38 Mich. 645 | Mich. | 1878
This is a case made after judgment. The proceeding was commenced by Mrs. Newton before a circuit court commissioner to recover of Doyle the possession of a farm of a hundred and twenty acres. She alleged in her complaint that on the 27th of March, 1877, she was in the quiet and peaceable possession of the farm and was well entitled to it; but that Doyle at that time unlawfully and with force and violence entered and ejected and expelled her therefrom and thereafter kept possession.
The commissioner gave judgment in her favor and Doyle appealed to the circuit court. The cause was then heard without a jury and judgment again passed for Mrs. Newton. The defendant contends- that the facts do not sustain the judgment. It allowed recovery of the whole farm and ordered restitution. It appears that Doyle owned and lived on an adjoining farm and that the premises in question were occupied for several years -before June, 1876, by one Saul and his wife who claimed to own them; that about the ninth of that month Saul and wife gave Mrs. • Newton a quit claim
In the latter part of July, 1876, Doyle bought the premises of Luther Pomeroy. He had never been in possession but claimed title under a mortgage foreclosure. Doyle paid him $2500 and received a quit claim deed and this deed saved to Saul his crops then on the place and also the right for him to go on and harvest them.
Doyle notified Saul of his purchase and that he desired to occupy a part' of the pasture land on the farm, and Saul consented thereto and assisted Doyle in .putting up the fence between his growing crops and the pasture, and Doyle put his horses there. He also opened the fences between this and the adjoining place where he lived and turned in his stock and continued to use the place for pasturage until Saul’s crops were harvested and when that occurred he pastured the whole. An old log house stood upon the place in which Saul lived and early in November, 1876, Saul moved out, and at that time defendant’s wife bought of Mrs. Saul an old stove, and a table and bedstead of but little value were left with it in the old house. These articles had been previously given by Doyle to Saúl.
In September, 1876, Doyle went on and cleared a portion of the premises of trees and brush to fit it for a crop of wheat the next season, and continued his improvements until stopped by snow. At that time he had cleared about twenty acres at a cost of some eight dollars per acre. This work was distributed in different places where it was needed. During the winter the fence between the two places continued open, and Doyle’s sheep and other stock roamed at will over the premises in question and grazed there when the ground was sufficiently exposed to allow it. During all this time the plaintiff lived on a farm separated from that in question by a piece of land eighty rods wide, and from her house saw the work going on. In the fore part of March she consulted counsel in regard to her right's in the premises and as to whether she might take possession, and acting upon the advice received, she together with her family in the morning of March 27, 1877, proceeded to the old log house before mentioned with two loads of household goods and placed them in the house. The last load reached the house at the early hour of five o’clock in the morning, and the distance by the road from plaintiff’s previous abode was about three-quarters of a mile. Plaintiff and her husband at once proceeded to arrange things for a permanent occupation. They had been in the house about three hours when they were interrupted by defendant. He found out about eight o’clock what had occurred and he immediately repaired with his sons to the log house and ordered plaintiff and
The construction due to the facts is that defendant
The facts, therefore, do not sustain the judgment, and there must be a reversal and judgment here for the defendant with the costs of all the courts.