35 Iowa 543 | Iowa | 1872
The evidence, to our minds, very satisfactorily establishes the fact that defendant acquired the title to the land under an arrangement with Wholihan, whereby he was to receive certain benefits and advantages. We do not deem it profitable to enter upon an extended discussion of the evidence in order to support our conclusion by argument; such is not our habit in cases of this kind in which no controverted questions of law are found. We will briefly state certain facts which we think are established by the evidence and support the conclusion we have announced. Wholihan was largely indebted. There were numerous judgments and some mortgages upon his lands which, though valuable, if disposed of at sheriff’s sale, would not probably pay the liens upon them. A contract was entered into between the parties under which defendant was to advance certain sums to discharge the liens and take a deed of the lands, which were to be sold by him. and the proceeds applied to reimbursing the amount to
He relied upon the advice of defendant in the selection of the appraisex*s, and assented to the sale of mox*e land than was necessary to satisfy the executions in the hands of the sheriff. He knew that defendant had opened negotiations for the sale of the land before his pxirchase under the executions, and was advised that the consideration defendant demanded was greater than the amount of the bid at the sheriff’s sale. Other acts of the parties as well
Our next inquiry is, on what condition does the claim
By adopting the foregoing view the arrangement between the parties approaches more nearly the terms agreed upon when the conveyance was made by Wholihan to defendant. As the parties’ minds have been brought to assent to that arrangement, it is to be supposed that a subsequent agreement approaching thereto in its effect would meet the approval of each.
It is our opinion that plaintiffs are entitled to the Nassom lands, and the eighty and twenty-five acre tracts unsold by defendant after the discharge of the liens contemplated by the agreement between the parties; these are such liens as bound the lands bought by defendant. As it is impossible to determine the amount of these liens, or. even how many they are, and who holds them, from the abstract upon which the case is submitted to us, the cause will be remanded to the district court for the determination of these questions on this branch of the case, unless counsel can agree thereon and enter into a stipulation as
III. Plaintiffs claim that as the deed from Wholihan to defendant is yet in his hands, and as he did not reconvey the property to Wholihan, he holds the land in trust under that deed as a mortgagor. This portion is answered by the fact that the agreement under which the statement of that deed was executed was set aside by the voluntary agreement of the parties, and another entered into. Now, it was competent for them to do this. The terms of the subsequent agreement we have attempted to discover, and we hold that it shall be enforced. It matters not whether defendant holds title under the deed of Wholihan or the sheriff’s deed, plaintiffs’ rights are the same. It is useless therefore to inquire as to the effect of Wholihan’s deed.
The decree of the district court will be modified to accord with this opinion, and the cause is remanded for that purpose.
Modified and affirmed.