Robinson v. Clark
| Decision Date | 13 December 1884 |
| Citation | 76 Me. 493 |
| Parties | REUEL W. ROBINSON in equity, v. ELEAZER CLARK and PAULINA S. CLARK. |
| Court | Maine Supreme Court |
BILL in equity; heard on bill, answer and proofs.
The opinion states the case, and the material facts as found by the court.
Walton and Walton, for the plaintiff.
A G. Emery, for the defendant, Paulina S. Clark.
The case comes up for a decision upon the facts, and the law and equity applicable thereto. In an examination of questions of fact, in cases at law or in equity, we do not feel at liberty to encumber legal opinions with much more than a statement of our conclusions from the facts, not detailing the facts themselves. The extended facts are not often useful as a precedent for any other case, and would occupy more space in a book of law cases than can be afforded to them.
The testimony shows the following statement to be true: The husband owned and possessed a homestead; deeded it to Folsom taking from him an agreement to reconvey; Folsom, at his request, conveyed it to the wife; she mortgaged it to Norton, he joining in the conveyance, Norton paying Folsom the sum due to him; the husband owed the complainant, the debt ante-dating the other transactions; the complainant obtained judgment against the husband, purchased his right to the homestead upon execution on the judgment, and now asks for a conveyance of the title from the wife.
The first defense set up to the bill, is, that the property became forfeited to Folsom and that the wife purchased it of him on her own and not upon her husband's account. Of course, such a thing might be, but it was not done in this case. She paid nothing. Norton paid Folsom in full, taking the wife's note and mortgage therefor. The act was merely a redemption from Folsom who held no more than an equitable mortgage on the estate. Stinchfield v. Milliken, 71 Me. 567. Transactions of this kind between husband and wife are to be closely scanned. There are between them unusual facilities for fraud. The absorption by her of his property, against the right of existing creditors, is not allowed. Wait, Fraud. Con. § 30. Seitz v. Mitchell, 94 U.S. 580. The husband is insolvent, having no property besides his interest in this.
The next point in defense is that there was no intention to conceal or defraud. That is not a material fact, if it be so. She has his property without consideration. She cannot convey it without his consent; nor can she withhold it from his creditors whether fraud were intended or not. Call v. Perkins, 65 Me. 439; Hamlen v. McGillicuddy, 62 Me. 268; R. S., c. 60 § 1.
But the wife further contends that she has contributed of her own means to the improvement of the property, and that she has a lien upon the property to the extent of the amount contributed. She may have expended one hundred dollars upon it, and she has received more than that from the rents and profits of the property. She has been more than paid. It is said that money obtained from...
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Appeal of Garland
...171; 30 C. J. 825, 826. While this court has not had the precise question before it to pass on, Sampson v. Alexander, 66 Me. 182, Robinson v. Clark, 76 Me. 493, and Gould v. Carlton, 55 Me. 511, clearly indicate that, unless the facts are brought within the statute, the common law applies. ......
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Maxwell v. Adams
...circumstances or on the eve of bankruptcy, it will be carefully scrutinized, and may require an explanation by the parties. In Robinson v. Clark, 76 Me. 493, we find the following language at page 494 with reference to a conveyance by a husband to a wife: "Transactions of this kind between ......
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...the divorce court was appropriately applying equitable principles of flexibility and adaptability to circumstances. Cf. Robinson v. Clark, 76 Me. 493, 495 (1884) ("Equitable remedies are distinguished by their flexibility [and] their adaptability to circumstances"). Mrs. Jacobs has not demo......
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... ... Price, 31 Wis. 86; Booker v. Warrell, 57 Geo ... 235; Horton v. Dewey, 53 Wis. 413; Kerney v ... Powell, 34 Kan. 22; Robinson v. Clark, 76 Me ... 493; Lypscomb v. Lyon, 19 Neb. 571; First Nat ... Bank v. Bartlett, 8 Neb. 329; Kaeser v. Wagner, ... 59 Iowa 40. (5) ... ...