Walker v. Shpard

• Decision Date: 23 June 1904
• Citation: 210 Ill. 100,71 N.E. 422
• Parties: WALKER v. SHPARD et al.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

210 Ill. 100

71 N.E. 422

WALKER

v.SHPARD et al.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 23, 1904.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Shelby County; Saml. L. Dwight, Judge.

Bill by Anna E. Shepard, revived after her death in the name of Edna S. Shepard and others, against Amos W. Walker. From a decree in favor of plaintiffs, defendant appeals. Affirmed.Anthony Thornton (J. H. Bradley, of counsel), for appellant.

Chafee & Chew and Geo. B. Rhoads, for appellees.

This is an appeal from a decree rendered by the circuit court of Shelby county setting aside a deed to the north half of the northwest quarter of section 29, town 10, north, range 5 east of the third principal meridian, in Shelby county, Ill. The bill herein was filed by Anna E. Shepard (née Small) on January 21, 1901, against Amos W. Walker, the appellant. On February 15, 1903, and prior to the hearing of said cause, Anna E. Shepard died, and her three children and her husband were substituted as complainants, and they are appellees in this court. The pleadings consisted of bill, answer, and replication. The hearing was before the chancellor. The facts in the case are substantially as follows:

Anna E. Shepard, the original complainant in this suit, was born about 1875. Her mother died when she was two weeks old, at which time she was taken to the home of Joseph Walker, a widower, who resided on a farm in Shelby county, and for whom her grandmother Barbara Hartsell had been engaged as housekeeper since 1860. The children of Barbara Hartsell, named, respectively, William, Celestia, and Sarah, also lived at this home with their mother until their marriage. Anna E. Shepard's mother was the daughter of Barbara Hartsell. Joseph Walker had two children, named, respectively, Amos W., who is appellant here, and Sophronia. Amos W. Walker left his father's home when he was about 18 years of age to finish his education, and thereafter attended schools and colleges at Mt. Zion, Lincoln, Ann Arbor, and Poughkeepsie for a period of six years, and then spent a few years teaching school, and studying law in the office of Judge Thornton, at Shelbyville. In 1880 his father purchased and presented to him a hotel in Windsor, in that county, which he conducted for about 2 years, when he went to Chicago and engaged in the practice of law. He was about 25 years of age when Anna E. Shepard was brought to his father's house. Thereafter, up to the time he went to Chicago, he was frequently at his father's home; spending his vacations there, and living as one of the family. After locating in Chicago he was at his father's residence only occasionally. Joseph Walker resided on his farm until a period about 13 years prior to his death, when he moved to Windsor, in Shelby county, where he spent the remainder of his days. William Hartsell, above mentioned, married said Sophronia Walker. Celestia Hartsell married one Alex Walker, who, however, was not related to Joseph Walker, and Sarah Hartsell married one John Walden. Anna E. Shepard was brought up and cared for by Joseph Walker as a member of his family. She resided in that family until his death, and he became greatly attached to her.

On December 24, 1895, Joseph Walker executed a deed conveying to Anna E. Small the real estate involved in this litigation, and also a deed conveying to Sophronia Hartsell, William Hartsell, Celestia Walker, and Sarah Walden 190 acres of land. These deeds were acknowledged by Joseph Walker at his home before one Mooberry, a notary public of said county; and the notary was requested by the grantor to hold them until he sent for them, or until the grantees called for them. Subsequently Mooberry, under Joseph Walker's direction, delivered to Anna E. Small the deed to the property hereinbefore described, and delivered the deed to the 190 acres to Sarah Walden, one of the grantees therein. Both deeds were recorded on April 3, 1896. Joseph Walker died on April 8, 1896, at the age of 83 years. Prior to his death, Amos W. Walker attempted to reach an understanding with the grantees in said deeds, through William Hartsell, by which the deeds should be disregarded, but he and Hartsell were unable to agree. Amos W. Walker claimed that, at the time said deeds were executed, Joseph Walker was mentally incapable of making a deed, and also claimed that there had never been any legal delivery of said deeds by the grantor to the grantees. He therefore insisted that no title passed to said grantees, and that said real estate descended as intestate property to himself and Sophronia Hartsell. Failing to arrive at an understanding with Hartsell, Amos W. Walker returned to Chicago, where he resided, and about two months after the death of his father wrote to Hartsell, making a proposition of settlement, in which he offered to pay to Anna E. Small $300 for a quitclaim deed to the premises which Joseph Walker had deeded to her. The proposition was not accepted, and subsequently a bill was filed by Amos W. Walker and Sophronia Hartsell against Sarah Walden, Celestia Walker, and William Hartsell, in the circuit court of Shelby county, to set aside the deed to the 190 acres of land. The grounds relied upon in the bill were mental incapacity of the grantor, and nondelivery of the deed to the grantees. The suit was subsequently settled and dismissed, according to the terms of a written agreement or compromise dated March 9, 1898, and the land was deeded to the complainants in that bill.

On December 1, 1897, Anna E. Small was married to Lee Shepard, and moved with him to Shelbyville, Ill. After the settlement above referred to, Amos W. Walker and William Hartsell had a conversation about a compromise between the former and Anna E. Shepard as to Amos W. Walker's claim to the real estate above described, which claim was the same as that made in the suit brought to set aside the deed to the 190 acres. Amos W. Walker signified his willingness to pay $500 to Anna if she would execute a quitclaim deed to the property, and said that, if she refused to accept that offer, he would bring suit to set aside the deed to her, and take the property away from her. About two weeks after this conversation Hartsell, who was and had been for some time confined to his home by illness, sent his brother-in-law, Alex Walker, an uncle of Anna E. Shepard by marriage, to submit the proposition of Amos W. Walker to her. He found her at her home, and told her that Amos W. Walker would give her $500 if she would make a deed, and that, if she did not accept that offer, Amos W. Walker would try the case in court. She refused to say what she would do until she saw her husband, and she and Walker went to the place where he was at work, and Walker stated the proposition to him. He also called Shepard's attention to the suit brought to set aside the deed to the 190 acres, and to the outcome of the same, and said it would probably avoid trouble if they signed the deed. Both Lee Shepard and his wife at first objected to the proposition, because they did not think $500 was a sufficient consideration; but Shepard stated that he and his wife did not want to get into trouble or go into court over the property, as they had no money to defend against a lawsuit, and said they would drive over to Windsor that night and sign the deed. The evidence is conflicting as to what was done that night. Lee Shepard testified that they signed a deed in which Amos W. Walker and Sophronia Hartsell were the grantees, while Mooberry, the notary, testified that they refused to sign a deed that night, but said they would sign it the next night; that they would not execute the same until they had assurance that they would receive the $500. The next night they did sign a deed conveying to Amos W. Walker the real estate here in controversy, and they afterwards received the $500 through William Hartsell. This suit was brought to set aside that deed. The land, when the Shepards executed this deed, was worth from $2,800 to $3,200. The evidence tends to show that Anna E. Shepard was not of ordinary intelligence at and before the time she executed said deed. The decree rendered by the circuit court finds that, at the time of executed the deed, Anna Shepard was and had been in feeble mind, incapable of transacting business and inexperienced therein, of limited education, and hardly able to read and write; that Amos W. Walker was a man of education, a licensed lawyer, and experienced in business matters, and knew the mental condition of Anna Shepard; that he was possessed of the trust and confidence of Anna Shepard, and she trusted him in her business affairs, as Amos W. Walker knew; that the deed from Anna Shepard and husband to Amos W. Walker was obtained by fraud of the defendant, and was an unconscionable bargain; orders the deed set aside, and a return to the defendant of the $500 paid by him, with interest, and that he account for rents and profits. Amos W. Walker appeals from that decree.

The findings of the decree are in accord with the views of counsel for appellees. Appellant contends, however, that the transaction was not a sale, but a compromise of a difficulty between the parties to the deed, growing out of the claim made by Amos W. Walker to the effect that the deed conveying the land in question to Anna E. Shepard had never been delivered by Joseph Walker, appellant's father, who was grantor therein; that, even if it had been delivered, Joseph Walker at the time of its execution and delivery had not sufficient mental capacity to make or deliver a deed-and further contends that Anna E. Shepard was of ordinary mental capacity, that no relation of trust and confidnce existed between her and appellant, and that the excution of the deed was the result of a negotiation conducted at arm's length between the parties thereto.

SCOTT, J. (after stating the facts).

1. Two teachers who had conducted schools attended by Anna E. Shepard testified, and from their evidence it appears that she, when...