Missouri Central Building & Loan Ass'n v. Eveler

• Decision Date: 29 November 1911
• Citation: 237 Mo. 679,141 S.W. 877
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court
• Parties: MISSOURI CENTRAL BUILDING & LOAN ASS'N v. EVELER et al.

141 S.W. 877

237 Mo. 679

MISSOURI CENTRAL BUILDING & LOAN ASS'N v. EVELER et al.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

November 29, 1911.

1. LIFE ESTATES (§ 24)—MORTGAGE BY LIFE TENANT.

Where an estate was devised to one for life, with remainder to his children, the life tenant could not, by deed of trust executed to secure money to improve the land, incumber the interest of the remaindermen, even though he represented himself to own the fee; for the mortgagees had constructive notice of his title.

2. PARTIES (§ 21)—NECESSARY PARTIES.

Where a petition sought to charge a remainder with deeds of trust executed by the life tenant, the widow of the life tenant was an unnecessary party, having no interest in the controversy.

3. LIFE ESTATES (§ 17)—POWERS OF LIFE TENANT—IMPROVEMENTS.

A life tenant cannot charge the corpus of the estate with improvements.

4. INFANTS (§ 55)—EQUITABLE ESTOPPEL.

Where those entitled to remainder were infants and their father, who was life tenant, sought to incumber the estate to improve the property, they could not assent to such contract, and could not be estopped to dispute it.

5. LIFE ESTATES (§ 17)—POWERS OF LIFE TENANT—IMPROVEMENTS.

One holding under a life tenant can claim no more than the life tenant, so that, as a life tenant cannot charge the corpus of the estate for improvements, one lending him money to make such improvements cannot charge the remainder.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Cole County; W. H. Martin, Judge.

Action by the Missouri Central Building & Loan Association against John B. Eveler and others, minors, and Nellie A. Eveler, an adult. From a judgment for defendants, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

W. S. Pope and A. T. Dumm, for appellant. Hazell, Edwards & Lay, for respondents.

GRAVES, P. J.

Cast upon demurrer below, the plaintiff stood upon its petition, and after such adverse judgment upon the demurrer brings the case here by appeal. Learned counsel for the plaintiff has made a very concise statement of the case, which statement is adopted in the brief by learned counsel for the defendants. We shall likewise adopt such statement. In words, it is as follows:

"The petition alleges, and the demurrer admits, that in the year 1901, Herman Eveler, being in possession of a part of certain inlots in Jefferson City, Missouri, described in the petition, applied to plaintiff for a loan of $800 on said property, representing himself to be the owner thereof in fee simple; that in the year 1903, under the same representations, he applied to plaintiff for a further loan of $600 on said property, and in the year 1904, under like representations, he applied to plaintiff for a further loan of $400 on said property; that plaintiff, believing said representations of ownership to be true, and believing that the said Herman Eveler was the owner, in fee simple, of the property, granted the loans thus applied for, amounting in all to $1,800, and took the said Eveler's notes for said amounts of $800, $600, and $400, said notes being secured by deeds of trust on said property, executed by the said Herman Eveler and his wife, defendant Nellie A. Eveler; that all of the money so loaned by plaintiff to the said Herman Eveler was used by him in making lasting and permanent improvements on said property, which resulted in greatly increasing the rental and market value thereof; that the improvements so made consisted in the building of another story on the two-room brick house theretofore standing on the land, and in erecting on the same land a seven-room, frame, two-story building; the former being occupied by the defendants as a home, and the latter being rented by defendants at $29 per month. The petition further alleges that Herman Eveler died in May, 1907, leaving as his only children the minor defendants, and his widow, defendant Nellie A. Eveler, and that since his death defendants have enjoyed the rents and profits of all the buildings erected with the money so borrowed from plaintiff as aforesaid; that no payments have been made on said loans since the death of the said Eveler, and that there is now due plaintiff on said loans the sum of about $1,380.70; that it now appears that the said Eveler's representations of fee-simple title in himself were untrue; that by the terms of his father's will, under which he was in possession and claimed said property, the said Herman Eveler never had the fee-simple title to said property, but had only a life estate therein, and that on his death the fee-simple title to said property vested in Eveler's children, the minor defendants herein. The petition further states that defendants refuse to make any further payments upon the loans; that plaintiff is remediless at law, and prays the court, in the exercise of its chancery powers, to ascertain the amount yet due plaintiff, to declare such amount a lien upon the improvements, and to adjudge that the frame building now standing upon the minor defendants' land be subjected to the payment of plaintiff's debt in such way as to the court may seem best; and for such other proper and equitable relief as to the court may seem proper. Defendant Nellie A. Eveler demurred to the petition, on the ground that she was not a necessary party defendant, and...