Case v. Perrigo
Case v. Perrigo
Opinion of the Court
This is an action to recover possession .and to quiet title to real estate. The facts found by the court within the issues, and which we find sustained by the evidence, are as follows: On the 3d day of April, 1906, Warren W. Perrigo, then holding title in fee simple to the property in ■question, conveyed the same to one Pennicook, as security for a prior loan amounting to a sum between $100 and $500. Thereafter, on June 19, 1906, said Pennicook and his wife conveyed the premises to this plaintiff, and for the title so transferred, the plaintiff paid a consideration of $2,000, the same being paid to said Warren W. Perrigo, and the latter
Between the years 1898 and 1905 the nephew cut and removed from the land quantities of timber for which he received the net sum of about $700. This was without the consent of the uncle and without his knowledge until after the timber was cut. The nephew paid the taxes upon the land for the years 1897 to 1902, inclusive, paid the interest upon the said mortgage to September, 1905, procured an extension of time for payment, and paid $40 on account of the principal. In March, 1906, the uncle paid the balance of the principal of the mortgage, the amount being $450. He also paid the taxes upon the property for the years 1903 to 1905, inclusive, the taxes for 1903 and 1904 being then delinquent. About the
• The appellants’ claim is based entirely upon an oral agreement which they allege has been performed to such an extent that the agreement is not affected by the statute of frauds. Wre cannot agree with this contention. The test of appellants’ right to relief here is whether they are in a position to demand specific performance. Manifestly they are not in such position. They have signally failed to comply with the terms of the oral agreement. For a period of seven years they failed to discharge the mortgage upon the land for $490, and in all that time they reduced the principal by the sum of $40 only. They failed to execute to the uncle a second mortgage upon the land for $300 within ten days, or at all, a condition precedent under the agreement to their right to demand a deed. There has been a remarkable failure to perform appellants’ part of the oral agreement. Part performance of such an agreement is insufficient to entitle one to relief, unless the part performance includes substantially what is in his power to perform. Anderson v. Schneider, 22 Wash. 363, 60 Pac. 1125. It must be such that to refuse specific performance of the contract would amount to a fraud upon the purchaser.
Appellants were not only largely delinquent in the performance of their obligation under the agreement, but in addition to that they, without their uncle’s consent, removed timber from the land to their profit in the sum of about $700. After all these circumstances had transpired, they stealthily, and without the uncle’s consent, went into possession. Such was the possession they held at the time respondent purchased the land. Respondent had no actual knowledge of the possession. But even if he was chargeable with notice of the open possession, as appellants contend, still it is not such possession as they are entitled to maintain as against either respondent’s grantor or himself. 0
We think further comments are unnecessary to show that the trial court was right in its determination of the case. The judgment is affirmed.
Mount, Root, Crow, and Dunbar, JJ., concur.
Fullerton and Rudkin, JJ., took no part.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Frank E. Case v. Robert Perrigo
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Frauds, Statute of—Sale of Real Property—Part Performance —Sufficiency—Specific Performance. There is no such substantial performance of an oral contract for the sale of land as to take the same out of the operation of the statute of frauds, where it appears that the vendee was to discharge a mortgage and give a second mortgage within ten days, which he neglected to do, except to pay interest and a small part of the principal and taxes for several years, that he cut timber on the land without the owner’s consent, receiving net profits sufficient to discharge the mortgage, and that after seven years he took possession by stealth without the owner’s consent, after deed made to another; since the vendee is not in a position to demand specific performance.