Nevils v. Union Trust Co.
| Decision Date | 19 January 1914 |
| Citation | 163 S.W. 162 |
| Parties | NEVILS v. UNION TRUST CO. et al. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Action by John T. Nevils against the Union Trust Company, executor, and others. Decree for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
Johnson & Gray, of Little Rock, for appellant. J. A. Watkins and C. M. Walser, both of Little Rock, for appellees.
Appellant, John T. Nevils, instituted this action in the chancery court of Pulaski county against the executor of the last will and testament of his mother, Eliza J. Nevils, and his sisters, the other heirs of said decedent, to enforce an alleged resulting trust in a lot in the city of Little Rock in which title was vested in said decedent. Appellees answered the complaint, and upon the issue thus joined the chancery court decided that the testimony was insufficient to establish a resulting trust, and dismissed the complaint for want of equity.
Three adjoining lots in the city of Little Rock were purchased from one Morley on November 12, 1886, and on that day he executed three deeds, one conveying a lot to appellant, another conveying a lot to appellant's widowed mother, Eliza J. Nevils, and the other conveying a third lot to appellant's sister Mary A. Angell, one of the defendants in this action. During the next year (1887) a house was built on the lot conveyed to Mrs. Nevils, which is described as lot 8, in block 256.
Appellant claims that he purchased both lots, the one conveyed to himself and also the one conveyed to his mother, and paid all of the purchase price, and that he furnished most of the money with which the house on lot 8 was built. He asserts that this was done upon an understanding with his mother that she should occupy the property as a home as long as she lived, but that the property should belong to him. Appellant's statement of the conversation with his mother is in the following language:
Mrs. Nevils occupied the property as long as she lived, and died on July 30, 1909, at the advanced age of 83 years. She left a will bequeathing the residue of her estate equally among her children, after providing for the payment of debts and the cost of erecting a monument at her grave. This action was instituted within a few months after Mrs. Nevils' death.
Appellant's father died in the year 1881, leaving an estate consisting of a farm in Pulaski county and perhaps some other property, all of which was divided between the widow and children. They all lived in and about Little Rock for a time; but the other children subsequently moved away. Appellant and his mother continued to reside in Little Rock.
It appears from the evidence that Mrs. Nevils and appellant both had funds in bank as far back as the years 1884 or 1885. Appellant testified that on the day of the execution of the deed he drew out of one of the Little Rock banks the sum of $1,480, and used it in paying for both of the lots, the one which was deeded to him and the one which was deeded to his mother. He produced the original check for that amount, which was drawn to his own order, and there is indorsed thereon a memorandum in his own handwriting to the effect that the money was used to pay for lots. The accounts of the bank were produced, which show appellant's account, and that that amount of money was drawn out on the day named. On the contrary, there is affirmative testimony to the effect that the purchase was made by Mrs. Nevils herself, and that she used her own funds in paying for it. The testimony also shows that the house that was built on the lot in the year 1887 was paid for by Mrs. Nevils, and receipts were introduced in her own name establishing that fact. Appellant contends that he paid some of the cost of constructing the house, and of making repairs, and adding rooms from time to...
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