Irons v. Le Sueur

• Decision Date: 17 January 1986
• Citation: 487 So.2d 1352
• Parties: William L. IRONS v. Frances LE SUEUR, et al. 84-385.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 1352

487 So.2d 1352

William L. IRONS v. Frances LE SUEUR, et al.

84-385.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

Jan. 17, 1986.

Rehearing Denied April 25, 1986.

William L. Irons, pro se.

Charles Ned Wright, Wedowee, for appellees.

HOUSTON, Justice.

This is an appeal by William L. Irons from a judgment of the Circuit Court of Randolph County, Alabama, directing the sale of real estate for a division of the proceeds. The real estate consisted of 290 acres, more or less, of lakefront property on the newly created 10,000-acre Harris Dam Lake Project located in Randolph County, Alabama, also known as "Lake Wedowee." The judgment also directed the sale of two houses in the City of Wedowee, but that portion of the judgment is not the major point at issue here.

The parties were all of the remaindermen devisees under the last will and testament of William Samuel Wright, deceased, which will was probated in the Probate Court of Randolph County, Alabama, in 1946. Mr. Wright's widow, the sole life tenant, died in 1979. The remaindermen, who were all parties in the trial court, were as follows: (1) Plaintiffs Frances W. Le Sueur and Rosalie W. Lovvorn, the two surviving daughters of William Samuel Wright, each of whom owns an undivided 1/5 interest; (2) the three children of Inez W. Trotter, a deceased daughter of William Samuel Wright, each of whom owns an undivided 1/15 interest; these three children were named as defendants; (3) the five children of Earl Wright, a deceased son of William Samuel Wright, each of whom owns an undivided 1/25 interest; these five children were defendants; and (4) the two children of Velma W. Irons, a deceased daughter of William Samuel Wright; these two children were William L. Irons (the appellant) and his brother, each of whom owns an undivided 1/10 interest and each of whom was a defendant.

The plaintiffs served on defendant William L. Irons a request for admissions which read as follows:

"Request for Admissions

"Comes [sic] now the Plaintiffs and request that William Lee Irons, Defendant, respond to the following request for admissions: ... (6) Can the property described in the Plaintiffs' Complaint be divided equally without a sale of said property?"

This Court questions the wisdom of the plaintiffs' making such a request for admission. Irons, using good trial strategy, filed a response to plaintiffs' request for admissions, noting therein that "although plaintiffs' counsel has incorrectly set out interrogatories, they will be treated as the 'affirmative statement' since this was the apparent pleader's intent--having styled their pleading 'Request for Admissions.' " In response to request number six, Irons responded: "6. Defendant admits the property described in the plaintiffs' complaint can be equitably divided." During the trial, the only evidence offered by the defendants was the request for admissions and the responses thereto.

Irons contends that this conclusively established that the lake property could be equitably divided.

Rule 36(b), Ala.R.Civ.P, provides in pertinent part:

"Any matter admitted under this rule is conclusively established unless the court on motion permits withdrawal or amendment of the admission."

There was no objection to the introduction of the request for admissions, nor was there any motion requesting permission to withdraw or amend the admission.

The question presented here is: In response to a request for admission, can the party to whom the request is directed admit a fact, even an ultimate issue, and conclusively establish the fact that is admitted, so that the party propounding the request for admissions cannot introduce evidence to contradict the fact admitted?

If the plaintiffs are to prevail, they must aver and prove that the property cannot be equitably divided or partitioned among the owners. If it is "conclusively established" that the property described in the plaintiffs' complaint can be equitably divided, then the plaintiffs cannot prevail. Plaintiffs have requested that a defendant admit a fact which will completely destroy plaintiffs' cause of action, and the defendant admits this. Clearly, the Court is faced with a situation which was never contemplated when Rule 36, Ala.R.Civ.P., was adopted; and the bar is cautioned to be more judicious in its use of that rule.

The plaintiffs' "Request for Admissions," although so styled, was open ended in form and, as such, each request was in the nature of an interrogatory. Plaintiffs' request number six allowed for a "yes" or "no" response. Irons assumed that it was intended to read: "The property described in the plaintiffs' complaint can be divided equitably without a sale of said property." It could just as easily have been assumed by Irons that it was intended to read: "The property described in the plaintiffs' complaint cannot be divided equitably without a sale of said property." In fact, the plaintiffs argue in their brief that it was their intention to elicit a "no" response to request number six for the purpose of eliminating the necessity of such proof at trial.

The purpose of Rule 36 is to expedite the trial and to relieve the parties of the cost of proving facts which will not be disputed and the truth of which can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry. Committee Comments to Rule 36, Ala.R.Civ.P. The rule was not intended to be a means of discovery. It was designed as a device by which at least some of the material, undisputed facts of a case could be established without the necessity of formal proof. When used in this manner, it serves a very useful purpose. Wright and Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil §§ 2252, 2253 (1970) (citing Champlin v. Oklahoma Furniture Manufacturing Co., 324 F.2d 74 (10th Cir.1963).

In the present case, it is self-evident that the plaintiffs were attempting to elicit a "no" response to request number six and thereby reduce their burden of proof at trial. It was necessary for the plaintiffs to establish, as an element of their prima facie case, that the property could not be equitably divided and they introduced testimony to this end at trial. Notwithstanding the fact that the plaintiffs' "Request for Admissions" was rather inartfully drafted, the purpose of Rule 36 would not be served by allowing that rule to be used in the manner contended by Irons, that is, as a device whereby facts, obviously disputed by the party propounding the request, may be conclusively established against that party.

Therefore, we hold that Irons's response to request number six did not conclusively establish that the property could, in fact, be equitably divided. It was simply evidence to be considered by the trial court. Where a case is tried ore tenus, as here, the trial court's findings are presumed correct and its judgment or decree will be reversed only if, after consideration of all the evidence and all reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom, the judgment or decree is found to be plainly and palpably wrong. We do not find that to be the circumstance here.

Irons next contends that the testamentary restrictions prohibited a sale for a division of the proceeds. The will of William Samuel Wright devised a life estate to his widow in his "real, personal and mixed" property. The only provision relating to the remainder interest after the widow's life estate was "after the death of my wife ... it is my wish that my property be divided equally among my children." Irons contends that "divided equally" means partitioned in kind and that to permit the sale for division of proceeds upon petition of plaintiffs would be a forced construction, "voodoo magic," and contrary to Wright's intent.

This Court disagrees. The phrase "divided equally among" in a will devising property imports the granting of an estate in common and not a limitation upon alienability. Sturm v. Sawyer, 2 Pa.Super.Ct. 254, 257 (1896); Weir v. Tate, 39 N.C. 264, 276 (1846); Griswold v. Johnson, 5 Conn. 363, 366 (1824); Emerson v. Cutler, 31 Mass. (14 Pick) 108, 114 (1833). This phrase does not import that such property must be partitioned in kind and cannot be sold for a division of proceeds in the event that the common owners cannot agree on an equitable division, or that there can be no equitable partition.

"Partition of land between joint tenants or tenants in common is a matter of right, but the alternative right to have lands sold for division is statutory, and is conditioned upon averment and proof that the property cannot be equitably divided or partitioned among them. When this condition appears, the right to sell for division is a matter of right, but if this condition is not proven, no sale for division should be ordered."

Raper v. Belk, 276 Ala. 370, 162 So.2d 465 (1964); Ragland v. Walker, 387 So.2d 184 (Ala.1980).

Irons next contends that the plaintiffs did not meet their burden of proof. The plaintiffs had the burden of proving that the lake property could not be partitioned in kind among the twelve owners so that two owners would each receive land having a value equal to one-fifth of the total value; so that two other owners would each receive land having a value equal to one-tenth of the total value; so that three other owners would each receive land having a value equal to one-fifteenth of the total value; and so that five other owners would each receive land having a value equal to one twenty-fifth of the total value. Cotton v. McMurtry, 440 So.2d 1039 (Ala.1983).

The property consists of approximately 290 acres bordering a recently impounded lake. The property has a varied topography, including level land, rolling land, bluffs with banks that drop off to the water, sloughs, and land through which creeks and branches run. A paved road runs through the level portion and another paved road runs toward the bluff side. There are also some lumber roads running through the level land.

The tax assessment sheets show that part of this lake property is divided into five...