Hagge v. Gonder

• Decision Date: 15 December 1936
• Docket Number: 43653.
• Citation: 270 N.W. 371,222 Iowa 954
• Parties: HAGGE et al. v. GONDER et al.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

270 N.W. 371

222 Iowa 954

HAGGE et al. v. GONDER et al.

No. 43653.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

December 15, 1936

Appeal from District Court, Boone County; Sherwood A. Clock, Judge.

Creditors' suit to set aside an allegedly fraudulent conveyance. From decree dismissing plaintiffs' petition, they appealed.

Affirmed.

Doran & Doran, of Boone, for appellants.

Dyer Jordan & Dyer, of Boone, for appellees.

RICHARDS, Justice.

On July 19, 1934, plaintiffs recovered in justice of peace court two judgments against defendants Gonder. The judgments were transcripted. Execution was issued and returned indorsed " No property found." On December 27, 1934, this action was brought to set aside as fraudulent a deed bearing date July 12, 1934, conveying 160 acres of land in Boone county, in which deed said Gonders, defendants herein, were grantors and the defendant Gilbert was grantee. The petition also seeks to set aside the assignment of the current lease of the premises for 1934 and to subject the land and lease to payment of plaintiffs' judgments. A defense was made by defendant Gilbert, defendants Gonder not appearing. The trial court upon a hearing on the merits dismissed the petition of plaintiffs, and they have appealed.

Defendants Gonder are the parents of defendant Gilbert, and for many years had owned and lived upon the land conveyed in said deed. At the time of the trial the age of the father was eighty years and of the mother seventy-one. For a number of years both defendants Gonder had been in poor health, and largely incapacitated, unable to do much of the farm work. More recently they had been renting out a large part of the farming land, occupying the house and improvements and making use of an unrented portion of the premises. The farm was encumbered with a mortgage in the principal sum of $14,900. Defendant Gilbert was married in 1916. In 1917 she removed with her husband to his farm near Polo, Ill., where their residence continued until about March 1, 1935. In January 1934, defendant Gilbert visited in the Gonder home and there was a conference with reference to the needs of her parents. It was evident that their condition of health called for assistance in their home, and in addition there had accumulated a considerable amount of delinquent interest on the mortgage and there were unpaid taxes. Foreclosure was imminent. At about that time there was also a conference held by six other children of the Gonders with respect to the situation. It is defendant's evidence that correspondence followed between the Gonders and defendant Gilbert through which an agreement was reached that the Gonders on their part would convey this land to defendant Gilbert, and the latter would pay off the defaulted interest and taxes, would remove with her husband from Illinois to the Gonder home, and living there would care for her parents. This agreement was arrived at in the latter part of March or first of April, 1934, and thereupon defendant Gilbert shipped nine head of livestock belonging to herself or her husband from Illinois to the Gonder farm, including three milch cows. The occasion for so doing was the lack of livestock owned by the Gonders. The milch cows were included in the shipment in order that there might be on the farm a source of milk and butter for these old people. The deed, following this arrangement, was executed July 12, 1934, at which time grantee defendant Gilbert had again returned to Iowa. As a part of the transaction defendant Gilbert on the same day paid delinquent interest on the mortgage in the sum of $1,179.84 and delinquent taxes in the sum of $278.18. The current lease of the farm could not on that day be assigned as the mortgagee holding the lease for security, refused to surrender same until the check of defendant Gilbert given for the interest had cleared. As a result the lease was assigned on August 4th. Grantee Gilbert and her husband removed from Illinois to the Gonder home on about March 1, 1935, and from that time were carrying out the arrangement that they would live in the Gonder home rendering the care and assistance that was needed. They had also expended $400...