225 Pa. 231 | Pa. | 1909
Opinion by
The results secured by the decree entered in the court below are broad and sweeping. The bill averred title to four parcels of land to be in appellee who had purchased the right, title, interest and claim of Wesley Ruckle, deceased, in and to the lands in question at sheriff’s sale. Wesley Ruckle had no paper title to these lands in his lifetime, nor had any proceedings been instituted either before or after his death to perfect his titles, or to show that he or his estate had any interest in them. Some years after his death the appellee purchased some judgments of record against Wesley Ruckle, the lien of which had expired, revived the same by scire facias and caused whatever interest Ruckle had in the lands to be sold by the sheriff and became the purchaser at the sale. Appellee therefore holds a sheriff’s deed for whatever interest, if any, Wesley Ruckle may have had in the properties. At the time of the sheriff’s sale thet recorded titles stood in the names of the appellants,' or some of them, who were and had been for a number of years in actual possession. Under these circumstances this bill was filed praying for equitable relief, as follows, first,
The titles to four different parcels of land are involved in this controversy. These titles are derived from different sources and are vested in two different parties. No explanation is attempted to be made as to how all these questions involving title to different tracts of land can be raised and determined in a single bill in equity, or indeed how there can be jurisdiction in equity to determine the title to any single tract. As we view the case the whole controversy is one of disputed title,' and this question must be determined on the law side of the court. This is especially true because the question of title by adverse possession was very fully considered by the learned referee and is the only kind of title set up for one of the tracts in dispute and is relied on to sustain title to other tracts. It is certainly a novel proceeding to undertake to determine a question of title by adverse possession under a bill in equity. It is contended, however, that the question of jurisdiction should have been raised by demurrer and not in the answer. The appellant’s reply to this position is that the bill contained such
Decree reversed and bill dismissed at the cost of appellee.