161 Iowa 600 | Iowa | 1913
In December, of the year 1905, defendant filed a petition against plaintiff and others, in the district court of Woodbury county, to quiet the title to certain lands on the river front in Sioux City, Iowa, known as the “Dumbarton tract.” Plaintiff herein, one of thé defendants in that suit, filed an answer and cross-petition on February 1, 1906, in which he alleged that the land belonged to the state of Iowa; that he had made application to purchase the same ; that plaintiff’s petition be dismissed; and that he have a decree quieting his title as against the plaintiff and his eodefendants in that action. The action was tried to the court resulting in a decree quieting plaintiff’s title to “all the land south of the
The present action, under the occupying claimant’s act, was commenced December 21, 1911, in which plaintiff claims that while holding the land under color of title, and while in the undisturbed and hostile possession thereof since April, 1903, he made valuable improvements upon the tract of land in controversy, which was finally found to belong to defendant by the decree of court entered December 12, 1911, and he asked that “the value of the improvements made by him be found to be $1,400; that the value of the real estate exclusive of the improvements be found to be $800; that if these values are not correct the proper ones are to be determined; that, in
Defendant admitted the rendition of the decree in its favor on December 12, 1911, but denied that plaintiff was an occupying claimant or that he was entitled to anything placed upon the lands in the nature of improvements. It also pleaded a counterclaim for the use and occupation of the premises by plaintiff or for damages growing out of plaintiff’s withholding the possession thereof from defendant, fixing the amount of its damages on account thereof in the sum of $600. To this plaintiff filed a reply in which he admitted his possession of the property since April, 1903, and claimed that his possession was in good faith and under claim of right. Such are the admitted facts and the issues tendered by the respective parties.
Sec. 2964. "Where an occupant of real estate has color of title thereto, and in good faith has made valuable improve*605 ments thereon, and is afterwards in a proper action found not to be the owner, no execution shall issue to put the plaintiff in possession of the same, after the filing of a petition as hereinafter provided, 'until the provisions of this chapter have been complied with.
Sec. 2967. A purchaser in good faith at any judicial or tax sale, made by the proper person or officer, has color of title within the meaning of this chapter, whether such person or officer has sufficient authority to sell or not, unless such want of authority was known to such purchaser at the time of the sale; and his rights shall pass to his assignees or representatives. Any person has also color of title who has occupied a tract of real estate by himself, or by those under whom he.claims, for the term of five years, or who has thus occupied it for less time, if he or those under whom he claims have, at any time during such occupancy, with the knowledge or consent, express or implied, of the real owner, made any valuable improvements thereon, or if he or those under whom he claims have, at any time during such occupancy, paid the ordinary county taxes thereon for any one year, and two years have elapsed without a repayment or offer of repayment of the same by the owner thereof, and such occupancy is continued up to the time at which the action is brought by which the recovery of the real estate is obtainedbut nothing in this chapter shall be construed to give tenants color of title against their landlords.
These provisions, although remedial in character, should be so construed as to effectuate the objects intended; but it must appear that the claimant made the improvements in good faith, believing himself to be the owner, and that he either had color of title thereto or possession by himself or by those under whom he claims the necessary length of time before the making of the improvements before the bringing Of the action to recover.
Plaintiff testified that he purchased lot 3, block 24, in Bast addition to Sioux City, Iowa, being a part of the land in controversy, from one Griffith in the spring of the year 1903; that he paid the full purchase price thereof, to wit, $55, and received a deed therefor some time in the year 1904;
Some time in the year 1905 the state of Iowa made a survey of what was called an “island,” in which plaintiff claimed his lot was located, and in the same year plaintiff made application to the state for a patent for what was then known as lot N, being a tract 58x190 feet; this lot being something like forty feet longer than the plat shows the one purchased from Griffith to be. In March, 1906, he (plaintiff) obtained a patent from the state to the said lot N, according to the state survey, paying therefor the sum of $250. This patent, as will be noticed, was not issued until after defendant commenced its suit to recover the property, although the decree was not passed until some time thereafter. Indeed, all
The decree in defendant’s favor as to the title to the lots covered a much larger tract of land than plaintiff is now asking- to have charged with a lien for his improvements, although in the action in which the decree was rendered plaintiff herein laid claim to no more than lot N as surveyed and platted by the state. This, as has been observed, was something like forty feet longer east and west than the lot described in the Griffith deed.
That a void deed may amount to color of title is well settled by authority. Tremaine v. Weatherby, 58 Iowa, 615.
As already indicated, after the state made its survey of the property, plaintiff, an occupant of a part of the premises, made application to purchase lot N October 9, 1905. His application was granted and patent was issued to him March
As this is solemnly admitted by both parties, we shall have to accept it as a verity.
Under the statute just quoted, plaintiff was an occupying claimant and entitled to protection as such.
V. It is claimed, however, that the instruction is in conflict with No. 5. We shall not set the latter out in extenso,
He claims he has occupied the property in controversy openly, adversely, continuously under claim of right to the same, and to the title, in good faith, honestly believing himself to be the owner and entitled to the possession of same for a period of five years, and that he erected the improvements in question under an honest belief, at the time they were erected, that he was the owner of the land and entitled to the possession thereof. The mere occupancy of the land in controversy, or any land, for five years does not, under the law, give the occupant the right to improve the land and charge the improvement to the land, or to the rightful owner thereof, or to claim compensation for such improvement; it must appear further than this and must be shown by a preponderance of the evidence that he took possession under an honest belief that he was the owner of the land and entitled to the possession of the same, hut this belief must be founded and must rest upon some reasonable ground shown to have existed at the time, which would lead a reasonably prudent man to entertain such belief (that is, there must be reasonable ground shown to have existed at the time upon which a reasonably prudent and intelligent man could base such a belief) ; a mere trespasser on the land with no right to the possession thereof, and no color of title thereto, cannot recover for improvements put upon the land, no matter how long he may remain in possession ; where there is no title or color of title to the land and no honest belief, as hereinafter explained, that he has title or right to the land, no length of occupancy will give the party so occupying the land any right as against the true owner for improvements put upon the land while so occupied. It is only where a person in good faith enters upon land believing, and having a right to believe, that he is the owner of the land, and in good faith and in reliance upon such belief makes improvements thereon while occupying the land openly and under claim of right to the land that he becomes entitled to make claim for improvements put upon the land while so occupying, and this you should bear in mind when you come to determine whether or not tbe plaintiff is entitled to recover for those improvements, if any, under this claim that he occu*611 pied the premises for five years continuously. Where one enters upon the possession of land with no title and with no color of title but with an expectation that at some time he may acquire title, he cannot recover for improvements upon the land placed while so occupied. So in this case, if the plaintiff has failed to satisfy you that he had a deed from the said T. C. Griffith to this property, substantially as claimed by him, before the improvements sued for were placed upon the property, he can base no color of title or right to improvements thereon; that is, on said deed. If you find there was no such deed from Griffith to the .plaintiff, then you will proceed to determine whether or not he has shown a right to recover for those improvements upon the second ground of his claim that he occupied the ground for five years, and upon this point you are further instructed that the occupancy for five years, which gives color of title and right to improvements and the right to recover therefor, must be open, continuous, and in good faith and upon an honest belief, entertained by the occupant at the time he took possession, that he was the owner of the land, and entitled to the possession, and that this belief was well founded and rested upon reasonable ground such as would lead an ordinary prudent man to the conclusion and belief that he was the owner and entitled to the possession; that he placed the improvements upon the land honestly and in good faith while entertaining such belief, and with right to entertain such belief; and that thereafter he continued to occupy it openly, continuously, and notoriously, and under such claim of right, and that he has so occupied it for five years.
We here quote from Judge Dillon’s opinion in the Litchfield case, for it expresses our views regarding the proper construction of the statute:
The language of the statute above quoted is not free from ambiguity. The words used might be made to bear the construction contended for by the plaintiff. I have carefully considered the reasons for that construction, which were so ably argued by the plaintiff’s counsel, at the bar and enforced with additional illustrations and learning in his printed argument, without being convinced that it is the necessary or true meaning of the statute. An equally natural meaning of the words used is that the ‘color of title’ must exist before and at the time when the suit of the rightful owner is brought against the occupant, in which case the occupant may be compensated for any valuable improvements made thereon in good faith; the statute prescribing no limitation as to the time when they were made. These remedial statutes are entitled to a fair and even liberal construction (Longworth v. Wolfington, 6 Ohio, 10) ;.and the view we adopt harmonizes with the evident policy of the Legislature, as shown by the express provisions made by the Legislature of Iowa to extend to the settlers, ‘on any of the lands known as the Des Moines river lands, ’ the rights given by the occupying claimant statute.
The Ohio court reached substantially the same conclusion in Lessee v. Powell, 13 Ohio, 308. It seems to us that a claimant brings himself within the provisions of the statute if he shows that he made the improvements in the honest belief of ownership, and it further appears that' at the time of the rendition of judgment against him he was in possession under
To hold that there is no protection for the claimant except he make his improvements after the five years has elapsed, although his title may not be challenged for more than five years thereafter, would practically destroy the efficiency of the law. Indeed, the very fact that one did not make any improvements until after the expiration of the five-year period would tend to show that he was not holding in good faith or in the honest belief that he owned the land. The mere fact that he does improve is evidence of his good faith; and, if his title is not challenged until more than five years after the improvements are completed, we think-he is entitled to the benefits of the occupying claimant’s act. This is a fair construction of section 2967 of the Code.
VI. There is a dispute in the testimony as to the value of the improvements; but this question was primarily for the jury, and there is no such lack of testimony as to justify our interference. '
No prejudicial error appears, and the judgment must be and it is Affirmed.