90 Iowa 414 | Iowa | 1894
I. The petition charges, in substance, that plaintiff is the owner of an undivided one half of certain real estate in Scott county, Iowa. That Nettie
II. Doubtless the defendant Daniels did wrong in selling the farm and taking the title to the city lot in her own name. She had no right so to do, but, in view of the subsequent acts of plaintiff in accepting the deed obtained by White from her mother, she ought not now to be permitted to repudiate its conditions. True, plaintiff claims she never accepted this deed. She knew that White was acting for her as well as for her sister. She had been told that if she did not obtain a deed for her interest, and her mother died, the daughter by a subsequent husband would also come in for a share in the lot. Her own testimony shows that she was willing for her mother to take all the rents and profits of the place which she might need for her support." From the whole record it is apparent that the real object of plaintiff was to get a deed to her undivided one half, so that her mother could not sell or incumber it, and so that, in the event of her death, no interest in this lot would pass to her mother’s daughter by the second husband. Now, while the plaintiff says she never accepted this deed, her statement amounts to nothing, as she admits she received it, and kept it, and from October 15, 1880, to October 13, 1890, she did nothing to dispute the right of her mother’s possession to the property under the terms of the deed until the latter date, when this action was commenced. When she did talk to her mother about the matter, she did not claim that the provision in the
III. One ground of plaintiff’s claim is that even if the deed from defendant Daniels to her is not reformed by eliminating the provision therein relating to Daniels’ life estate, then her life estate should be decreed to be forfeited because of failure to perform the .conditions in relation to payment of taxes, repairs, and insurance. The main ground on which a forfeiture is claimed is touching the insurance. In that respect the deed provided that defendant Daniels “shall at all times keep the insurable part of said premises insured ' in a reasonable amount, for the benefit of those owning such insurable interest.” Now, defendant Daniels has kept the property insured in the sum of one thousand, two hundred dollars. No fault is found that the amount of the insurance is not as great as it should be, but it is said that by virtue of the wording of the policy defendant Daniels’ interest is insured, whereas the intent of the provision was to protect only the insurable interest of plaintiff and the defendant Grrant, for their exclusive benefit. The policy insures “Marietta W. Hurto and