99 Me. 469 | Me. | 1905
Bill in equity to enforce a resulting trust in an undivided half interest in the Hotel Brewer property at Bar Harbor. The case comes here on the defendants’ appeal. The plaintiff claims that as the result of certain negotiations to which he was a party, the Hotel Brewer was purchased for $9,000; that' $6,000 of the purchase money was raised on the notes of the defendants secured by a mortgage of the property; that of the remaining $8,000, he and John
The defendants deny that plaintiff had anything to do with the negotiations leading up to the purchase. They deny all except that the plaintiff did contribute $400 of the purchase money under such circumstances as to raise a resulting trust in the property to that extent. And the defendants further say that the plaintiff’s own evidence shows that even if the $1100 was advanced for the plaintiff, no indebtedness was thereby created, that the plaintiff did not become debtor and Coney creditor, as to the $1100, that the plaintiff in no way became obligated to repay it to Coney, but that Coney was to repay himself out of the rents when received by him, and that he was to look not to the plaintiff for repayment, but to the property only. And, hence it is claimed that the $1100 was not the plaintiff’s, was not loaned to him, was not paid by him or for him, and that under such circumstances a resulting trust would not arise. This presents the one important question of fact argued before us. There is no dispute or uncertainty about the law.
If, on the other hand, as the defendants claim, it appears, assuming the evidence of the plaintiff as a whole to be true, that John J. Coney advanced the $1100 for the plaintiff, with the understanding that it should be paid back out of the rents, and without any obligation on the part of the plaintiff to repay, and with the agreement that onelialf of the property should belong to the plaintiff when the advance was repaid, no trust of any kind arose. No express trust, because not in writing. No. implied trust, because the plaintiff paid nothing.
Now what was the fact? The question was submitted to a jury who found for the plaintiff. The presiding justice found and decreed for the plaintiff. All this gives the plaintiff a strong advantage. The question now is, — Is the decision of the presiding justice as to the facts clearly wrong? If not it must be affirmed. Young v.
It would serve no useful purpose to comment at length upon the evidence. But after a careful examination of the whole record, we are of opinion that the evidence warrants the conclusion that the decree should be sustained.
Decree below affirmed, with additional costs.