305 Mass. 504 | Mass. | 1940
This is a petition to register the title to a lot of land in Dennis, lying between a road and Nantucket Sound, and bounded easterly by land of a registered owner and westerly by land of the respondent Chase (herein referred to as the respondent). The only matter in controversy is the location of this westerly bound, which separates the land of the petitioner from that of the respondent. The respondent appealed from a decision of the Land Court fixing this westerly bound by giving the petitioner a frontage of ninety feet upon the road.
One Wixon, who was the owner of a lot of land that included only the parcels now owned by the parties, conveyed it to one Nickerson, in 1894, by a deed that contained no measurements but fixed the easterly and westerly bounds in each instance by a row of marked trees. The distance between these rows of trees, and consequently the width of the entire lot, was one hundred eighty feet. Nickerson conveyed the land to one Edwards in 1906 by a deed giving a frontage on the road of thirteen and one half rods. Edwards sold the westerly portion of his land to Robbins in 1906. His deed bounded the land on the west by other land of Robbins, on the east by other land of the grantor, on the north by the road and on the south by the sea. The only measurements given were seven and one half rods on
The judge found that the total frontage upon the road of both lots was but one hundred eighty feet; that the frontage given in the various deeds was a matter of guesswork, made without examination of the landmarks on the ground, by which he apparently meant the old rows of chipped trees and their markings; and that the different measurements of the frontage given in the deeds in the chain of title make it clear that the intent of the parties in the two deeds, one from Edwards to the predecessor of the respondent and the second from his devisees to the petitioner, was that each should convey one half of the entire Edwards tract of land. On all the evidence he found that the petitioner had title proper for registration for a lot having a frontage of ninety feet upon the road, or one half of the actual total
The particular description of the land conveyed by Edwards to Robbins, and now owned by the respondent, properly described a parcel of land which could be readily identified by applying the description to the locus. The four boundaries of the lot are definitely set forth. They coincide in all respects with the actual distances and courses of the corresponding boundaries of the land itself. The lot , described is seven and one half rods wide. The petitioner contends that all that was intended to be conveyed was a lot ninety feet wide which was one half of the total width of the entire Edwards parcel.
Various rules of construction have been adopted to aid in the ascertainment of the intent of the parties where a deed contains conflicting descriptions of the property conveyed. Ordinarily more weight is to be given to monuments than to courses, and the latter are usually entitled to more consideration than distances. Monuments, courses and distances are generally deemed to be more indicative of the intent of the parties than is the quantity or area mentioned. Powell v. Clark, 5 Mass. 355. Melvin v. Proprietors of Locks & Canals, 5 Met. 15. Hall v. Eaton, 139 Mass. 217, 221. Holmes v. Barrett, 269 Mass. 497, 502. Raymond v. Jackson, 297 Mass. 509, 511. These rules are based upon common experience and are of general application. They are not, however, inflexible, and they are not to be followed if they would lead to a result plainly inconsistent with the intent of the parties. Temple v. Benson, 213 Mass. 128. Ovans v. Castrucci, 267 Mass. 600. Doubtless, there are cases where the parties are desirous of buying and selling a specific
But if the statement in the Robbins deed that “this property is one-half of the premises formerly owned by Zelotes Wixon” is to be considered as a part of the description of the property intended to be conveyed, it must be construed in conjunction with the particular description of the premises which immediately preceded it in the deed. It is settled that a clear and unambiguous particular description of the land controls a general description that is inconsistent with such particular description. The general description is not effective to reduce the size of the lot specifically defined by the deed. Whiting v. Dewey, 15 Pick. 428. Dana v. Middlesex Bank, 10 Met. 250. Lovejoy v. Lovett, 124 Mass. 270. Dow v. Whitney, 147 Mass. 1. Cassidy v. Charlestown Five Cents Savings Bank, 149 Mass. 325. Moran v. Somes, 154 Mass. 200. Muto v. Smith, 175 Mass. 175. Crabtree v. Miller, 194 Mass. 123. Pollard v. Ketterer, 221 Mass. 317. Burke v. Commonwealth, 283 Mass. 63. We do not think that the general reference to an aliquot part of the entire Wixon tract should prevail over the specific measurements of the front and rear bounds of the lot particularly described.
The findings of fact made by the judge on unreported evidence must stand. Webber v. Cox, 256 Mass. 595. Willard v. Kimball, 277 Mass. 350. This appeal brings before
The same result would be reached if we were to examine the deed of the petitioner. His deed is bounded on all four sides by monuments and he shows no right to push to the west the easterly boundary of the respondent’s land which was fixed nineteen years before the petitioner got his deed.
Decision reversed.
The full description in this deed was as follows: “ Commencing at the northeast corner of the premises by an old road in range of Martin Thompson; thence southerly by said Martin Thompson, 35 rods to the seashore; thence westerly by said seashore 111 feet to Dr. Clarence Crane's range; thence northerly by said Dr. Crane's range 35 rods to an old road; thence easterly by said old road 111 feet to the place of beginning, being one half of the piece of property formerly owned by Bethia L. Nickerson. Being pj of the same premises conveyed to Edwin H. Edwards from Bethia L. Nickerson by deed dated Oct. 6, 1906, and recorded in Barnstable Registry of Deeds, Book 392, page 27.” — Reporter.