Rowe v. Johnson

• Decision Date: 05 June 1905
• Citation: 81 P. 268,33 Colo. 469
• Parties: ROWE v. JOHNSON.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

81 P. 268

33 Colo. 469

ROWE v. JOHNSON.

Supreme Court of Colorado

June 5, 1905

Appeal from District Court, Logan County; E. E. Armour, Judge.

Suit by Rebecca E. Johnson against Clarence Rowe. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Allen & Webster and H. E. Munson, for appellant.

Brown &amp Hayes, for appellee.

STEELE J.

The plaintiff (appellee here) brought her action in the district court of Logan county for the purpose of quieting her title to certain lots situated in the town of Sterling, in said county. The defendant filed an answer and counterclaim. In the counterclaim he set up an interest in the lots in himself, claiming that they were purchased with money belonging to him and his divorced wife, and that, although the title was taken in the name of his wife, the wife had agreed that she would take the title to the property in her name, and would give him a one-half interest therein, and that the premises should be used and enjoyed by them jointly that pursuant to said agreement he had expended large sums of money in improving the premises; that demand was duly made for a conveyance of the premises, which was refused, and that shortly after the demand his wife fraudulently conveyed the premises to the plaintiff, and that plaintiff fraudulently took the title to the premises with full notice of defendant's interests; that the conveyance to the plaintiff was without consideration. The plaintiff denied the allegations of the counterclaim, and alleged, among other things, that the matters set up in the counterclaim had been theretofore determined against the defendant in a proceeding brought by him against his wife in the county court of Logan county.

At the trial the court admitted, over the objection of the defendant, the record of the county court judgment. The court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant prayed an appeal to the Court of Appeals. The court erred, it is alleged, in receiving the record from the county court, and erred in rendering judgment for the plaintiff. It appears from the transcript that the defendant objected to the introduction of the record from the county court upon the grounds that the judgment was not properly pleaded, and that the judgment was not a final judgment on the merits. The objection was sustained. Afterwards the record from the county court was received for the purpose of impeachment, and for the purpose of showing that the plaintiff had no constructive notice of the defendant's claim to the land in controversy. The briefs of counsel are largely devoted to a discussion of the proposition that the record of the county court was not admissible for any purpose. The trial was by the court, and the rules of evidence are not so rigid as when the trial is by a jury. Washburn v. Williams, 10 Colo.App 153, 50 P. 223. When a judge receives evidence for one purpose only, it will be presumed that he did...