78 Mich. 415 | Mich. | 1889
In March, 1869, Jonathan Rose, now deceased, was the owner of 80 acres of land in the township of Benton and county of Berrien, in this State. On the 3d day of that month he and his wife, Amelia Rose (now dead), executed and delivered to William J. Rose a warranty deed, without any conditions in said deed. William J. Rose was a, son of Jonathan and Amelia, the husband of the complainant Frederica Abele, and the father of the complainants Rose. On the same day, William J. Rose and ,his wife gave back to Jonathan a mortgage upon the land to secure eight notes for $175 each, with 7 per cent, interest, payable annually. Bach year thereafter one of these notes became due. The last one became due March 3, 1877. At the same time
“Now, the object of this lease is to secure to the parties of the second part the payment of $175 per annum for eight years, until the sum of $1,400 has been paid. And it is also agreed between the said parties that the said Jonathan Eose and Amelia Eose shall have the use of the farm, and as a home for them, during their natural lives.”
Immediately after the making of these papers, William J. Eose and family moved upon the farm, and William managed it as his own property, and supported his father and mother until he died, on March 21, 1871. Jonathan Eose then took the possession of the farm, as he claimed, under the life-lease, and ordered the widow of William from the premises, and she went. During this time some payments had been made on the mortgage, and some of the notes taken up. March 4, 1874, Jonathan Eose assigned the mortgage and the remaining notes to Samuel McGuigan. In that year McGuigan began a foreclosure, by advertisement, of this mortgage.
July 30, 1874, the complainants, Frederica. Abele and the children of William J. Eose, filed a bill in chancery in the circuit court for the county of Berrien, against Samuel McGuigan and Jonathan Eose, to enjoin said foreclosure. This is the first suit, entitled as above. Jonathan Eose died in 1877, leaving McGuigan sole defendant. This action was still pending when, June 25,
Upon the pleadings, and under the proofs taken, the circuit court for the county of Berrien, in chancery, decreed, January 31, 1889, in favor of McGuigan. Said-court found due upon the notes and mortgage the sum cf $1,733, and decreed that the same be paid on or before May 1, 1889, together with the interest and costs, or the mortgaged premises be sold in the usual manner under foreclosures in chancery. The complainants appeal.
The claim of Mrs. Abele and the Bose children, in their bill of complaint and in the testimony of Mrs. Abele, was that • at the time these papers were executed Jonathan and Amelia Bose were aged and infirm, and desired to have William J. Bose and his wife come and reside on this land, and take care of them; that Jonathan agreed that if they would do so he would execute a complete conveyance of the land to William, for which the latter should pay him $1,600, — $200 down, and $1,400 in eight equal annual payments, — it being also the intent and agreement that William should manage and carry on
About two weeks after his death, while the appraisers were there to inventory the property of William J. Rose, •one of them called the attention of Jonathan Rose, his wife being then dead, to the peculiar phraseology of the life-lease as to the use of the farm. Until that time he had never made any claim to such use; but he then said that he should take control of the farm, and manage it while he lived. It is shown by the appraisers and others that he acknowledged the personal property, stock, and crops on the farm to be William’s; and they were inventoried at first, and taken by the administratrix, his widow, as a part of his estate.
The bill of complaint alleges that the rental value of the farm when the writings were executed, and while William lived upon it, was worth more than $175 per
Jonathan Eose, though served with process and appearing in the case by counsel, never answered.
McG-uigan, in his answer, admits the execution of the deed, mortgage, and life-lease, but asserts that the language of the lease asserts its true meaning. Denies that it was ever intended that William J. Eose, in the lifetime of Jonathan, should have the use and occupation of the premises. Denies that $200 was paid down when the papers were executed. Denies all the other material
“ That the said William J. lióse and his wife, Frederica, were poor, and without means, and the said Jonathan and Amelia were old; that the said William J. was anxious to make his home with the old folks, the said Jonathan and Amelia, and obtain, if possible, title to the farm then and for a long time prior thereto owned and occupied by them as a homestead, and which was then worth about three thousand dollars. That on or about the 3d day of March, A. D. 1-869, the said William J. did, after repeated and persistent . endeavor, and by .soft murmurings of sweet nothings, induce his parents, the said Jonathan and Amelia, to enter into an agreement substantially as follows: That at the death of the said Jonathan and Amelia the said William J. should become entitled to, and should own, the said described premises; that in consideration thereof the said William J. should pay to said Jonathan the sum of $1,400, in eight equal annual payments, with interest at seven per cent, per annum, payable annually. And it was agreed that the said William J. and his wife, Frederica, should tend to and care for their aged parents, the said Jonathan and Amelia, during their natural lives, in a kind and loving manner. That thereupon the said deed, life-lease, and mortgage, and the notes evidencing the sum secured thereby, were drawn and delivered as before stated. That subsequently, in order better to carry out the agreement by which the said William J. and Frederica were to care for the old folks, as hereinbefore set forth, the said Jonathan rented the farm to the said William J., and allowed him, and his wife and family, to occupy the house thereon jointly with himself and wife, Amelia.”
Denies that Frederica and her children were expelled from the premises by Jonathan, but avers that she deserted him and the place. Admits that at the time he purchased the notes and mortgage he had notice of the life-lease, but denies that he was informed or knew of any waste committed, or damage done the premises, by the taking of timber or otherwise. Avers that he has
At the hearing of the case, in January, 1889, the following further stipulation was made:
“All the testimony in the case shall be considered by the court, and all pleadings shall be deemed to have sufficient allegations to support the testimony.”
I am satisfied that the intention of the parties in the execution of the deed, notes and mortgage, and life-lease was as claimed by the complainant, and that it was supposed by all the parties that the language of the lease conformed to such intention, until after the death of William J. Eose, and that the first idea that Jonathan Eose had that he could absolutely control and manage the farm under such lease was after his attention was called to the last clause of it by Mr. Yandevere, one of the appraisers of William’s estate. William, while he lived, controlled and managed the farm as his own, with the consent of Jonathan. The claim that Jonathan rented it to William is not sustained by the evidence. The counsel for McGuigan claims that the fact that Frederica, as administratrix, inventoried only two-thirds of the growing crops as the property of the estate, bears, testimony in favor of the rent theory; but this was done after Jonathan made up his mind to take advantage' of the lease. The appraisers testify that while they were there he pointed out all the property as William’s, and laid no claim to any of the growing crops.
The three instruments must be construed together; and in that light, and in view of the evident understanding of the parties, it must be held that the lease was intended as an additional security to the payment of the notes, and the last clause was intended simply to insure to
“That the said Jonathan and Amelia shall have the use of the farm as a home for them during their natural lives.”
If the object of the lease was, as stated in it, to secure the payment of $175 per annum for eight years, what purpose was the lease to serve after this money was paid? If under it Jonathan was to have the complete use, control, and management of the farm during his life, where-was the security in it for the payment of this money?' The terms of the lease, and the possession and control of' the place, would be in Jonathan, whether the $175 per-year for eight years was paid or not. And there wa& nothing in the lease that would prompt William to pay the money, or tend in any way to secure such payment to Jonathan, as, under the theory of the defendant, the lease would remain, and its operation and terms be, the same after payment as before. This lease is ambiguous and not easily explainable, as it stands. The intent of the parties cannot be certainly gathered from it. We are therefore authorized to go outside of it, for these reasons, and also because, standing alone, it is not the entire contract of the parties. We must go to the deed, the mortgage, and the other facts surrounding the transaction- of the execution of the three instruments, and get the intent of the lease therefrom. And it is safe, as well as just, to take the intention of the parties as manifested by their acts at the time, and thereafter until William's death. Following this intent, we must hold that. Jonathan had no right to take possession of one-third of the crops on the place when William died, or to expelFrederica and her children from the farm, which he did-
The decree of the court below gave to McGuigan the face of the notes, with interest. The following deductions should have been made: Fifty dollars, with interest
Jonathan, also had the use of the farm after William’s death. The rental of the same was variously estimated from $175 to $240 yearly. Jonathan was entitled, probably, to his living thereon, as Frederica did not care for him, which was his own fault. We shall credit upon the mortgage $50 for three years, making $150 with interest at 7 per cent, from March 4, 1874. These deductions, as
A decree will be entered here in favor of said Samuel McG-uigan for that amount, with interest at 7 per cent, from January 31, 1889, less the costs of both courts, in favor of complainants, t.o be taxed. The balance remaining after such costs are deducted to be paid on or before 60 days after the taxation of, costs, or the premises to be sold to satisfy the same, in the usual manner of foreclosure sales.