65 W. Va. 683 | W. Va. | 1909
Anna Criss filed her bill in equity in tlie circuit court of Harrison county against Michael Criss, and her bill was dismissed on demurrer, and she appeals.
. The bill states that Anna Criss was owner of a lot on Main street in the city of Clarksburg, and that she conveyed it to Hezekiah F. Criss; and that later in consideration of some of the purchase money which he ‘had not paid her and of further-indebtedness of him to her, Hezekiah 3?. Criss conveyed to Howard P. Criss, a son of Anna Criss, a certain lot on Monticello avenue and Maude street in Clarksburg, on which was a dwelling-house, which was occupied by the said Anna Criss and her fam-ilv. That the conveyance by Hezekiah P. Criss of said lot to Howard P. Criss was in trust for the use and benefit of his mother, Anna Criss, and that.Howard P. Criss accepted the said conveyance in trust for his mother, she having paid the whole consideration therefor; that later, as Howard .P. Criss
The main question in this case, that on which the defence really rests, is, on the theory, based on the statement of the bill, that the conveyance from Ilezekiah E. Criss to Howard P. Criss, as also that from Howard P. Criss to Michael Criss were made to hinder and defraud creditors, and that equity will not enforce a trust created for such illegal purpose; that a grantor in a deed made with intent to defraud by covering up the property in another name will not be allowed to regain the property in a court of equity; that the deed is good and binding at law between its grantor and grantee, passing legal title, and that equity, though the grantee paid nothing, and agreed to hold for the use of the grantor, will not compel the grantee to re-convey to the grantor, and thus countenance fraudulent conveyances. This Court has discussed this subject in many cases. Poling v. Williams, 55 W. Va. 69; Edgell v. Smith, 50 Id. 349. I refer to that excellent late work, American & English Annotated Cases. In Vol. 3, p. 942, is an elaborate collection of cases.
It is argued that this trust being by oral agreement, it is void under the statute of frauds'for'want of a writing declaring it. It is well established in this State that such a trust need not be declared or created in writing. Iiogg’s Eq. Princ., p. 740. It is useless to multiply authorities for a proposition so well established in this State. Counsel for the defence cite us to Cain v. Cox, 23 W. Va. 594, and Troll v. Carter, 15 Id. 567, to show that a writing is required. In those cases the conveyance was to hold in trust for the grantor himself, not the case where one conveys to hold in trust for a third person. To say that where one conveys to another to hold for the benefit of the grantor would be flat contradiction of the deed, and hence would not be good as a trust. Troll v. Carter expressly'says, however, that if the conveyance be made without consideration upon trust that the grantee will hold for a third person such trust will he enforced. In this case the deeds were not from Anna Criss as grantor in trust for herself, but the conveyance was made between other parties to hold in trust for her.
If the facts stated in the bill are true, law and justice combine to sustain the plaintiff’s cause. Therefore, we hold that the bill presents the case of an enforceable trust, and we reverse the decree of the circuit court, and overrule the demurrer and remand the cause.
Reversed.