St. Louis Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Cravens

• Decision Date: 31 October 1878
• Parties: THE ST. LOUIS MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff in Error, v. CRAVENS.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

69 Mo. 72

THE ST. LOUIS MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff in Error,

v.CRAVENS.

Supreme Court of Missouri.

October Term, 1878.

Error to Jackson Circuit Court.--HON. S. H. WOODSON, Judge.J. E. Havens for plaintiff in error.

The decree was admissible as the admission of Maloney and wife. Corwin v. Walton 18 Mo. 71; Ellis v. Jameson, 17 Me. 235; Cragin v. Carleton, 21 Me. 492; Witmer v. Schlatter, 2 Rawle (Pa.) 362. It was also admissible to show its legal consequences, and establish a missing link in the chain of plaintiff's title, viz.: the fact that Maloney purchased the land in question with his own money, and placed the title in his wife, Cornelia, for the purpose of defrauding his creditors. Jones v. Talbot, 9 Mo. 121; Archer v. Bacon, 12 Mo. 156; Walsh v. Agnew, 12 Mo. 526; Cravens v. Jamison, 59 Mo. 69; Barr v. Gratz, 4 Wheaton 213; Jackson v. Woods, 3 Wend. 34; Den ex dem. Sharp v. Hamilton, 7 Halstead (12 N. J. Law) 109; Turpin v. Brannon, 3 McCord (S. C. Law) 267.

Karnes & Ess for defendants in error.

The recital of the decree rendered in the case of Cravens v. Jamison, was improperly admitted in evidence; 1st, because the plaintiff, who offered it in evidence, was a stranger to it; judgments and decrees are admissible only as estoppels, and as the plaintiff would not be estopped by it, for want of mutuality, so it cannot use it in its own behalf. Sarkie on Ev., (9 Ed.) 287 et seq; 316 et seq. Both the litigants must be concluded, or the proceedings cannot be set up as conclusive upon either. 1 Greenl. on Ev., (12 Ed.) § 524; Hurst v. McNeil, 1 Wash. C. C. 70; Baring v. Fanning, 1 Paine 549; Cravens v. Jamison, 59 Mo. 73. 2nd, it was inadmissible on the theory of its being an admission. Boatmans' Savings Institution v. Holland, 38 Mo. 49; Cromwell v. Sac County, 94 U. S. 356.

NORTON, J.

This is a bill in equity to divest the title out of defendants and vest it in plaintiff, with a count at law asking for the possession of the premises. It is alleged in the bill that defendant, Allen, conveyed by three deeds to defendant, Cornelia A Maloney, the thirteen acres of land in controversy; the first deed dated March 17th, 1866, conveying three acres; the second dated November 10th, 1866, conveying five acres; and the third dated March 27th, 1867; that these deeds were recorded in the recorder's office of Jackson county, that being the county where the land is situated, on April 9th, 1867, November 14th, 1866, and October 5th, 1867. It is alleged that said land was bought by J. C. F. Maloney, the husband of said Cornelia, of said Allen, and the sum of $1,650 was paid by him therefor out of his own money, no part of it being the money of said Cornelia; that the said J. C. F. Maloney was at the time of this purchase insolvent, and caused the said Allen to convey the land by the deeds above mentioned to his wife, Cornelia, for the purpose and with the intent to hinder, delay and defraud his creditors. It is further alleged that defendant, J. C. F. Maloney, being indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $2,200, on the 14th day of December, 1867, in conjunction with the said Cornelia, executed a deed of trust conveying all the said land to William C. Jamison, as trustee, to secure such indebtedness, evidenced by a promissory note executed by said J. C. F. and Cornelia to J. S. Miller, agent of plaintiff, payable five years after date; which note was, by said Miller, assigned to plaintiff; that said deed was filed for record in the recorder's office of Jackson county on the 17th day of December, 1867; that defendant, John K. Cravens, with full knowledge of the plaintiff's rights and equities, filed, in 1871, in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of Jackson county, a transcript of a judgment in his favor for the sum of $70, obtained before a justice of the peace, on which an execution was issued on the 16th day of March, 1871, by virtue of which the sheriff of said county sold all the right and title of said J. C. F. Maloney to the property in controversy to said Cravens for the sum of $156, and executed to him a deed therefor, dated June 1st, 1872.

It is further alleged that on the maturity of the note to secure which the deed of trust dated December 14th, 1867, was executed, Jamison, the trustee, at the request of plaintiff, the holder of said note, sold said land, on the 9th day of April, 1873, in conformity to the requirements of the deed of trust, to plaintiff, for the sum of $1,000, and conveyed the same by deed of that date.

Plaintiff, on these facts, prays the court for a decree divesting all the right, title and interest of defendants in said land out of them, and vesting the same in plaintiff. The petition also contains a count asking for the delivery of the possession of the premises.

Defendants, in their answer, deny all the averments of the petition, except that they admit the purchase of the property by Cravens in 1871, only denying that he bought with any knowledge of the rights or equities of plaintiff.

On trial of the cause plaintiff's petition was dismissed and judgment rendered for defendants. We are asked to review this action of the trial court, on the ground that it was against the law and evidence.

Plaintiff offered in evidence the deed of trust, dated December 14th 1867, made by J. C. F. and Cornelia Maloney conveying to Jamison the land in question to secure the payment to plaintiff of the note mentioned in the petition; and also a deed from said Jamison, dated April 9th, 1873, conveying the interest of said J. C. F. Maloney in said land to plaintiff. Plaintiff next offered in evidence a decree of the Jackson circuit court rendered in 1872, in the case of John K. Cravens, plaintiff, against J. C. F. and Cornelia Maloney and Wm. P. Allen. This decree, which is of great length, substantially states that the default of defendants heretofore taken be made final, and that the allegations in plaintiff's petition stand confessed; that defendant, J. C. F. Maloney, on the 1st day of March, 1866, was largely indebted and insolvent; that he purchased the property of Allen in the three deeds mentioned in the petition conveying the land to Mrs. Maloney; that he caused the said land to be conveyed to his wife for the purpose of hindering, delaying and defrauding his creditors; that said deeds from Allen to Mrs. Maloney were fraudulent and void as to creditors; and that all the right, title and interest of J. C. F. Maloney, in the land purchased by him of said Allen, be vested in plaintiff, by virtue of a purchase made by plaintiff of the interest of said Maloney at...