Evenson v. Webster
Evenson v. Webster
Opinion of the Court
This was an action brought by the plaintiff as the sister and only heir of Staale Simonson, deceased, to recover the possession of 160 acres of land in Minnehaha county, of which it is alleged said Simonson died seised. The case was tried by the court without a . jury, and upon the facts found by the court and its conclusions of law, judgment was rendered for the defendant. From this judgment the plaintiff appeals.
Numerous errors are assigned, nearly all of which specify as grounds of error the insufficiency of the evidence to justify the findings. Counsel for defendant and respondent object to the consideration by this court of the errors assigned as to the insufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings upon the grounds that no motion for a new trial was made in the trial court, and that by reason of the failure of appellant to move for a new trial this court is precluded from reviewing the evidence on this appeal.
All the errors assigned relating to the insufficiency of the evidence to support the findings being eliminated from the case, the only remaining error to be considered is, do the findings support the judgment? The trial court found that in November, 1879, Staale Simonson was the owner of the premises in controversy, and “that on the 20th day of November, 1879, at said county and territory, said Staale Simonson executed and delivered to one Hans Larson a certain instrument in writing of which the following is a copy:
“'November 20, 1879. A will between Staale Simonson and Hans Larson. I, Staale Simonson, being a single man, about sixty-four years of age, and have never been married, and have no children, I have made agreement with Hans Larson that he is and shall take care of me from this day to my death day, and I, Staale Simonson, give him all of my goods and chattels and real estate, all property of all kinds of any description that I own, except fifty dollars, which I give Gurene Johnson. Hans Larson is to pay her when the land is sold or within five years from date. There is no person of any if my relation that.have any right to any of said
his
“ ‘STAALE X SIMONSON,
mark.
“‘Witnesses: Ole Bergeson. Ole S. Neste.’
“The court also finds that said Larson paid, all the debts of the estate, (including legacy,) amounting to $313.63; that Simonson boarded with Larson during the winter and part of the summer before his death; and that said Larson has performed each and every act required of him by the said instrument.- The court further finds that on November 29, 1879, the plaintiff executed and delivered to said Larson the following instrument in writing:
“ ‘November 28, 1879. Agreement is made between Hans Lar;son, Staale Simonson, Sister Marie Anne Evenson, and her heirs, ithat she shall get a team, harness, and wagon, free from incumbrance, and own it as her own property, of the estate that was .•given to Hans Larson by Staale Simonson a few days ago, and that said Marie Anne Evenson agree by several witnesses that ¡she and her heirs shall never privately or by law make no more charges against the said estate except the fifty dollars mentioned in the will.
her
“‘MARIE ANNE X EVENSON.’'
mark.
—“And that she received the team, harness, and wagon and retained them. The court further finds that said Staale Simonson intended that the title to said land should vest in said Larson prior to his death; that the value of said'premises so intended to-be transferred to said Larson was in November, 1879, $400, and that the defendant has succeeded to said Larson’s title.
“Upon the findings of fact the court concludes as matter of law:. (1) That the execution and delivery of the. instrument set out in finding No. 2, and the performance of the conditions subsequent therein contained by Hans Larson, operated, under the laws of Dakota territory, to vest, and did vest, the title to the property
Mr. Chancellor Kent in his Commentaries, defining what a deed shall contain, says: “A deed consists of the names of the parties, the consideration for which the land was sold, the description of the subject granted, the quantity of interest conveyed, and, lastly, the conditions, reservations, and covenants, if there be any.” 4 Kent, Comm. p.'460. Again, speaking of conveyances, he says: “I should presume‘under the New York statute the operative'word of a conveyance is ‘grant;’ but, as other modes of conveyance operate equally as grants, any words showing an intention of the parties to convey would be sufficient.”"’ 'Id. p. 492. And in a footnote to same.page the annotator says: " “The word ‘convey,’ or the word
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- 1. To entitle a party to a review of the evidence in this court, to determine the sufficiency of the same to justify the verdict of a jury or the findings of the court, whether the ease is tried by a jury or a court, he must have made a motion for a new trial in the court below, and have made the insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or findings one of the grounds for such motion. Unless such motion for a new trial has been made in the court below, this court will decline to review the evidence. Following the decision of this court in Pierce v. Manning, 51 N. W. Rep. 332. 2. When it does not affirmatively appear from the abstract that a motion for a new trial was made in the court below, this court will assume that no such motion was made. 3. As it does not appear in this case that a motion for a new tidal was made in the court below, this court will not review the evidence to determine its sufficiency to support the findings, and will only consider on this appeal the question of the sufficiency of the findings to sustain the judgment. 4. The statutes of this state prescribe no particular form in which a conveyance of real property shall be made, except that it shall bo in writing, and subscribed by the party disposing of the same, and that it may be in the short form specified in section 3247, Oomp. Laws. Any instrument, therefore, in writing, subscribed by the grantor, in which the grantor, grantee, consideration, and a description of the property intended to be conveyed are clearly specified, and containing words indicating an intention to transfer the estate or the grantor’s right, title, or interest therein, will be sufficient to transfer such real property or such grantor’s interest therein, though the term “grant” or other terms usually used in conveyances of real property are omitted, and the term “give” is substituted therefor. 5. The instrument under which the defendant claims title in this case examined, and held sufficient to convey the title of the brother of the plaintiff, in whom the title was vested when the alleged instrument was executed and delivered, prior to his death, and that it constitutes a deed. 6. An instrument in writing, though informal, which clearly indicates the intention of a party to release her interest in the property in controversy in this action, and made for a valuable consideration, may properly be held to estop her from maintaining an action to recover the property from one claiming title under the party to whom such instrument was given, and the instrument in this case is held to be sufficient to constitute such an estoppel. (Syllabus by the Court.