## Facts

- In 1922, the district court in Brown County, Kansas entered a money judgment for about $2,500 in favor of the Bank of Powhattan and against D. P. (D. Pat) Rooney.
- The judgment remained valid and unpaid years later, having been kept alive through the issuance of executions.
- The judgment was assigned to L. E. Laflin, who pursued collection as the plaintiff.
- Hugh Rooney (Pat’s father) died testate and left Pat two interests in real property:
  - a life estate in 40 acres located in Brown County, Kansas, and
  - an undivided one-eighth interest in a tract located in Nemaha County, Kansas, through a residuary devise to Hugh’s eight children, share and share alike.
- Hugh’s will included a provision stating that for three years after Hugh’s death, any beneficiary could sell devised land to another beneficiary, but should not sell to an “outsider” during that three-year period.
- The will did not state any forfeiture, divestiture, limitation over, or other consequence if a beneficiary violated the three-year restriction.
- Laflin caused executions to issue in both Brown County and Nemaha County, and the sheriffs advertised Pat’s interests for sale on execution.
- An executor of Hugh’s estate moved in district court to stay and enjoin the execution sales, relying on the will’s three-year restriction on sales to outsiders.
- The district court granted the motion and enjoined the sales during the three-year period.
- Laflin appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court.

## Issues

1. Whether a testamentary provision that restricts beneficiaries from selling devised land to non-beneficiaries for three years after the testator’s death—without forfeiture, limitation over, or other enforceable consequence—validly restrains alienation.
2. Whether such a provision can bar a judgment creditor from selling the debtor-beneficiary’s vested interests by sheriff’s sale on execution.

## Decision

- The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the district court’s order staying and enjoining the execution sales.
- The court held the three-year “no sale to outsiders” clause was an invalid restraint on alienation where the will provided no forfeiture, limitation over, or other enforceable consequence for a breach.
- Because the restraint was ineffective, it did not prevent execution against Pat Rooney’s life estate in the Brown County land or his undivided one-eighth interest in the Nemaha County land.
- The case was remanded with directions consistent with permitting the execution sales to proceed.

## Legal Principles

- Vested interests in real property, including a life estate and an undivided tenancy-in-common share, are ordinarily transferable and may be reached by creditors through execution unless a valid condition or limitation restricts the estate.
- A will provision that merely states a beneficiary “should not” convey to a class of persons for a set period, without any forfeiture clause, divesting condition, or limitation over, is treated as an unenforceable restraint on alienation.
- An unenforceable restraint on alienation cannot be used to block a sheriff’s sale on a valid judgment against a devisee who holds vested interests under the will.

## Conclusion

In *Bank of Powhattan v. Rooney*, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that a will clause barring beneficiaries from selling devised land to “outsiders” for three years, without any forfeiture or limitation over, was void as a restraint on alienation and could not stop a judgment creditor from executing on and selling the beneficiary’s life estate and undivided one-eighth interest to satisfy an outstanding judgment.


Bank of Powhattan v. Rooney, 72 P.2d 993 (1937)