Watkins v. Watkins
| Decision Date | 01 April 1955 |
| Docket Number | No. 8187,8187 |
| Citation | 76 Idaho 316,281 P.2d 1057 |
| Parties | Everett WATKINS, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Emma L. WATKINS and Reid Watkins, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Gigray & Boyd, Caldwell, for appellant Emma L. Watkins, J. F. Martin and C. Ben Martin, Boise, for appellant Reid Watkins.
Meek & Miller, Caldwell, for respondent.
Respondent brought this action for specific performance of an oral option to purchase a certain parcel of farm land, or, in the alternative, for the value of improvements which he had placed on the land. Appellant Reid Watkins cross-complained for recovery of dwelling house rental and moneys loaned to respondent.
Respondent Everett Watkins and appellant Reid Watkins, a bachelor, are brothers, sons of appellant Emma L. Watkins, a widow since January 10, 1945.
The complaint alleges that while respondent son had farmed some lands for his mother prior to November, 1946, he intended to cease farming for her and purchase a place of his own; that thereupon the mother told her son that she needed him to help farm her lands and that if he would move onto a 160 acre parcel of her farm land, being Lots 3 and 4 and S 1/2 NW 1/4 in Section 5 North, Range 6 West of the Boise Meridian, in Canyon County, Idaho, known as the Gardner place, and farm it on a crop share basis he could remodel the dwelling house thereon at his expense and, in further consideration of such arrangement, that she would give him an oral option to purchase the place during her life at market value less the value of his improvements thereon; that in reliance thereon respondent moved onto and farmed the Gardner place, and expended $5,500 in remodeling and improving the dwelling house and premises, which expenditures he supported by a bill of particulars; that the brother, appellant Reid Watkins, knew of the oral agreement between respondent and his mother; that respondent at all times kept and performed the conditions of the agreement; that pursuant to his option to purchase, respondent offered to purchase the Gardner place from his mother about February 5, 1952 for $12,000, its fair market value, less the value of improvements which he had placed thereon, but that she refused to sell the place to him, and that on such occasion appellant Reid Watkins also was present with respondent and his mother; that March 31, 1952 the mother contracted in writing to sell and convey all of her farm land, including the Gardner place, to appellant Reid Watkins for $85,000, for which transaction respondent had no knowledge until January 27, 1953, when appellant Reid Watkins notified respondent in writing to vacate the Gardner place and the remodeled dwelling by March 1, 1953; then follows the prayer that the title be quieted as against the claims of appellant Reid Watkins; that appellant Emma L. Watkins be required to specifically perform her agreement to convey the Gardner place to respondent upon his making payment therefor; that in the alternative, respondent have judgment against appellants in the sum of $5,500, value of the improvements which respondent made in and upon said parcel of land, 'and further relief as to the Court may seem equitable and just.'
The trial court overruled appellants' general demurrers to the complaint.
The separate answer of each appellant admitted the relationship of the parties, the ownership of the lands, and the contract for the sale by appellant Emma L. Watkins and purchase by appellant Reid Watkins, of the entire Watkins farm for $85,000, and generally denied the remaining allegations of the complaint. The answer of appellant Emma L. Watkins specially pleaded the 4-year statute of limitation, I.C. § 5-217, in bar of any remedy asserted by respondent relating to the oral contract pleaded in his complaint.
Appellant Reid Watkins, by his 'cross-complaint and counterclaim' sought to recover from respondent rent at $75 a month from March 1, 1953, for the dwelling on the Gardner place occupied by respondent; also to recover $9,585 loaned to respondent at various times from December 16, 1946, to March 12, 1951; also that the court decree that respondent had no interest in the Gardner place.
Respondent by his answer denied the allegations of the cross-complaint; alleged full payment of all the loans made to him by appellant Reid Watkins; also respondent plead the bar of the statute of limitations, i. e., I.C. § 5-216, 5 years on a written contract, and I.C. § 5-217, 4 years on an oral contract.
The court allowed trial on the theory that while the complaint failed to state a cause of action for specific performance, it did for recovery of the value of respondent's improvements placed in and upon the Gardner place.
The trial court at the conclusion of the trial, found the facts essentially as alleged in the complaint except that respondent had expended $4,866.24 for labor, materials and fixtures in remodeling said dwelling in addition to his own labor, and that $300 constituted the value of his labor leveling 6 acres of land; that such improvements are substantial in relation to the value of the land, of permanent nature and were made with the knowledge and acquiescence of his mother, Emma L. Watkins; also that respondent remodeled said dwelling house in reliance upon and pursuant to her promise that she would sell the Gardner place to him as soon as the title was straightened up through the probate of her deceased husband's estate, but that during February, 1952, she told respondent that he could not buy the Gardner place, unless he bought the entire Watkins farm for $100,000.
The trial court then made findings of valuations and thereby arrived at the amount of the judgment entered in favor of respondent, secured as a lien on the land, as follows:
Reasonable value of remodeled
dwelling, January 1, 1950 ....... $7,200.00
Less 4% annual depreciation
thereon, January 1, 1950, to
April 1, 1952 ...................... 648.00
---------
$6,552.00
Plus value of land leveling .......... 300.00
---------
$6,852.00
Less reasonable value of the
dwelling prior to remodeling ....... 500.00
---------
$6,352.00
Less reasonable rent of dwelling
chargeable to respondent
March 1, 1953, to March 22
1954, @ $60 a month ................ 780.00
---------
Amount of the judgment ............ $5,572.00
The trial court also ruled that respondent had repaid all sums loaned to him by appellant Reid Watkins.
The trial court thereupon entered judgment in favor of respondent and against appellants in the sum of $5,572, and decreed the judgment a lien against the described land, from which judgment appellants perfected appeals.
Appellants assign error of the trial court in overruling their general demurrers to respondent's complaint. The trial court overruled the demurrers on the theory that while the complaint fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action for specific performance, it does as to recovery for the value of the improvements.
The complaint invokes equity jurisdiction. Equity having obtained jurisdiction of the subject matter of a dispute will retain it for settlement of the entire controversy between the parties with respect thereto. Anderson v. Whipple, 71 Idaho 112, 227 P.2d 351. The court in equity will grant all proper relief consistent with the case made and embraced within the issues whether the particular relief be prayed for or not, except in default cases. I.C. § 10-704; Stearns v Williams, 72 Idaho 276, 240 P.2d 833; Anderson v. Whipple, supra; Sims v. Purcell, 74 Idaho 109, 257 P.2d 242; Vanek v. Foster, 74 Idaho 532, 263 P.2d 997.
The complaint negatives a land-lord tenant relationship between appellant Emma L. Watkins and respondent. It alleges an offer on the part of appellant Emma L. Watkins and an acceptance on the part of respondent whereby respondent performed not only by farming the parcel of land, but by expenditure of moneys and labor thereon in substantial and permanent improvements, with his mother's knowledge and acquiescence, upon his going into possession of the property; that while appellant Reid Watkins was not a party to the agreement nevertheless the complaint alleges his knowledge thereof and of the improvements as and when made, and his knowledge of his mother's refusal to sell the Gardner place to respondent during February, 1952; also alleges the sale of the Watkins farm, including the Gardner place, by appellant mother to appellant Reid Watkins evidenced by the written agreement of March 31, 1952. Thusly the complaint alleges the sale by appellant mother and purchase by appellant Reid Watkins, with notice on the part of both of the rights which respondent asserts to the extent of the value of the improvements which he placed in and upon the Gardner place. The trial court properly overruled the general demurrers. Tinkler v. Devine, 159 Kan. 308, 154 P.2d 119; Dyksterhouse v. Ohl, 330 Mich. 599, 48 N.W.2d 122; Van Camp v. Van Camp, 291 Mich. 688, 289 N.W. 297; Superior Oil & Gas Co. v. Mehlin, 25 Okl. 809, 108 P. 545; 49 Am.Jur. sec. 175, p. 199; Carter v. Carter, 182 N.C. 186, 108 S.E. 765, 17 A.L.R. 945; Barker v. McKellar, 50 Idaho 226, 296 P. 196.
Appellant Emma L. Watkins' assignment that the trial court erred in overruling her motion for nonsuit is not well taken. She urges insufficiency of the evidence to prove damages asserted by respondent; but such is not the case. The record shows that respondent produced evidence on that issue sufficient to justify the denial of such motion.
Appellant Reid Watkins assigns error of the trial court in overruling his motion for nonsuit because of insufficiency of the evidence to justify a judgment against him in...
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