Summers v. Martin, No. 8357

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Idaho
• Writing for the Court: SMITH; TAYLOR
• Citation: 77 Idaho 469,295 P.2d 265
• Decision Date: 23 March 1956
• Docket Number: No. 8357
• Parties: J. Ario SUMMERS and Lois A. Summers, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. J. P. MARTIN and Grace Martin, husband and wife, Defendants-Appellants.

Page 265

295 P.2d 265 77 Idaho 469 J. Ario SUMMERS and Lois A. Summers, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents,
v.
J. P. MARTIN and Grace Martin, husband and wife, Defendants-Appellants. No. 8357. Supreme Court of Idaho. March 23, 1956.

[77 Idaho 471]

Page 266

Rayborn, Rayborn & Kramer, Twin Falls, for appellants.

Branch Bird, Cecil D. Hobdey, Gooding, for respondents.

[77 Idaho 472] SMITH, Justice.

April 3, 1954, the parties entered into a contract in writing whereby appellants contracted to sell and convey to respondents and respondents agreed to purchase from appellants certain farm property situate in Gooding County, Idaho. Respondents, as a part of the purchase price, agreed to convey to appellants certain farm property situate in the State of Utah. The parties placed a valuation upon each of the properties and each party assumed and agreed to pay certain mortgage indebtedness. Respondents agreed to pay a balance owing on the purchase price of the Gooding County property, in annual installments with interest over a period of years.

Respondents grounded their action for rescission upon alleged false representations of appellants to the effect that the Gooding County property included 235 acres of irrigated land, and also included a certain area, extending through a section of land, known as Dry Creek Canyon. Respondents alleged the falsity and materiality of such representations, made for the purpose of inducing them to purchase the property, which they believed to be true and that in reliance thereon they executed the contract to their injury, and made conveyance of their Utah real property to appellants as their first payment under the contract.

Respondents prayed that the contract be rescinded, the Utah property be restored to them and that the Gooding County property be restored to appellants. The trial court restrained appellants from conveying the Utah property during pendency of the action.

Appellants' answer generally denied the allegations of respondents' complaint and set out certain affirmative defenses.

The action was tried before the court with a jury sitting in an advisory capacity. The jury answered certain interrogatories submitted, which answers in the main favored respondents. The trial court ratified, confirmed and adopted the findings of the jury and consonant therewith made findings of fact and conclusions of law. The judgment restored the Utah property to respondents and the Idaho property to appellants, and directed that respondents pay appellants the sum of $34. The amount of the judgment constituted the balance remaining after adjusting the equities between the parties, such as reasonable cash rental of each property, and the reasonable value of respondents' improvements to the Idaho property. Appellants perfected appeal from the judgment.

[77 Idaho 473]

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Appellants' brief does not contain a distinct enumeration of assignments of error as required by Rule 41 of the Supreme Court. Appellants have fully presented their contentions; therefore we shall consider the same. Lawyer v. Sams, 72 Idaho 101, 237 P.2d 606.

Appellants contend that the action commenced in Gooding County attempts a determination of title to real property situate in the State of Utah, beyond the jurisdiction of the trial court. That contention is directed at the portion of the judgment which requires appellants to execute and deliver to respondents a good and sufficient deed conveying the title to the Utah farm property to respondents.

This is an action grounded in equity. The trial court had jurisdiction of the persons of both appellants and respondents. The court in the exercise of its inherent powers had jurisdiction to grant equitable relief, although such relief indirectly affected the title to lands without the territorial limits of the court's conventional jurisdiction, consonant with the principle that in equity the primary decree acts in personam and not in rem. The portion of the decree referred to is based upon the rule, 'Equity acts in personam.' Radermacher v. Radermacher, 61 Idaho 261, 100 P.2d 955, 957.

A court, in the exercise of its equity jurisdiction, may order another party who is subject to its jurisdiction to execute and deliver an instrument of conveyance to lands situate in another state. Idaho Gold Min. Co. v. Winchell, 6 Idaho 729, 59 P. 533; Jarvis v. Hamilton, 73 Idaho 131, 246 P.2d 216, 33 A.L.R.2d 910; Promis v. Duke, 208 Cal. 420, 281 P. 613; Tully v. Bailey, 46 Cal.App.2d 195, 115 P.2d 542; Bailey v. Tully, 242 Wis. 226, 7 N.W.2d 837, 145 A.L.R. 578; Fall v. Eastin, 215 U.S. 1, 30 S.Ct. 3, 54 L.Ed. 65; 19 Am.Jur., Equity, sec. 25, p. 53; 30 C.J.S., Equity, § 82, p. 441.

Banbury v. Brailsford, 66 Idaho 262, 158 P.2d 826, 830, upon which appellants rely was an action for the "recovery of real property" or interest therein situate in a county other than the county of suit. The action was held improper in view of jurisdictional and mandatory requirements of I.C. § 5-401, that such an action be tried in the county in which the subject of the action or some part thereof is situated. Ryckman v. Johnson, 190 Wash. 294, 67 P.2d 927; State ex rel. Hamilton v. Superior Court for Cowlitz County, 200 Wash. 632, 94 P.2d 505; Vaughan v. Roberts, 45 Cal.App.2d 246, 113 P.2d 884, also cited by appellants are to the same effect. Those cases are to be distinguished from the one here under consideration, for the remedies sought in those cases operated in rem upon the specific res, rather than in personam.

Appellants contend that the trial court erred in entering judgment of rescission after finding that respondents relied upon their own investigations in purchasing the Idaho farm property. The jury found that [77 Idaho 474] respondents made their own investigation and relied upon their own judgment rather than the judgment and advice of their relatives; such is a finding in effect that respondents were not influenced by relatives. On the other hand, the jury and trial court found that as between appellants and respondents, the respondents relied, and had a right to rely, upon the representations made by appellants to the effect that there were 235 or more acres of irrigated lands included in the Gooding County ranch property.

The cases of Smith v. Johnson, 47 Idaho 468, 276 P. 320, 321, and Nelson v. Hoff, 70 Idaho 354, 218 P.2d 345, 348, cited by appellants, do not apply here since in those cases each purchaser made independent investigations concerning the subjects of purchase. In Smith v. Johnson, the purchaser 'had the better opportunity to acquire such knowledge', i. e., the weight of the lambs, than the seller. In Nelson v. Hoff the buyers 'did not rely upon such misrepresentation [number of acres], but acted solely upon their own investigations.'

Appellants attempt invocation of a clause contained in the contract of sale and purchase to the effect that purchaser has inspected the property and has not been influenced by any representation by the seller, other than as contained in the contract. Such a clause is against public policy

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and not effective, for it would allow a guilty party to profit by his own wrong. Advance-Rumely-Thresher Co....