Goff v. McLain
Goff v. McLain
Opinion of the Court
S. W. Goff filed his bill at the September rules, 1897, in the circuit court of Wood County, against Franklin McLain and others for the purpose of subjecting to sale certain real estate of two tracts of land of one hundred and seven and fifteen and three-fourths acres respectively in satisfaction of a judgment for the sum of three hundred and two dollars and forty-two cents with interest and costs, which, judgment was rendered in favor of the Second National Bank of Parkersburg against said Goff and McLain, and was duly docketed in the clerk’s office of Wood. County, and subsequently paid off by said Goff, who was endorser on the note on which said judgment was obtained. Dnder a decree rendered in said cause said two tracts of land were sold,
The question here presented is whether the lion of a judgment on timber growing on real estate, created by docketing said judgment in the county in which the land is situated, is released by the severance and sale of such timber to a person who is a party to a chancery suit instituted for the purpose of subjecting said real estate to the satisfaction of the judgment, and who had notice of the lien on said real estate at the time the timber was severed, aind at the time it was sold to him.
D. M. McLain was not only a pendente Hie purchaser but had actual notice that this timber constituted a very valuable portion of the real estate; that Goff was seeking to subject to the satisfaction of his judgment which was a lien not only on the land but upon the timber upon it, and if a Us pendens had not been recorded as it was in this case, D. M. McLain was bound to take notice of the lien of said judgment on this timber, and having such notice he could not become an innocent bona fide purchaser thereof.
Beach in his valuable work on Modern Eq. Jurisprudence, s. 374, says: “It is a rule of equity long established and acted on, that a purchase of property actually in litigation pendente lite although for a valuable consideration and without any express
Wade in the Law of Notice, s. 338 quotes from Lord Cranworth in Bellamy v. Sabine, 1 DeG. & J. 566: “It is scarcely correct to speak of lis pendens as affecting a purchaser through the doctrine of notice. * * * * it affects him not because it amounts to notice but because the law does not allow litigant parties to give to others, pending the litigation rights to the property in dispute so as to prejudice the opposite party.” The same author s. 567 says: “The rule does not operate simply to prohibit litigant parties from transferring their interests. It also prevents others from purchasing while the title is being litigated.”
It is contended by counsel for the appellees that the appellant could not claim the logs because he was a purchaser at judicial sale and the land was not sold until long after the timber had been removed from it, and having purchased the land after the timber had been removed from it he took by his purchase the land as it was at the time of sale. Now while it is true that the appellant could only purchase the land in the condition it was, shorn of timber, yet if the timber had remained intact the land might have sold for enough to satisfy the plaintiff’s debt; and this serves to illustrate the wisdom of the law which prevents pendente lite purchaser from acquiring title to the property he purchased and prevents litigant parties from selling the property
By section 1 of chapter 74 of the Code it is provided that “Every gift, conveyance, assignment or transfer of or charge upon any estate real or personal * * * * with intent to delay, hinder or defraud creditors, purchasers, or other persons of or from what they are or may be lawfully entitled to, shall, as to such creditors, purchasers or* other persons, their representatives or assigns, be void.”
In this case, there can be no question as to the fact that D. M. McLain had notice of the fraudulent intent of said Eranklin McLain in making the sale of said timber to him.
Wait on Fraudulent Conveyances, s. 24, in response to the question, what interests, then, can be reached by creditors ? says:
“Manifestly all tangible property whether real or personal which would have been subject to levy and sale under execution, is susceptible of fraudulent alienation and may be reclaimed and recovered by the creditor whore it has been transferred by the debtor with the requisite fraudulent intention.” In the same section the author says: “It has long been observed that the principle towards which the highest courts in England and in all the states are more or less rapidly working, is that the entire property of which a debtor is the real or beneficial owner, constitutes a fund which is primarily applicable to the fullest extent to its entire value to the payment of its owners debts.” And the courts will not allow any of that value to be withdrawn from such primary application, if they can find any legal or equitable ground on which to prevent such withdrawal.”
Where a lien was created on oil leases and other property by attachment, this Court held (Boulby v. DeWitt, 34 S. E. 219) that, “The title of "one who purchases of an attachment debtor property levied on under it with intent to defeat such levy is void.”
Reversed.
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