95 Ga. 54 | Ga. | 1894
Ida Horton, whose maiden name was Ida McMasters, sued McLendon in ejectment for a certain lot of land in the city of Atlanta, claiming mesne profits. The abstract of title upon which she based her right of recovery consisted of a series of deeds, commencing, in point
The plaintiff' introduced the deeds herein specifically described as having been set out in the abstract attached to her declaration-, showed that she was the only child of Jane McMasters, that Jane McMasters was dead, that
Hpon the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, the defendant moved a nonsuit upon the ground that the plaintiff' had failed to show a title which would warrant a recovery; and the motion was overruled.
The defendant then introduced a deed from the marshal of the City of Atlanta to the premises in dispute, together with the execution upon which it was based. The execution was an ordinary tax execution in regular form, and against Mrs. F. E. C. Stewart. He likewise introduced the books of the tax-assessors of the City of Atlanta, showing that the premises in dispute had been, for the year 1884, assessed as the property of Mrs. Stewart, that the taxes thereon had not been paid, and that notice of the levy had been delivered to a negro woman whom the city marshal had found in possession. The defendant further introduced a deed from Jane McMasters to Carmichael, dated June 19th, 1884, and a deed from Carmichael to himself. The value of the premises for rent during the time the same were occupied by defendant was shown to be in excess of the value of the improvements and the sums paid for taxes and other charges incurred by the defendant by way of assessments for street improvements. It was not shown that the defendant named in the tax execution was ever in possession of the premises in dispute, ever claimed title
It is quite evident from the testimony in this case that Jane McMasters entered into the possession of the premises in the year 1871 and remained in the actual occupancy thereof until the date when she was adjudged a lunatic, which appears to have been in 1876 or 1877. It further appears that her regularly appointed guardian, by a tenant who recognized him as landlord and paid him the rent, was in possession from the year 1880 until the date of the sale of the property under the tax execution against Mrs. Stewart, under which sale the defendant claimed a right of entry. This of itself affords strong presumptive evidence of the continuity of Jane McMasters’ possession from the date of her original entry under Johnson until the date of her final eviction under the tax sale. But assuming that this presumption does not afford sufficient evidence of an uninterrupted possession to establish in her a perfect prescription based upon the Johnson deed as color of title, the two possessions establish the fact that there was no abandonment of her claim to the right of possession up to the time of her final eviction. The question then is, her possession being proven, and she holding the life-estate, can the remainderman, at her death, recover upon the force of a possession from which she was unlawfully evicted during her life? The life-tenant holds the estate subject to the right of the remainderman at the termination of the estate upon which it is limited, and immediately upon the termination of the life-estate the remainderman is entitled to the possession. The life-tenant can convey no greater interest therein than the residue of her estate remaining at the date of the conveyance. Therefore, the conveyance by the life-tenant of the fee, the deed under which she held being duly
Treating the entry of the defendant as having been by virtue of the tax sale, what is his situation? The law, considered in relation to the subject upon which it operates, is, to a great extent, a science of applied presumptions. From given hypotheses the law makes certain deductions, and upon these deductions it raises presumptions that in themselves constitute the great body of the law, which, independent of statutory enactment, depends upon right reason for support. This is the true law of the land — that law which is the cornerstone of most of our property rights. One of these presumptions, and the one with which we are now to deal, is the presumption of title to property arising from possession alone. The law presumes that title follows the possession of property, and this presumption applies to personal as well as to real property. A person, upon proof of prior possession, may recover personal goods from another who wrongfully deprives him of their possession, and is entitled in law to maintain his prior possession against the claim of any one except the true owner. So with real property, upon the presumption of title arising from proof of a bare possession, a person, except as against the true owner, may recover the premises from any one who wrongfully deprives him of the possession. This is the legal equivalent of our code provision, that one may recover in ejectment upon his
Judgment affirmed.