Murphy v. Nilles

• Decision Date: 03 April 1897
• Citation: 166 Ill. 99,46 N.E. 772
• Parties: MURPHY et al. v. NILLES et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

166 Ill. 99

46 N.E. 772

MURPHY et al.

v.NILLES et al.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

April 3, 1897.

Appeal from appellate court, First district.

Creditors' bill by Theodore Nilles and Henry P. Kransz against John C. Murphy, Lizzie M. Murphy, and others. The decree of the superior court was affirmed by the appellate court (62 Ill. App. 193), and defendants appeal, complainants assigning cross errors. Affirmed.

Byam & Weinshenk, for appellants.

T. S. McClelland, for appellees.

CARTER, J.

This is a creditors' bill brought by Theodore Nilles and Henry P. Kransz against John C. Murphy and his wife, Lizzie M. Murphy, Robert R. Sampson and his wife, Mary A. Sampson, and Henry Wulff, to subject certain property standing in the name of Mrs. Murphy to certain judgments recovered by the plaintiffs against John C. Murphy, and on which executions had been returned nulla bona. The property sought to be subjected to these debts consists of 19 lots in Murphy's addition to Rogers' Park, in Cook county, and lots 20, 21, and the east 17 feet of lot 22, in Huntoon's addition to South Evanston. In the fall of 1876, John C. Murphy borrowed $800 from Nicholas Kransz, and, to secure the same, gave a trust deed on 4 lots in Murphy's addition; and in the spring of 1877 he borrowed $600 from Theodore Nilles, and secured the payment thereof by a trust deed on 3 other lots in the same addition. At that time he owned the 19 lots in controversy, free from incumbrance, and also 5 other lots in the same addition, which were mortgaged to Pearson to secure $2,600 previously borrowed. He also owned the south part of lot 9 in block 11, and lot 2 in block 5, in said addition. After the making of all these trust deeds, and on July 19, 1877, Murphy married his present wife, and took her to live with him in a house on one of the lots he had previously mortgaged to Pearson. On March 14, 1878, being indebted as aforesaid, he (his wife joining) conveyed to his brother-in-law, Robert R. Sampson, the 19 lots before mentioned for the consideration, as expressed in the deed, of $500. On August 31, 1878, Nilles foreclosed his trust deed on the lots therein described, and bought them in at the sale for $175, and took judgment for the deficiency, $555, in the superior court of Cook county. Execution was issued, and returned unsatisfied. On October 5, 1888, the judgment was revived, and execution was issued, which was returned unsatisfied January 4, 1889. The Kransz note and trust deed were assigned to Henry P. Kransz, who foreclosed in 1884, and took a deficiency judgment for $1,290 on March 27, 1889, in the same court. Execution was issued on the same day, and returned unsatisfied. On March 27, 1889, a creditors' bill was filed for the same purpose and on the same ground as the present one, but was dismissed for want of prosecution in June, 1893. On December 1, 1893, the present bill was filed. On August 3, 1878, John C. Murphy and his wife conveyed to Pearson his equity of redemption in the five mortgaged lots, and also the south part of lot 9 in block 11, which was unincumbered, for a note for $1,000 and a mortgage of Edward Murphy on two lots in the vicinity, containing a dwelling house. In 1882 the house was burned, and Mrs. Murphy claims that she collected the insurance of $1,000 thereon. Out of this insurance money, and profits made on the same by Murphy in speculating, it is claimed, they bought the South Evanston property for $3,000, taking title in Mrs. Murphy. On November 19, 1885, Sampson conveyed the 19 lots aforesaid to Mrs. Murphy for $500, and all the testimony is that no interest was paid him during the more than seven years that he held the title, and during all which time he claims to have paid the taxes; amounting to $135.25, as found by the master. Lot 2 in block 5, which seems never to have been conveyed away by Murphy, was sold for taxes, and in 1886 Murphy bought the tax titles from the holder. The cause was referred to the master for a hearing, and a number of objections filed to his report by appellants, which were overruled. On the hearing before the court, appellants filed 17 exceptions, which were overruled; and the court entered a decree finding the conveyance to Sampson fraudulent as to creditors, and that the $500 paid for the reconveyance of said lots was the money of John C. Murphy, and that the conveyance to Mrs. Murphy was in fraud of creditors, and that said 19 lots should be subjected to the payment of said judgment; that the $1,000 realized by Mrs. Murphy from the insur ance on the house upon which she held the Pearson mortgage was the property of Mrs. Murphy, but that the $2,000 realized by Murphy in speculating therewith was his own; and that, in equity, Murphy was the owner of two-thirds of said South Evanston property, and that it ought to be subjected to the payment of said judgments; and a decree was entered accordingly. The defendants appealed to the appellate court, assigning numerous errors, and the appellees filed cross errors as to that part of the decree giving Mrs. Murphy the $1,000 and one-third interest in the South Evanston property. The appellate court affirmed the decree. The appellants have taken this further appeal, appellees insisting here on their cross errors.

The complainants called Mrs. Murphy, and she testified that she had $100 or $200 when she was married, but that it was all spent within a year; that before June, 1881, she got between $400 and $500 from her mother, but kept no account of it; she did not deposit it anywhere; that she got the Edward Murphy mortgage of $1,000 on a piece of ground and a house for signing her name to a deed for the property on which they lived, which her husband owned before they were married; that her interest in the property was one-third; that she had dower in it; that she would not release her dower without receiving something for it; that Mr. Murphy transacted the whole business with Mr. Pearson; that she had nothing to do with it; that the house burned, and she got the insurance money, $1,000; that she gave this money to her husband to speculate with,-to buy jury vouchers, county orders, etc.; that he doubled the money for her; that with that money they paid for 67 feet of the South Evanston property, $2,300; that they bought the other lot, 50 feet, a little later, for $700; that she kept boarders, and earned money in various ways, and saved considerable money; that with the money she got from her mother she bought back the property her husband had been obliged to sell to Sampson, to live on; that she paid him $500; Mr. Murphy told her that Sampson said that he could have the property back at the same price he paid for it; she said she had this knowledge both from her husband and Sampson; that Murphy paid no interest to Sampson; that, if Sampson wanted to let his brother-in-law have it without...