Sathoff v. Sutterer

SUPREME COURT CASES

Laws-info.com » Cases » Illinois » 5th District Appellate » 2007 » Sathoff v. Sutterer

Sathoff v. Sutterer

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-06-0257 Rel

Case Date: 05/08/2007

Preview:NO. 5-06-0257
N O T IC E Decision filed 05/08/07. The text of this dec ision m ay b e changed or corrected prior to the P e t i ti o n for filing of a or the

IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

Re hea ring

FIFTH DISTRICT ________________________________________________________________________ ROGER SATHOFF, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellant, ) Monroe County. ) v. ) No. 05-CH-22 ) WAYNE SUTTERER, Executor of the ) Estate of Melba Busse, Deceased, and ) Unknown Owners, ) Honorable ) Dennis B. Doyle, Defendants-Appellees. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE WEXSTTEN delivered the opinion of the court: The plaintiff, Roger Sathoff, filed an action to quiet title and for a declaratory judgment in the circuit court of Monroe County. The circuit court granted the motion to dismiss filed by the defendant, W ayne Sutterer, the executor of Melba Busse's estate. On appeal, the plaintiff argues that the circuit court misconstrued the law regarding joint tenancy and misapprehended the facts in the case. We affirm. FACTS The facts in the present action are undisputed. On June 5, 1981, Theodore Busse conveyed real estate to Paul Busse and Melba Busse (husband and wife) and the plaintiff as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, and the deed was recorded on June 9, 1981. Pursuant to a deed dated February 29, 1996, Paul and Melba transferred their interest in the real estate from Paul and M elba, as joint tenants, grantors, to Paul and Melba, as joint tenants, grantees, and this deed was recorded on March 12, 1996. Paul predeceased Melba, who predeceased the plaintiff.

disposition of the same.

1

On May 10, 2005, the plaintiff filed this action to quiet title and for a declaratory judgment. In his complaint, the plaintiff alleged that the 1996 deed was a cloud on his title to the real estate and was null and void. The plaintiff alleged that the 1996 deed did not destroy the joint tenancy subsisting in the plaintiff, Paul, and Melba and that, because Paul and Melba were deceased, he acquired the real estate by operation of law as the sole surviving joint tenant. On November 4, 2005, Sutterer filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint. On February 14, 2006, the circuit court held that by executing the 1996 deed, Paul and Melba destroyed the joint tenancy between Paul, Melba, and the plaintiff. Accordingly, the circuit court granted the motion to dismiss and entered a judgment in favor of the defendant. Thereafter, the circuit court denied the plaintiff's motion to reconsider, and the plaintiff filed a timely notice of appeal. ANALYSIS The plaintiff argues that Paul and Melba's deed executed in 1996, conveying from Paul and Melba, as joint tenants, to Paul and Melba, as joint tenants, was void and did not sever their joint tenancy with the plaintiff. The plaintiff argues that, as a result, when Paul and Melba predeceased him, he became the only surviving joint tenant and the sole owner of the property. See Harms v. Sprague, 105 Ill. 2d 215, 224 (1984) (an intrinsic feature of joint tenancy is the right of survivorship, which entitles the last surviving tenant to take the entire estate). At common law, joint tenant grantees took title as though they together constituted one person. Minonk State Bank v. Grassman , 103 Ill. App. 3d 1106, 1108 (1982), aff'd , 95 Ill. 2d 392 (1983) (adopting the rationale of the appellate court). "Since all were seized as a fictitious entity, four classic unities developed which, albeit artificially, demonstrated their community of interest which required that individual interests be equal in all respects. (2

2

American Law of Property,

Download Sathoff v. Sutterer.pdf