194 Iowa 662 | Iowa | 1919
Upon the original submission of this case, an opinion was filed affirming the decree of the district court. See 171 N. 'W. 16. Thereafter, a rehearing was granted on defendant’s petition, and counsel have since filed additional briefs. In the affirming opinion referred to, this court held the defendant estopped to deny the plaintiff’s title, and therefore did not discuss the merits of the dispute upon other issues. Of this the appellant complained because, according to his theory, the es-toppel, if any, of the defendant to assert title did not necessarily establish title in plaintiff; and he further insisted that plaintiff had wholly failed to show any title in itself.
“I remember when the schoolhouse was moved onto the lot in question, and think it was late in the fall of 1880. There is about an acre in the lot. It has been fenced for many years. When Mr. Larson sold me the land, he sold 159 acres. I paid him for 159 acres. The deed shows that he excepted one acre. The fence around the lot has been kept up since it was put up. I tore the fence down some time after the auction sale, in 1915. I took possession of the lot after the sale. I requested the assessor to omit the property from taxation because it was school properly. The school township of Lincoln had complete control all the time of the building and the lot during all these years; they used it as their own; I never exercised any ownership over it. I was a school director a part of the time. I never questioned the right of the school township to the lot, and Mr. Larson, so far as I know, never questioned their right. I lived with Mr. Larson.1 ’
Further recitation of the evidence is unnecessary. In our judgment, the record fully sustains the finding of the trial court confirming the plaintiff’s claim of title. It is true that no formal deed of conveyance from Larson to the school district is produced or shown by any direct evidence. It is a matter of common knowledge and observation that in very few country school districts can there be found anything like full or complete records of their history and business transactions extending back over a long series of years; and when it becomes necessary to inquire into such matters, much must be left to deductions from circumstantial evidence. In the case before us, every proven act of Larson’s in his lifetime is consistent with the conclusion that he recognized this schoolhouse site as the property of the school district. On the other hand, the exclusive occupation, use, and control of the property by the district for a period of more than three times the statutory period of limitations is fairly explicable on no other theory than a claim of right. So
“The occupation and use of the lot for school purposes by the'district township and by the plaintiff were continuous from the year 1861 until two years before this action was commenced. It does not appear that during that time any claim to the property adverse to the plaintiff or its predecessor was made by any
The general principles applicable to claims of title by prescription or adverse possession are too familiar to call for further discussion at this time. For illustrative precedents, see Cramer v. Clow, 81 Iowa 255, 257; Quinn v. Quinn, 76 Iowa 565; Stevenson v. Polk, 71 Iowa 278, 286; Griffith v. Murray, 166 Iowa 380; Dwyer v. Christianson, 188 Iowa 686; Detrick v. Patterson, 159 Iowa 460.
We hold that plaintiff very clearly made a good prima-facie showing of title by adverse possession. •
Since writing the foregoing opinion, we notice that, in a reply argument filed by the appellant, it is denied that Henry Larson become the owner of the northwest quarter of Section 30 until after the sehoolhouse was placed thereon. This may be admitted, without taking time to examine the record on that point. But admitting the correction, it only increases the difficulty in tracing a title to defendant through an heir of Larson’s.
For reasons stated, the decree of the district court is — Affirmed.