22 Minn. 132 | Minn. | 1875
The referee before whom this case was tried below finds the following facts. On June 16, 1868, John Matthews, then and ever since the husband of the plaintiff, entered into a written agreement with one Wbeeler for the purchase of certain land situate in Washington county, Matthews, on bis part, agreeing to pay for the same $3,000.00 as follows: $200.00 down, $800.00 by November
It is further found that prior to and on November 5, 1868, John Matthews was indebted to defendants, Torinus, Staples & Co., in the sum $52.15 for goods solds, etc., and that the .account between them was continued till December, 1869, at which time the indebtedness of Matthews to them had largely increased; that on October 17, 1872, in the district ■court for Washington county, they recovered judgment against Matthews upon his said indebtedness for the sum of $1,315.42, which sum included the aforesaid indebtedness ot $52.15. The judgment is unpaid, and has been duly docketed in said county.
Our statute (Gen. St. ch. 43, §§ 7, 8,) enacts that when a grant for a valuable consideration is made to one person* and the consideration therefor is paid by another, the conveyance shall be presumed fraudulent “as against the creditors, at that time, of the person paying the consideration ;” and when a fraudulent intent is not disproved, a trust shall result in favor of such creditors to the extent that may be necessary to satisfy their just demands.
The consideration of the convejumce to plaintiff consisted of the right of John Matthews under his contract of purchase, which was turned in as part of the consideration at the time of the execution of the conveyance, of $800.00-in cash paid at the same time, and of the two promissory notes made at the same time, also by John Matthews, for $1,000.00 each. The payment of the consideration and the execution of the conveyance were, therefore, simultaneous ; for the notes are to be considered as payment, because they evidenced a binding obligation upon their maker and operated as payment, in fact, for the land — that is to say, so that the grantor’s title passed to the grantee absolutely. Gorton v. Massey, 12 Minn. 145 ; Lounsbury v. Purdy, 16 Barb. 376 ; s. c., 18 N. Y. 515. For the purposes of this case it is, therefore, unnecessary to enquirewhether the words “ at the time,” in the statute cited, have reference to the time of the execution of the conveyance, or of the payment of the consideration, or to the time when both the execution of the conveyance and the payment of the consideration money are consummated, for in this case these times are one and the same. In whichever sense the-words “ at the time ” are to be taken, the referee has found that, at such time, the defendants were creditors of John Matthews in the sum of $52.15 only, and, therefore, under
The referee not having found the absence of a fraudulent intent, such intent is to be taken as “not disproved.” It follows that, under the statutory provisions cited, the conveyance was fraudulent, and that a trust of the land, conveyed resulted in favor of said defendants to the extent necessary to satisfy their demand for $52.15, but not to such extent as would be required to satisfy the balance of the indebtedness upon which their judgment was recovered, either in whole or in part.
The referee has not found facts which would make the conveyance fraudulent, or raise any trust, irrespective of the statutory provisions to which we have referred. In other words, except so far as the conveyance in question is made fraudulent, and the trust raised, by those provisions, the facts found do not warrant a conclusion of law that the conveyance is fraudulent at all, or that any trust exists; and, as the facts found render the conveyance fraudulent, and raise a trust, only as respects the indebtedness of $52.15, it follows that they do not support the referee’s conclusion of law. The judgment entered upon the report must, therefore, be reversed, and the report set aside.
The plaintiff in her complaint alleges that she is owner in possession of the premises before mentioned; that defendants, Torinus, Staples & Co., claim a lien upon said premises by virtue of the judgment aforesaid and the docketing thereof; that they are proceeding to sell the premises upon an execution issued upon their judgment, and that the sale will cloud and injuriously affect her title ; and she demands judgment that the pretended lien be declared void, that the enforcement thereof be forever barred, and that the sheriff, who is also made defendant, be enjoined from selling the premises, or any part thereof, upon the execution.
The answer sets up many facts of importance upon the
As their answer stated a counter-claim, the defendants insist that its allegations were admitted by plaintiff’s failure to reply, and that, therefore, the report of the referee should be treated as if he had found the facts alleged in the answer going to show the fraudulent character of the conveyance in question, and the fraudulent trust upon which plaintiff holds the premises. But, without adverting.to any other consideration, it is sufficient, in answer to this position, to
Judgment reversed, and report of referee set aside.