Logue v. Langan

• Decision Date: 16 November 1906
• Docket Number: 2,254.
• Citation: 151 F. 455
• Parties: LOGUE v. LANGAN.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

151 F. 455

LOGUE v. LANGAN.

No. 2,254.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

November 16, 1906

S. H Wright (Joe Kirby, on the brief), for appellant.

A. H Orvis (L. B. French, Frank R. Aikens, and Harold E. Judge, on the brief), for appellee.

Before VAN DEVANTER and ADAMS, Circuit Judges, and PHILIPS, District judge.

ADAMS Circuit Judge.

This was a bill to enforce the specific performance of a parol contract to convey land. The appellant, who was complainant below, alleges in her bill as follows: 'That on or about the month of April, 1896, Hugh Langan, now deceased, * * * proposed (orally) to this complainant that if she would remove from the place where she was then residing and make her home upon a certain tract of land then owned by him, to wit, the northeast quarter of section 33, township 96 north of range 52, situated in Turner county, South Dakota, and reside there permanently, and would pay him, the said Hugh Langan, one-third of the crops raised thereon, he would give her the said land, and would make her a deed therefor as soon as he could get around to it, and if he did not make her a deed to said land he would leave it to her in his will, and that, when he could get around to the making of the deed or will to her, the payment of one-third of the crops raised on said premises should cease. ' That she then and there accepted the proposition, and removed from the place where she had theretofore resided, and took up her residence upon the quarter section as proposed, and has ever since resided thereon. That she has since then cultivated the land and turned over to Hugh Langan or his representatives one-third of the crops raised thereon in accordance with the proposition made. That she made some improvements upon the place, amounting in the aggregate to about $150, in the confident belief that the place was ultimately to be hers. That Hugh Langan died in 1902 without having made a conveyance of the land to her, or without devising the same to her by his last will. That defendant, James A. Langan, is the executor of the estate of Hugh Langan, and sole devisee of all the real estate including the quarter section above mentioned, which was owned and possessed by Hugh at the time of his death. The prayer is that defendant be required to make a good and sufficient deed to complainant transferring to her the land described. The answer denies on information and belief the making of the contract, and avers that the described quarter section was not owned by Hugh Langan in his lifetime, but was owned by the firm of Langan Bros., composed of Hugh, the deceased, and defendant; that Hugh had no right or authority to make any agreement with respect to the disposition of the land without co-operating with defendant that complainant had occupied the quarter section in question, not under any contract for a conveyance thereof to her, but solely as a tenant of Langan Bros., and with no rights other than those of such tenant.

The facts as disclosed by the proof appear to be that complainant was a sister of Hugh and James Langan. She was impecunious and they were well-to-do farmers. She, with her family, consisting of an invalid husband, two daughters, and a son, had for some years prior to 1896 resided on a farm belonging to Hugh Langan in South Dakota. In 1896 she says her brother Hugh told her he wished she would move to another farm, mentioning the quarter section which is the subject of this controversy. Hugh and his brother James were copartners, and together owned all the land standing in the name of either. The portion of the quarter section in question, containing 20 acres, on which the residence and outbuildings are located, stood in the name of James, and the balance (140 acres) stood in the name of Hugh. The principal evidence claimed to constitute a contract is given by the complainant herself. She testified that after she had lived on one of Hugh Langan's farms for a period of about seven years, and on the occasion of his telling her he wanted her to move to another farm consisting of the quarter section above described, he said, in the language of the witness, 'that he would give me this for my home-- the quarter-- and wanted me to live on it. That is the reason I moved here. ' She said she moved there about six weeks after that conversation, and that after she moved into the house her brother Hugh said 'he wanted to make the house comfortable for me; that he expected a share-- one-third-- of the crops until such time as he could get around to give me a deed to the land--deed to the property; that he would build to the house whatever I wanted. It didn't make any particular difference to him. ' She said she told him the house was big enough for her, but that he said before he died maybe he would like it bigger; that he wanted to build a lot to the house, but she thought he was giving enough to give it, and didn't want him to do it. Her testimony is the only direct evidence of the so-called agreement. Several witnesses were called by her who testified to certain admissions made at a later time by Hugh. For instance, John O'Donnel testified that he was riding with Hugh Langan at one time when he told him that he was going to move complainant and her family to the place now in controversy, and that it would be 'more convenient for the old folks to live there, and he wished to see them live on that place. ' The witness said at that time he asked him the following question: 'You will give Mrs. Logue this place?' and that he said: 'Well, he could afford to, and that he intended that it should be her home, and that he would not have to remove her again, but that his two brothers were as well entitled to help her as he was; that is, James and Daniel Langan. ' One Swan Eckberg testified in behalf of complainant that Hugh Langan once told him that he had bought the farm for Mrs. Logue, and had done this for her 'because he never had done much for her, and that he was going to give her this property, as she had always been his best sister. ' Mrs. Newton testified that Hugh Langan told her that 'she (the complainant) had not done so well as the rest had done, and through sympathy and good feeling he wanted to do this for her; that he intended to give Mrs. Logue a farm, 160 acres. ' Mr. Voutrobec testified that Hugh Langan once told him that the place belonged to Mrs. Logue; that he asked Hugh whose place that was, and he told him it was Mrs. Logue's house. Emma Logue, the daughter, testified that after they had moved to the quarter section in question Hugh Langan said, on coming to the place and finding it somewhat dilapidated, 'that he was going to fix the place up for me. ' She said she told him it was plenty good enough for her, but that he insisted on building a porch and a pantry onto the kitchen and a bedroom on the north of the house. She also testified that on another occasion Hugh came to their home and said to her mother: 'You didn't make a very good move in regard to the house. The house is not as good as the house we moved from. ' And he says: 'I am going to fix it...