199 Ky. 235 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1923
Opinion of the Court by
— Affirming.
In 1913 Rutk Brown, tke widow of Mason Brown, was tke owner of a life estate in a tract of land in Rockcastle county. Tke remainder interest belonged to ker six living ckildren. Five of tkem joined witk ker in a deed conveying tke land to ker son-in-law, W. E. Hasty. Tke consideration was $600.00 to tke remaindermen and tke retention by Rutk Brown of exclusive control of tke east room of tke dwelling, witk wood for fuel “wkile on said land,” and tke rigkt “to take ker meals at said Hasty’s table so long as ske remains a widow of said Mason M.
There are two questions presented: First, could Hasty, under the terms of the deed and independent of his treatment of plaintiff, be required to maintain her away from his home; and, second, if he could not, did he breach the contract and deprive her of exercising the rights therein reserved to her?
The first question just mentioned depends on the contract itself. The language thereof pertaining to the consideration as to Ruth Brown is that she shall “retain exclusive control of the east room of the dwelling, and wood on said land for fuel and while on said land to take her meals at. said ITasty’s table .so long as she remains a widow of said Mason M. Brown or during her natural life ■ as such.” There is, in our judgment, no room for differences of opinion as to the meaning of this provision. The obligation of the grantee was to furnish Mrs. Brown meals “while on said land,” or, in other words, during her occupancy of the part of the house reserved to her. In Keltner v. Keltner, 6 Ben Monroe 40, a deed somewhat similar to this one was involved. A bill was filed to set aside the deed on the ground of the refusal of the grantees to support and maintain the grantor, their father.
The second contention rightly assumes that unkind treatment from appellee or his family, which the grantor could not reasonably endure, would effectuate a breach of the contract. Keltner v. Keltner, supra. And also, in the event of such a breach, an action for damages therefor would lie. Pitman v. Doan, 175 Ky. 709. The first of these assumptions is to be determined on the evidence. In the briefs there are elaborate discussions of incidents related by the various witnesses, many of which have no probative value, or are susceptible of conflicting constructions, indicating ill-temper or nothing, according to the viewpoint of the witness. Mrs. Brown testified to occurrences which, if undenied, would undoubtedly sustain the claim of mistreatment. Appellee’s evidence on those points conflicts with Mrs. Brown’s version, and tends to show that her interpretation of their meaning resulted from a highly sensitive temper. Undoubtedly most of the incidents were trivial and are not uncommon among the members of a devoted family; others were sources of unwarranted inference. There may have been grounds for Mrs. Brown’s belief that the treatment accorded her was not that to which she was entitled under her agreement, but the majority of the occurrences on which she relied neither' sustained her contention nor justified her deductions. Gn the other hand the evidence for appellee shows that Mrs. Brown was treated with kindness and consideration, and that her grievances arose from trivial incidents which would have passed unnoticed by one less sensitive than she was.
This court has adopted the rule, in an unbroken line of decisions, that where the proof on an equitable issue is conflicting, and the mind of the court is left in doubt as