Lee v. Little
| Citation | 1921 OK 96,81 Okla. 168,197 P. 449 |
| Decision Date | 15 March 1921 |
| Docket Number | Case Number: 9990 |
| Parties | LEE v. LITTLE. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Oklahoma |
¶0 1. Evidence--Admissions by Pleadings--Effect. Where a party to an action makes solemn admissions against his interest in a pleading, they should be treated as admitted facts, and he will not be heard to question the correctness thereof at any stage of the case in the trial court or on appeal, when properly preserved in a transcript or case-made so long as they remain a part of the record. If the statements or admissions were made under an honest mistake or misapprehension of what the facts really were, and he desires to be relieved from the effects thereof, he should apply to the trial court for leave to withdraw such admission or pleadings.
2. Principal and Agent--Unauthorized Acts --Ratification--Acceptance of Benefits. Where one voluntarily and with knowledge of the facts accepts the benefits of an act purporting to have been done on his account, by one claiming to act as his agent, though without authority, he thereby ratifies such act and makes it his own as fully as though he had authorized it in the beginning, and he may not ordinarily take the benefits and reject the burdens, but must either accept them or reject them as a whole.
3. Same -- Payment--Sufficiency -- Bank as Agent. Where one who is bound to pay money to another, instead of paying said money direct, or in accordance with the contract of the parties, pays the money to a bank for the other, he thereby makes the bank his own agent and makes such payment at his own risk, and in order to avoid liability it is necessary for him to show that the other received the money from the bank.
4. Appeal and Error--Review--Equity Case. In a case which is cognizable only in a court of chancery, it is the duty of the court to consider the whole record, to weigh the evidence, and when the judgment of the trial court is clearly against the weight of the evidence, render or cause to be rendered such judgment as the trial court should have rendered.
Jones & Foster, for plaintiff in error.
Kornegay & Probasco, for defendant in error.
¶1 This suit was instituted by the plaintiff in error, as plaintiff below, against the defendant in error, defendant below, in the district court of Washington county, seeking the cancellation of a deed executed by plaintiff to defendant on the 18th day of December, 1914, purporting to convey the following described land lying and situate in Washington county, to wit: The north half of the northwest quarter and the north east quarter of the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter or section 8, township 23 north of range 13 east, containing 90 acres, more or less. It appears that the plaintiff is a Cherokee Indian by blood and that the land involved is a portion of her allotment. The ground upon which cancellation of the deed is sought is that the same was procured by fraud and misrepresentation on the part of T. A. Foreman, who it is alleged was the agent of the defendant in purchasing said land, both as to the value of said land and as to the payment of the purchase price. At the time of the transaction here involved, the plaintiff was 18 years of age, and resided with her aunt in Siloam Springs, Ark. In November, 1914, one T. A. Foreman went to the home of the plaintiff in Siloam Springs, Ark., stating that he desired to purchase said land for the defendant, Little, and offered to pay therefor the sum of $ 800; Foreman stating that the land was of little value and advising her to take this sum for the land. It appears that Foreman was an old friend of plaintiff's family, but she herself had not seen him since she was a small child, and had no correspondence with him; that he brought with him an instrument in writing already prepared, which plaintiff signed, but as to the contents of which she had no knowledge except as represented to her by Foreman, that is was a deed conveying said land. At the time of the execution of this deed, no money was paid to the plantiff, but Foreman gave her a check payable to her order for the sum of $ 400, and gave Kate Ford, her aunt, with whom she resided, a check for $ 100, promising to pay the remainder of the consideration within a few days. Both checks were presented to the First National Bank of Westville, Okla., upon which they were drawn, and payment was refused on account of insufficient funds. Thereafter, and on December 18, 1914, Foreman returned to the plaintiff's home and presented to her the deed sought to be canceled in this suit, which deed conveyed the land in controversy, together with 50 acres additional, to the defendant. At the time Foreman presented this second deed to plaintiff he stated to her that the conveyance formerly executed by her was not satisfactory, and that this was the reason the consideration had not been paid. He further stated to her that if she would sign this second deed, the money would be paid to her or placed in the First National Bank of Siloam Springs the next morning, and, acting upon the faith of this representation, plaintiff signed and acknowledged said deed and delivered it to said Foreman. She thereupon attempted to collect the checks, but payment was again refused, and she was at all times unable to collect said checks; she received no consideration for the land conveyed to the defendant except the sum of $ 100, which Foreman paid her in cash on New Year's night, 1915. It further appears that at the time of the execution of the deed sought to be canceled and long prior thereto, the defendant was in possession of the land and continued in possession thereof, claiming title under said deed. The defendant filed a verified answer, denying that Foreman was his agent and averring that he was the agent of the plaintiff for the sale of said land. To this answer the plaintiff filed a reply duly verified, denying said agency. The plaintiff requested the court to make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and the court made findings of fact by which he found, in substance, that the plaintiff is a member of the Cherokee Tribe of Indians, and that the land described was allotted to her as a portion of her proportionate share of the lands of said tribe, and further found as follows:
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