Nelson v. Nelson

• Decision Date: 15 June 1954
• Docket Number: No. 48516,48516
• Citation: 245 Iowa 1225,65 N.W.2d 154
• Parties: NELSON et al. v. NELSON. NELSON et al. v. NELSON et al.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 154

65 N.W.2d 154

245 Iowa 1225

NELSON et al. v. NELSON.

NELSON et al. v. NELSON et al.

No. 48516.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

June 15, 1954.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 24, 1954.

Frank N. Rasmussen, Exira, and Dalton & Dalton, Atlantic, for appellant.

F. A. Royal, Des Moines, for nonresident alien defendants and for Poul Scheel, Royal Danish Consul.

Jones, Cambridge & Carl, Atlantic, for plaintiffs and for all other defendants.

Don Savery, Atlantic, guardian ad litem for defendants who are minors or incompetent or under legal disability.

OLIVER, Justice.

The administrators of the estate of John P. Anderson, deceased, instituted a suit in equity against Arthur L. Nelson for an accounting for the profits and jointly owned live stock, grain, etc., under a written stock-share farm lease by decedent to defendant, of a 280-acre farm in Cass County, and other land not directly involved in the accounting suit. Thereafter plaintiffs, as such administrators, and individually as heirs at law of decedent, instituted against said Nelson and more than one hundred other named defendants, suit to partition the property in question and other real estate owned by decedent. In the first suit defendant Arthur L. Nelson filed answer and counterclaim and in the second suit, answer, counterclaim and cross-petition to establish his ownership of the 280 acres in question and the live stock, feed, etc., thereon. The two suits were consolidated and trial was had. This appeal is by defendant Arthur L. Nelson alone, and involves only the landlord and tenant accounting and ownership issues between him and plaintiffs and other defendants who joined with plaintiffs. For convenience, Arthur L. Nelson will be referred to herein as the defendant.

Defendant pleaded an oral contract with decedent, of date January 15, 1935, superseding the written lease of that date and agreeing that defendant would operate decedent's Cass County farm of 280 acres, make improvements and repairs thereon at his own expense, care for the live stock and other personal property thereon, owned in equal shares by defendant and decedent, and pay one half of the net earnings to decedent during decedent's life; and that, (we assume although it was not directly pleaded) in consideration therefor, defendant was to become the absolute owner of the 280-acre farm and the jointly owned personal property thereon, at the death of decedent. The main issue is whether this oral contract and its performance were proven. The trial court held defendant had failed to so prove by clear, satisfactory and convincing evidence as required by the rule. Judgment was rendered against defendant accordingly. Hence, this appeal by defendant.

Decedent was a retired farmer. He was unmarried and had no children or close relatives. He died intestate September 9, 1950. Defendant was a distant relative but not an heir at law of decedent. Among the lands owned by decedent was a 440-acre farm, composed of the 280 acres here directly involved, in Cass County, and 160 acres in Shelby County. In 1924 and 1925 defendant had rented the 280 acres from decedent for a cash rental. Thereafter until 1935 defendant operated it under an oral stock-share farm lease under which each owned a one half interest in the live stock, feed and grain and was entitled to one half of the net profits. January 15, 1935, decedent and defendant went to a law office where, after a lengthy discussion, a written stock-share farm lease was prepared for them.

This lease, with 'explanations and suggestions', was drawn upon a printed form. It covers fourteen pages of the record. It recites decedent leases to defendant the 440 acres, describing the 280 acres in Cass County and 160 acres in Shelby County. The term was one year beginning March 1, 1935, and from year to year thereafter until either party should give the other, before any August 1, written notice of termination at the end of the current lease year. The purpose of this stated in the 'explanations', was to provide for a longer term than a one-year lease. It may be here said no such notice of termination was given during decedent's life.

The general policy stated in the lease was to raise crops to feed live stock which was to be owned by the parties in equal shares. Among other things, the landlord agreed to keep the buildings in repair, to furnish materials to repair fences and buildings and to pay taxes and insurance on the real estate. The tenant agreed to furnish the farm implements, tools, and labor for operating the farm and for ordinary repairs of fences and buildings, to pay the operating expenses, one half of which were to be repaid by the landlord, and to pay the landlord one half of the gross income from the farm.

The lease was then and there executed in duplicate by decedent and defendant and one original was held by each party. At that time and place and in the presence of the lawyers, defendant contends he and decedent orally changed the written lease they had just made and entered into an oral agreement that defendant would bear the expense of improvements and repairs on the 280 acres in Cass County and would pay half the profits to decedent during decedent's life, and that, at decedent's death defendant would become the owner of the 280-acre farm and decedent's half of the live stock and other personal property on the farm. (Defendant asserts the 160 acres in Shelby County remained under the written lease until 1946 when other land in Cass County was substituted for the Shelby County lan...