Keenan v. Scott

• Decision Date: 22 April 1924
• Docket Number: Case Number: 13137
• Citation: 99 Okla. 63,1924 OK 470,225 P. 906
• Parties: KEENAN, Gdn., v. SCOTT et al.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

1924 OK 470

225 P. 906

99 Okla. 63

KEENAN, Gdn., v. SCOTT et al.

Case Number: 13137

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Decided: April 22, 1924

Syllabus

¶0 1. Deeds--"Mental Capacity."

The capacity to make a deed is that the grantor shall have the ability to understand the nature and effect of the act in which he is engaged and the business he is transacting. Miller v. Folsom, 49 Okla. 74, 149 P. 1185.

2. Same--Sufficiency of Incapacity.

It is the general concensus of judicial opinion that mental incapacity, whether it be due to mere weakness of mind or actual insanity, is not in itself a sufficient basis for obtaining the cancellation of a written instrument, unless the state of idiocy or imbecility complained of is such that it rendered the afflicted individual incapable of understanding the nature and effect of the transaction at the time the instrument was executed. 4 R.C.L. p. 503, art. 17.

3. Insane Persons--Burden of Proof of Insanity.

In all civil actions it is generally held that the burden of proof of insanity rests upon him who alleges insanity, or seeks to avoid an act on account of it, and it de volves upon him to establish the fact of insanity by a preponderance of the evidence. If, however, a previous state of insanity is proved, the burden of proof is then usually considered to shift to him who asserts that the act was done while the person was sane; however, it has frequently been held that insanity which is not shown to be settled or general as contra-distinguished from a mere temporary aberration or hallucination will not, be presumed to continue unless the contrary is shown. 14 R.C.L., p. 622, art. 74.

4. Appeal and Error--Equity Case--Conclusiveness of Findings.

(a) In an equitable action the findings of the trial court should be sustained unless it appears that his findings are clearly against the weight of the evidence.

(b) The findings of the trial court should be strongly persuasive, and should not be set aside unless this court can say in equity and in good conscience that the conclusions reached by the trial court are clearly against the weight of the evidence.

5. Deeds--Proof of Mental Incapacity--Adjudication of Insanity.

An adjudication of insanity of the grantor of a deed, a short time subsequent to the execution of same, may be offered in evidence in an action wherein the deed is sought to be canceled on the ground of incompetency on the part of the grantor at the time of the execution of same, but it is not conclusive of that fact and may be rebutted and .overcome by oral testimony of the mental condition of the grantor at the time he executed the deed.

6. Same--Cancellation Refused--Judgment Sustained.

The facts as disclosed by the record in this case examined, and held, that the judgment refusing to cancel the deed in controversy on the ground of incompetency on the part of the grantor is not against the weight of the evidence, and the judgment will not be disturbed.

Commissioners' Opinion, Division No. 3.

rror from District Court, Cherokee County; J. H. Jarman, Judge.

Action by Bruce L. Keenan, as guardian of Motto Ross, against D. O. Scott and another. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

Bruce L. Keenan, for plaintiff in error.

Vance & Bliss, for defendants in error.

JONES, C.

¶1 This case was instituted in the district court of Cherokee county, Okla., by the appellant, Bruce Keenan, guardian of Motto Ross, plaintiff in the lower court, against D. O. Scott and E. C. Thorne, now deceased, and the case has been revived in the name of A. O. Kirkwood, administrator, appellee, defendant in the lower court. Originally two suits were instituted by the appellant, one against D. O. Scott, the other against E. C. Thorne; the cases were consolidated in the district court and tried as one, and the trial court rendered judgment in favor of the defendants and against the plaintiff, from which judgment the plaintiff duly appeals. The facts as disclosed by the record show that Motto Ross, a Cherokee Freedman, and now the ward of the guardian, Bruce L. Keenan, made, executed, and delivered a warranty deed to the 4th day of August, 1919, to the appellee, D. O. Scott, conveying to the said Scott ten acres of land for a consideration of $ 250 and on the 7th day of August, 1919, he made, executed, and delivered a warranty deed to E. C. Thorne, appellee, conveying ten acres of land, for a consideration of $ 300, and on the 11th day of August, 1919, he made, executed, and delivered a warranty deed to the appellee, E. C. Thorne, wherein he conveyed a tract of 24 acres of land for a consideration of $ 140. These transactions occurred at Tahlequah, in Cherokee county, Okla., and following the last transaction of August 11th, it seems from the record, the said Ross went to Muskogee, Okla., and while the evidence does not specifically show this fact, we infer from the record that on the 12th day of August, he became engaged in a difficulty with another negro, whom he killed, and on the 13th day of August,...