while Kinney has lived in a house on the McClure land most of the time. The record shows that Kinney alone without the aid of Lena Barkhurst conducted the negotiations which resulted in the sale to Drew, the purchase of the Harris equity, and the purchase of the Davidson-McClure land. Indeed all the business, which it is now claimed was conducted in behalf of Lena Barkhurst, was transacted by Kinney exactly as he would have done it if he had been conducting such business for himself. Lena admits that, except upon one occasion, she never sold so much as a single cow or calf without first consulting Kinney, and yet she claims to have been the owner of all the livestock and real property. Even up to the time of the trial Kinney managed the Davidson land as though he owned it. Every business transaction, except an occasional purchase or sale of one or more head of cattle, was conducted and managed by Kinney alone. In January, 1920, the date of the trial of this suit, we find Lena holding the record title to 320 acres of land with no encumbrance on it, except about $400, and an additional 320 acres of land with no indebted
Notwithstanding the fact that from July 30, 1917, until early in 1919, when Lena entered upon the homestead, she continued to act as Kinney’s housekeeper, just as she had done from February 4, 1912, to July 30, 1917, she claims she did not consider that Kinney was indebted to her for services rendered after July 30, 1917; for, she asserts, “he was helping me as well as I helping him then,” and “I just considered myself indebted to him after he has done so many things for me * * farmed my land, all such things as that.”
The plaintiff urges that the relationship existing between the defendants since February 4, 1912, has been of such a high degree of confidence that the burden of proof ought to be placed upon Lena satisfactorily to prove that Kinney conveyed his half of the Kilgore land for the consideration and in the circumstances claimed by her. It is not necessary to decide whether the same rule which governs husband and wife ought to apply to the conveyance from Kinney to Lena; for, even though we assume without deciding that the burden of proof rests upon the plaintiff throughout the trial, an examination of the record convinces us that the plaintiff has sustained the burden so assumed to rest upon him. No good purpose can be served by reviewing in detail all of the evidence relating to the controversy. The foregoing narrative contains only an outline of the most important features; but there are many additional circumstances which give support to the contention made by
The decree is affirmed. Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- YADEN v. KINNEY
- Status
- Published