Royston v. Horner

Fowler, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. On the sixth of April, 1888, John W. Royston filed his bill in the Circuit Court of Baltimore City against the same appellee against whom the bill in this case was filed by him and his committee. In the first bill he alleged his own imbecility and unfitness to attend to business ; that he could be easily influenced ; that, whilst in this condition of mind he had been induced to sell to the appellee certain valuable property for an insignificant sum; that another and the appellee combined and conspired to cheat him ; that they, through fraudulent statements and promises, induced him also to execute a deed to the appellee of all his contingent interests in the estates of his brothers and sisters which he would own in the event of their dying without issue. In the bill of 1888 Royston prayed that all these deeds might be set aside; that a receiver might be appointed to collect rents, &c.

Answers were promptly filed by the appellee and his alleged co-conspirators, and in January, 1889, the plaintiff began to take testimony and continued at intervals until 15th July of the same year. None appeal's to have been taken on his behalf thereafter. The defendants took no testimony whatever. The next step taken under the bill of 1888 was a decree dated August 28, 1889, which was passed with the consent of all the parties, that the bill be dismissed.

Presently, when we have occasion to consider the facts set forth in the bill in this case it will fully appear what induced or at least what is alleged to have induced the parties to take this course. The bill of 1888 having been ²⁵¹ thus dismissed, as appears by the evidence in this case, after a settlement of the controversy, the plaintiff named in the bill, John W. Royston, was, without any notice to him, not only found to be a lunatic at that time, but it was adjudged that he had been so for twenty years, without lucid intervals and incapable of the management of his person or property. Campbell B. Royston was appointed the committee of his person and estate. In less than a month thereafter the bill which resulted in the appeal reported in 75 Md. 559 was filed.

In this last-named bill filed by the alleged lunatic and his committee, it is alleged that the various conveyances therein named, being the same mentioned in the bill of 1888, were made by said Royston when he was in an unsound condition of mind, and that the defendant Horner had within the short time he held and enjoyed the property so conveyed to him, received in rent the sum $4,315.00 or nearly three times as much as he had paid said Royston for it. And the prayer is that the deeds be set aside because of the lunacy of Royston and that Horner may be required to account for the rents which he has received, and that a receiver may be appointed, &c. To this bill Horner pleaded res adjudicata based upon the consent decree of August 28, 1889. After a most careful and elaborate examination of the authorities, and of the decree itself, we held in 75 Md. that that decree' was a flat bar to the second bill, which as we have seen was the first attempt to get rid of the decree of x889.

The bill in this case, which may be called the third of the series, and the second vain endeavor to avoid the binding force of the decree of 1889, was filed within a few months after the case in 75 Md. was decided. In the opinion in that case it is said that there was in the bill no allegation of fraud in obtaining the decree of 1889, and that without such allegation and proof, the decree must stand. Hence in the bill now before us, the allegation on which the appellant bases his claim to be again heard is that the decree of 1889 was obtained by means of certain threats made to the sister of Royston to have him arrested on the charge of forging ²⁵² certain promissory notes. It is to be noticed that it appears to be conceded that Royston had signed the names of the makers of the notes in question without authority.

Claiming that these threats amount to fraud and