127 Mo. App. 519 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1907
On May 1, 1905, plaintiffs owned three lots in the city of East St. Louis, Illinois, on which there was an incumbrance of $650 and accrued interest. The defendant at that time claimed to own a farm in Scott county, Tennessee. A trade was arranged between the parties by which the plaintiffs acquired defendant’s farm and defendant acquired plaintiffs’ East St. Louis lots, subject to the mortgage on them. At the same time the defendant lent plaintiffs $250 and took a mortgage back on the Tennessee land to secure the debt. At the time of the trade defendant had in his possession a deed to the Tennessee land dated December 16, 1902, executed by one Frank P. George, as grantor, but containing no grantee, the place for the insertion of such name having been left blank. Defendant wanted to convey the land by inserting plaintiffs’ names in the George deed, representing that thereby the title would be conveyed. It turned out that neither George nor the defendant had any title to the land in Tennessee and that George’s grantor had had no title. In other words, the title was worthless. When this fact was ascertained, plaintiffs instituted- the present action to recover damages, alleging they were induced to make the trade by the false representation of defendant that he held and could make a good title to the Tennessee land, and that this representation was made by defendant fraudulently, he knowing at the time that it
The further point is made for the defendant that the jury ignored the instruction on the measure of damages and all the' evidence as to what the value of the land in Tennessee was at the time the trade was made. The court instructed the jury that in case a verdict was given for plaintiffs, it should be for such amount as the jury found to be the value of the Tennessee land at the time of the delivery of the deed purporting to convey it to the plaintiffs; that is to say, on or about May 1,1905. Two witnesses testified regarding the value of the land at that time and both swore they were familiar with the property and had been for many years. One of those witnesses had been county surveyor of Scott county, Tennessee, and was deputy register of deeds of the county at the time he testified. He gave it as his opin