51 Iowa 317 | Iowa | 1879
It is urged that defendants cannot avail themselves of the statute of limitations, because such defense is a personal privilege of the party to the contract or a person in privity with him, and there is no privity between Paine and the defendants. But it appears from the petition that at the time of the tax sale Paine held the legal title to the land, subject to be divested upon payment of the purchase money by plaintiff. By the provisions of section 78Í, of the Revision of 18C0, the tax deed vested “in the purchaser all the right, title, interest and estate of the former owner in and to the land conveyed.” By operation of law, then, the defendants were invested with the legal title held by Paine, as effectually as though he had conveyed to them by deed, and they can avail themselves of the statute of limitations the same as Paine could have done if his legal title had not been divested.
III. It is contended that the petition should not have been dismissed as against the defendant O’Hanlon, because he did not join in the demurrer. We think the ruling upon the demurrer in effect disposed of the case as to all the defendants. The petition sought to redeem the land from a tax sale to the defendant Stone.' All the other defendants held under him. If there was no right in the plaintiff to redeem from Stone there was no right to redeem from his grantees.
Affirmed.