212 P.2d 867 | Colo. | 1949
ON February 10, 1927, O'Byrne contracted with one McNeill to act as his attorney in proceedings to enforce a lien on certain mining property, on which O'Byrne also claimed a lien, for a fee of one-third the recovery and with right to employ other counsel to assist him. A few weeks later, O'Byrne engaged Scofield to assist him in prosecuting this claim, and by instrument in writing, assigned to Scofield a one-half interest in his fee contract with McNeill, "including any and all rights of action which may accrue thereunder, together with all other rights of whatever nature or kind under said contract in connection therewith or in the making thereof."
O'Byrne and Scofield under such employment by McNeill obtained judgment in his favor, made levy thereunder on the mining property and obtained sheriff's deed thereto conveying a fractional interest to O'Byrne and the remaining interest to McNeill. The respective interests were finally determined in the case of O'Byrnev. McNeill,
Scofield made no demand on O'Byrne for payment from 1937, when the last payment as of fees was made, until about January, 1945. The relations between O'Byrne and Scofield continued friendly, and there was no apparent dispute of any sort between them. One of the payments made by O'Byrne to Scofield in February, 1937, was in the sum of $1,250.00, and late in 1944 O'Byrne made claim that this payment was made as a loan to Scofield rather than as a payment on account of fees, and asked for its return. Scofield denied that it was a loan and refused to repay it or any part of it. After some controversy, Scofield wrote O'Byrne on January 29, 1945, referring to the payment and saying, inter alia: "For many long years, I represented you as counsel without any agreement as to what my compensation would be, with a full knowledge that I would receive nothing unless you obtained title to the mining property that you now own and were able to liquidate it for cash. You finally did liquidate it and for a time paid me as the payments came in, a reasonable portion of the amount received by you. You finally tapered off and failed to make any payments. In as much as you now desire to enter into a controversy with me, I demand the balance of my fee which I believe to be at this time $1500.00, after giving you credit for the $1250.00 which you have mentioned to me."
Scofield testified that during all these years he had forgotten the assignment which had been made to him of a half interest in the property and had no recollection of it until he discovered the instrument of assignment some time later. Then, on August 23, 1945, he again wrote O'Byrne, reciting the employment and the property interest acquired thereby and requesting an *575 accounting of receipts and expenditures together with a conveyance of his interest in the property. Apparently this letter, as well as that of the preceding January, was ignored.
In the meantime, in 1942, McNeill had brought suit against Carlson and others for conversion of certain personalty belonging to him and located on this mining property of which McNeill and O'Byrne were tenants in common of record by virtue of the sheriff's deed above mentioned, and also, in a second cause of action, for damages to the real estate by forcibly entering thereon. In that action McNeill obtained judgment for $7,500.00 on his second cause of action in August, 1943. Thereafter, subsequent to the affirmance of that judgment by this court, in Carlson v. McNeill,
By answer O'Byrne raised several issues and upon trial thereof the court found in favor of Scofield, holding the assignment valid and adjudging him to be entitled to a share in any recovery under the writ of garnishment as prayed, and awarding him judgment against O'Byrne for a share of the $32,000.00 received by O'Byrne under the contract for sale of the mining property, less the sum of $6,500.00 already paid to him *576 and less Scofield's proportionate share of taxes and costs of litigation with interest, which O'Byrne paid out.
Reversal is here sought on the following grounds: (1) That the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted; (2) that the contract between O'Byrne and Scofield was void, because between attorney and client; (3) the statute of limitations; (4) estoppel, and (5) laches.
[1, 2] 1. The petition in intervention contained a short and plain statement of the claim. It indicated the type of litigation, gave a generalized summary and afforded fair notice of the issue tendered. That is all that is required. Berryman v. Berryman,
[3] 2. Although sometimes so appearing on the records, O'Byrne and Scofield were not in fact attorney and client, but were associates working together, first as attorneys representing the same client and later as co-owners protecting their common property interest. Moreover, contracts between attorney and client are not void, as contended by counsel, but voidable, and there is nothing either in the pleadings or proof to suggest that O'Byrne sought to avoid the contract on that ground.
[4] 3. Counsel asserts that the statute of limitations began to run upon issuance of the sheriff's deed and barred the claim, but cites no authorities in support of this assertion. When O'Byrne took title to the property interest acquired by the joint efforts of the two men in his own name, he took it subject to his agreement to assign and convey to Scofield a one-half interest therein, *577 and there was created a resulting trust as to such one-half interest. There is no element of fraud or bad faith involved. The title is presumed to have been so taken by mutual consent and there is no suggestion in the record to the contrary. Such holding does not give rise to a cause of action in favor of the cestui until demand on his part or denial of the trust on the part of the trustee. Bogert, Trusts and Trustee, Vol. 4, Part 2, page 209, § 952; Perry on Trusts and Trustees (7th ed.), vol. II, page 1478, § 865. There was here no denial of the trust until after Scofield's letter of August, 1945, and the statute had not barred the claim.
[5] 4. The next ground urged is estoppel. The argument is based on the silence of Scofield when, it is said, he was duty bound to assert his interest as separate from that of O'Byrne in the litigation concerning the property. Since the title was in the name of O'Byrne and the question of beneficial ownership was not a matter of concern in the several suits, there appears to be no reason why Scofield's interest should have been injected therein. O'Byrne admittedly was aware of the assignment at all times and there is no evidence that he changed his position or was in any way prejudiced by failure of Scofield to assert his interest or even by his letter, written a few months before he discovered the assignment, demanding the balance of fees he then considered due. There is no contention that O'Byrne paid the fee demanded in the letter or any part of it and there is no evidence that as a result of the silence or oversight of Scofield he was in any way misled to his disadvantage. "Estoppel can arise only where the one relying thereon has changed his position to his material detriment because of the conduct of the other party."Thomas, Conservator v. First Nat. Bank,
[6] 5. The last ground urged is laches. We have already *578
discussed the defense of the statute of limitations. Ordinarily, where the law provides a statute of limitations, it will be followed in equity. "The statute fixes a limitation beyond which the courts cannot extend the time, but within this limit the peculiar doctrine of courts of equity should prevail." Great West Min. Co. v. Woodmasof Alston Min. Co.,
In the case before us the agreement under which Scofield assisted O'Byrne in the litigation for a contingent fee was executed March 15, 1927. Thereafter they proceeded with their services to the common client McNeill, with the result that the lien was established and the decree signed on August 29, 1927, but due to dispute with their client the matter was carried to this court where it was not finally decided until February 1, 1932. O'Byrne v. McNeill,
Warren v. Adams,
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
MR. JUSTICE MOORE and MR. JUSTICE HOLLAND not participating. *581