Knobloch v. Mueler

• Decision Date: 20 January 1888
• Citation: 17 N.E. 696,123 Ill. 554
• Parties: KNOBLOCH v. MUELER.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

123 Ill. 554

17 N.E. 696

KNOBLOCH

v.MUELER.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

January 20, 1888.

Appeal from circuit court, St. Clair county; A. WATTS, Judge.W. C. Kueffner

and James M. Dill, for appellant.

A. R. Halbert, for appellee.

George Christian Mueler died March 27, 1870. By his will, dated March 14, 1870, his real estate was devised to his sons, George and Solomon Mueler. The will was admitted to probate, but afterwards, at the January term, 1871, in the circuit court of St. Clair county, this instrument was, on bill filed for that purpose, set aside, and declared not to be the will of said deceased. This decree was affirmed by this court. Mueller v. Rebhan, 94 Ill. 142. On the 27th day of March, 1879, Catharine Rebhau, one of the heirs at law of said George C. Mueler, deceased, filed in the circuit court of St. Clair county her bill for partition of the W. 1/2 N. W., and the N. E. N. W. 1/4, of section 28, town 1 N., range 7 W.,-alleging the death of said George C. Mueler intestate; that at his death he left him surviving George Mueler and Solomon Mueler, Margarite Rhinehardt, and complainant, Catharine Rebhau, his children and only heirs at law, to whom descended in equal parts the said lands; that on the death of said ancestor, George and Solomon had taken possession of the land jointly, and received the rents thereof until February 29, 1875, when George died, leaving all his property to Solomon by his will duly probated, etc., since when said Solomon has received the rents and profits of said land. The bill alleged that Solomon was the owner in fee of the undivided one-half of said lands, and the complainant and Mrs. Rhinehardt were each the owner in fee of the undivided one-fourth part thereof, as tenants in common, and prayed for partition of the land, and that Solomon be required to account for the rents and profits, etc. At the February term, 1880, of said court, said bill was taken as confessed as to Mrs. Rhinehardt, and Solomon Mueler and his wife, who was also made a party, filed their answer, admitting the material allegations of the bill, and consenting to partition of said premises according to the prayer thereof. Subsequently an amended answer and cross-bill was filed, setting up that said Solomon had made lasting and valuable improvements on the land, etc. On hearing, said defendant Solomon admitted in open court the allegations of the bill in respect of the interest of the parties as tenants in common, the death and intestacy of the ancestor, and consented to a decree of partition; and a decree declaring the several interests of the parties as set up in the bill as heirs at law of said George C. Mueler, deceased, in and to said land, was entered by the court by consent, and commissioners were appointed to make partition accordingly. At the May term, 1880, of said court, on proof that defendant Solomon had purchased the interest of his co-defendant, Margarite Rhinehardt, the decree was, on his motion, so changed as to require the commissioners theretofore appointed to set off to the said Solomon three-fourths, and to the complainant one-fourth, of said land. The issue as to rents and profits and improvements was referred to the master for proofs. At the same term the commissioners filed their report, setting off to the complainant, Mrs. Rebhau, as and for her one-fourth interest in said land, lot 10, as shown in their report, containing 48 acres of the land; and set off the residue of said tracts of land to the said Solomon. Exceptions to the report were filed, which were, at the May term, 1881, overruled by the court, and the report approved by decree duly entered. No writ of error was prosecuted or appeal taken from the decree of partition. At the February term, 1883, of said court, on hearing of the issues as to rents and profits, a decree was rendered in favor of complainant Rebhau for $1638.97, from which an appeal was prosecuted to the appellate court. On the 8th day of March, 1881, in consideration of $5,050, Mrs. Rebhau, and Emil, her husband, by their warranty deed, conveyed the undivided one-fourth part of the premises of which her father died seized, and all their right, title, and interest in the whole of said land, to appellant, Thomas Knobloch; reserving, however, her rights to rents and profits theretofore accrued. This deed was filed for record March 10, 1881. At the February term, 1882, appellant brought an action of trespass against said Solomon for alleged trespasses upon said 48 acres of land set off to Mrs. Rebhau, and afterwards brought ejectment to recover the same. In March or April, 1883, appellee found a paper dated March 9, 1855, purporting to be the last will and testament of George Christian Mueler, deceased, in and by which the testator devised all his land to his two sons, George and Solomon, subject to the payment of $1,500 to Catharine Rebhau. This will was duly admitted to probate. On July 6, 1883, Solomon Mueler, appellee here, filed in the St. Clair circuit court the present bill against appellant, Catharine Rebhau, Emil Rebhau, Margarite Rhinehardt, and Edward Abend, who, prior to the probate of the last will, had been appointed administrator of the estate of said George C. Mueler, deceased, substantially setting up the foregoing facts, and praying that said will (1855) stand as the last will and testament of the said George Christian Mueler; that the deed from Catharine and Emil Rebhau to said Knobloch be set aside as being a cloud upon complainant's title; that all proceedings in partition regarding said land, and the stating of an account of rents and profits now pending in the appellate court, and all actions commenced by said Edward Abend as aforesaid, and by said Knobloch, be no further prosecuted; and that the defendants, their attorneys, agents, etc., be perpetually enjoined from taking any further steps in regard to said action. An injunction was granted as prayed in the bill of August 25, 1883. Appellant answered, setting up that he had purchased in good faith and paid $5,050 for the interest of Mrs. Rebhau in said land, without any notice of any adverse claim or title, and also setting up that complainant, Solomon, is estopped, by the decree of partition rendered by his consent in open court, from disputing complainant's title. At the September term, 1885, of said circuit court, a decree was entered perpetually enjoining the prosecution of said suits, and setting aside the deed from Mrs. Rebhau and her husband to appellant as a cloud on complainant's title. From this decree appellant, Knobloch, alone appealed.

SHOPE, J., ( after stating the facts as above.)

The bill in this case seeks to remove, as a cloud upon the title of appellee, Solomon Mueler, derived under the will of 1855, the deed of Catharine and Emil Rebhau to appellant; and restrain by injunction the prosecution of an action of ejectment brought by appellant to recover the land partitioned to Catharine Rebhau in the proceedings instituted by her for partition of the lands of which her father died seized, and to enjoin a certain trespass suit brought for alleged trespasses upon said land by appellee, and to restrain Mrs. Rebhau from collecting $1,638.97, decreed as rents and profits in said partition proceeding. Mrs. Rebhau not having appealed from the decree against her, the latter branch of the case made by the bill is not before us. When the instrument dated March 14, 1870, purporting to be the last will and testament of George C. Mueler, who died March 20, 1870, was set aside upon bill filed for that purpose, it was supposed by all the parties in interest that his estate had descended to his heirs at law as intestate estate, and letters of administration were granted accordingly. All the parties acquiesced in this condition of affairs, and rested in the belief that the property had so descended until the discovery, in March or April, 1883, 13 years after the death of the ancestor, of the will of the 9th of March, 1855, by which the estate in question was devised to George and Solomon Mueler. The good faith of the parties is not questioned, no fraud or misconduct is alleged, or laches imputed or imputable to any one, on account of the delay in the production of this will, or in any of the proceedings had in respect to the real or personal estate prior to its discovery. When Catharine Rebhau, daughter and one of the heirs at law of said George C. Mueler, deceased, on the 22d day of March, 1879, filed her bill for partition of the real estate of which said George C. had died seized; and when Solomon Mueler filed his answer, admitting the intestacy of his father and consenting to the partition to Mrs. Rebhau and Mrs. Rhinehardt, his sisters, each a one-fourth part or interest in the land of which their common ancestor died seized, and consented to the decree therefor, the several parties in good faith believed the facts alleged in her bill to be true, and that the land had descended to the four children of George C. Mueler, deceased, in equal parts in fee. It is also equally clear that when appellant, Thomas Knobloch, purchased the interest of Catharine Rebhau in said land, and paid her therefor $5,050, that he did so in good faith, relying upon the title of said Catharine as found and declared by the circuit court of St. Clair county in said partition proceeding by the consent of appellee. Upon the production and probate of the will of 1855, in April, 1883, it became manifest that the title to said land had not in fact so descended to the heirs at law of said George Christian Mueler; but by virtue of that will the legal title thereto, at the death of the testator, vested in the devisees, George and Solomon Mueler, and that by the last will of said George Mueler, who died February 29, 1875, the legal title to the whole of said land became vested in appellee, Solomon Mueler. It is apparent that all parties, while acting in good faith, were mistaken, and that the...