Ensign v. Fisher
Ensign v. Fisher
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff filed his complaint March 30, 1896, and alleged therein that on April 14, 1894, he filed his complaint, and obtained judgment thereon, against the defendant George W. Fisher, on February 26, 1896, in the district court for the county of Bos Elder, for the sum of $150.48, which judgment was then properly docketed; that on March 28, 1896, an execution was issued thereon, and returned unsatisfied; that on April 28, 1894, defendant George W. Fisher and Mary F. Fisher, his wife, made and delivered to their daughter Lillie Bland a deed of conveyance to the land in question. Plaintiff further alleged, on information and belief, that the said deed was so made for the use of the defendant George W. Fisher, without consideration, and with intent to hinder and defraud creditors of their lawful suits and damages, debts, and demands; that, since said deed was executed,
■ the possession of said land had remained under the control and possession of defendant Fisher, under the fraudulent pretense that he was the agent of the grantee; that, at the time the conveyance was made, defendant Fisher was insolvent, and had no property in the state out of which an execution could be collected; and prayed that said conveyance be set aside as fraudulent. The defendant answered, denying the allegations in the complaint, and alleged that the conveyance was made in good faith, for a valuable consideration, without intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any creditor, and that he was not insolvent at the time of signing the conveyance. The plaintiff offered testimony tending to show that in December, 1894, defendant Mary F. Fisher offered to sell the lots in question; that in April, 1895, one.witness
Section 9 of article 8 of the constitution of Utah
The testimony offered was exceedingly meager and unsatisfactory. In order to establish a prima facie case as charged, the plaintiff should have shown that the conveyance of April 23,1894, was without consideration and fraudulent, or that the deed was made in contemplation of insolvency, and that Fisher was insolvent at the time the deed was made and afterwards. No testimony was offered in plaintiff’s affirmative case upon these subjects. The testimony that Fisher or his wife had offered to sell the property in the absence of Lillie Bland, during the year 1894 or 1895, taken in connection with the fact that Mr. Coombs was Lillie Bland’s agent, and assisted in making the alleged negotiations for the sale, is not of itself sufficient to establish the charges made in the complaint. The fact that Fisher offered to sell the property would not show that Lillie Bland had not purchased the same in good faith, and for a valuable consideration. Fraud, when charged, must be proved. It cannot be presumed without proof. No judgment existed against Fisher at the time of the conveyance. The fact that suit had been commenced against him in a justice’s court before the conveyance might be suspicious, but that fact alone should not be held sufficient evidence of fraud to annul a deed subsequently made, without some proof tending to show the fraudulent nature of the transfer.
The offer of evidence after the motion for a nonsuit was overruled is not a waiver of the exception taken to the
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MARTIN ENSIGN, Jr. v. GEORGE W. FISHER, MARY F. FISHER and LILLIE BLAND
- Status
- Published