Schoonover v. Birnbaum

SLOSS, J.

The plaintiff is trustee of the estate of Mary E. Birnbaum, a bankrupt. Claiming, as such trustee, to own the undivided one half of certain premises, he brought this action for partition. The defendant appeals from an interlocutory decree directing a sale of the premises. The allegations of the complaint were all found by the court to be true. Taken alone, they were sufficient to justify the granting of the interlocutory decree, and the only question is whether the relief sought should have been withheld by reason of further findings in favor of affirmative allegations made by the answer. The answer alleged that prior to the making of the order adjudging Mary E. Birnbaum a bankrupt, she and defendant were the owners of the premises in question as tenants in common; that while they were such owners, and in possession, said Mary E. Birnbaum executed and recorded a declaration of homestead upon said premises; that after the adjudication of bankruptcy, and before the commencement of this action, the plaintiff, as trustee, had commenced an action against said Mary E. Birnbaum to recover the undivided one half of said premises; that in that action the plaintiff had recovered judgment, from which Mary E. Birnbaum had appealed, her appeal being, as alleged in the answer, still pending and not likely to be determined within two years.

It is not claimed that these allegations constituted any defense to the action. The extent of appellant’s contention is that the matters set up in his answer furnished ground for postponing a sale in the present suit until the action of the plaintiff against Mary E. Birnbaum should be finally determined. But we see no ground for upholding this view. The court found that plaintiff was the owner of an undivided

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interest in the property, and such ownership entitled him to partition. The findings as to the former suit and the facts upon which it was based are not inconsistent with the finding of plaintiff’s ownership. At most the title was in dispute between plaintiff and a third party. (It may be remarked incidentally that since the making of the interlocutory decree here appealed from this court has affirmed the judgment in the suit between plaintiff and Mary B. Birnbaum, holding that the latter’s claim of homestead was invalid because attempted to be attached to an undivided interest.