165 Iowa 88 | Iowa | 1913
I. This proceeding is a consolidation of different actions in garnishment with a cause in equity, the purpose of which is to hold the defendant, Anderson, liable as garnishee and as defendant, as a claimed debtor of one Bollmeier, against whom judgment had been entered in favor of T. L. Flood and the Treynor Savings Bank. The claim upon which the alleged liability is made to depend is that Bollmeier, who was at the time the owner of an undivided interest in a section of land in the Texas Panhandle, being indebted to the parties above named, with fraudulent intent to defeat the claims of such creditors, conveyed his interest in the land in question to Anderson for a grossly inadequate consideration, and that Anderson, with knowledge of such indebtedness and of the purpose of the conveyance, took title to the land, and also with an agreement, in parol, that upon sale of same, after deducting the consideration paid to Bollmeier and his commissions, the profits arising from the transaction should be equally divided between the parties. There was a trial in the district court resulting in a decree and judgment against Anderson, as defendant and garnishee for
II. In the spring of 1906, Anderson, who was the agent for an Omaha Land Company, and resided in the village of Bentley, in Pottawattamie county, of this state, organized a land seekers’ excursion to Texas, in order to induce prospective purchasers to look at the lands, of this company in that state for sale. As a result of this excursion, Bollmeier, one Hamen, and one Meyer entered into a contract to purchase a section of land, each to have a one-third interest therein. It was understood, of course, that the purchase was for the purpose of realizing a profit on a resale of the land. The price agreed to be paid was $12.50 per acre, and in addition, the purchasers assumed the payment of a school tax in favor of the state of $2 per acre, so' that the total cost price of the land to them was $14.50 per acre. Anderson got a commission of fifty cents per acre for effecting the sale. In the fall of 1907, Meyer secured a contract of sale of the tract to a Nebraska man at the price of $20 per acre; but this contract was not carried out by the purchaser, and nothing was realized from it, save the forfeiture of a small cash payment, which was divided among the owners. But in order to prepare for carrying out this contract the owners undertook to pay off a purchase-money lien of $3,500. To raise his share of this money, Bollmeier gave his note to the plaintiff bank, with plaintiff Flood as surety; and Flood, having been compelled to take up the note, became the creditor of Bollmeier. Meyer procured Anderson, who is his brother-in-law, to become surety on a note to the plaintiff bank for his share of the lien, and Anderson, having paid this note and another note of Meyer’s to the bank for $1,900, on which he was not surety, agreed to take a conveyance' from Meyer of his undivided interest in consideration of this indebtedness, which conveyance was executed in October, 1908, in pursuance of a contract made about November 3, 1907. On October 8, 1908, Hamen also executed a deed to Anderson for his one-third interest for a
IV. The evidence of knowledge by Anderson of a purpose on the part of Bollmeier to cheat his creditors, and especially these plaintiffs, in making the conveyance of the land, depends largely upon the testimony of one Lindt, now deceased, and his stenographer, Emil Schurz. The deed was drawn by Schurz under the direction of Lindt, and it is also claimed by them that the notes which were given as a part of the consideration were prepared by them. Lindt testified that it was then the subject of conversation between the parties, and understood by him, that the purpose of the sale was to defeat the Flood and bank claims. Much of his testimony was of a general nature, consisting largely of conclusions, but with occasional statements showing that Anderson and Bollmeier were driving a trade, each anxious to secure more to his advantage. The testimony of Schurz was substantially the same as that of Lindt. All of it, so far as it related to the purposes of the transaction, is denied by both Bollmeier and Anderson. "We find it necessary to give particular attention to the evidence of Lindt, as well as that of Hamen, because of the facts shown by the record as to how it came to be a part of the case.
The land purchased was situated in Texas. The original purchase was made by Bollmeier and his associates for $14.50 per acre. The evidence shows that of this consideration the vendor received about $9.50 per acre, the balance going to pay commissions. The original sale was in that period prior to the panic of 1907, when investment in raw real estate was rife, and its selling value was limited only by what purchasers could be induced to pay. The prices then obtained, as has since been demonstrated to the sorrow of many investors, could not be taken as representative in all instances of real values, but resulted largely from speculative conditions. The transaction between Bollmeier and Anderson was in November, 1907, at a time when the country was feeling the effects of a business panic, when money was close, values consequently shrinking, and forced sales of property were necessary. Bollmeier had indebtedness he could not meet, he had his interest in the Texas land, and, desiring to dispose of it, approached Anderson, who finally agreed to purchase it at the price of $8 per acre. It appears from the evidence that Anderson also purchased Meyer’s interest in the land for $3,074, and the interest of Hamen for the same amofint, being considerably in excess of the amount paid to Bollmeier. These purchases were concluded a year after the purchase from Bollmeier, that from Meyer being in pursuance of the contract given to Anderson almost a year previous, to secure him
The decree of the trial court is — Reversed.