81 Va. 524 | Va. | 1886
delivered the opinion of the court.
In the fall of the year, 1869, Noah J. Henkel, through a land agent, D. M. Digges, sold to Abram Smith, in the presence of two of his sons, A. G. Smith and Daniel Smith, the farm upon which he, Henkel, resided, in the county of Madison, Virginia, containing 443 43-100 acres, ascertained by a survey, subsequently made, for the price of $15,872.21. The, purchase appears to have been made by the said Abram Smith for his wife, Elizabeth, and two of his sons, John and Abram G. Smith. The sale was made in the morning, Abram Smith and his two sons being on the lookout for a farm to purchase, having spent the night before with said Henkel. The Smiths examined the land before purchasing. Abram Smith took possession of the farm, and he and A. G. Smith remained upon it and seeded a crop of wheat. The land was surveyed on the 26th of January, 1870, and on the 29th of January, 1870, a deed was executed by Henkel and wife, conveying the said farm to Elizabeth Smith, John Smith and A. G. Smith. The
The decree of the 25th of April, 1883, declares : “ The court is of opinion that the allegations contained in the said answer of John Smith and Abram G. Smith, which is taken and treated as a cross-bill, so far as said allegations are material and are set out with sufficient definiteness, have not been established by proof, so as to deprive the plaintiffs of their right to, have their lien on the land in the proceedings mentioned, enforced, in order to the payment of the balance of the purchase money due them on said land; and that a sale of the said land, or so much thereof as may be necessary for the purpose, should be made to effect the payment of the said balance in case the payment thereof is not made in a reasonable time.” And the said decree ordered the payment of $2,000.00 of the said balance of the purchase money to be made in ninety days from the end of the then term of the court; and in default thereof, directed its commissioners, McMullan and Hay, to sell the said land, or so much thereof as may be necessary, &c.-, for cash sufficient to pay the costs and expenses of suit and sale, and one-third of the balance then so due as aforesaid; and on a credit of one, two, and three years in equal installments as to the residue of the said purchase money. Default of payment was made and the commissioners made sale of the land, and duly reported their action to the court; and on the — day of December, 1883, the court entered its decree confirming the said report of sale; and ordering the application of the proceeds of the sale to the payment of costs and expenses, and the satisfaction of plaintiffs’ lien for unpaid purchase money, and directed a writ of possession for the land sold to the purchaser.
There is no error in the decree of the — day of December,
The court did not err in the decree of the 25th of April, 1883. The bill filed was simply to enforce the vendor’s lien reserved upon the face of the deed upon the land conveyed.
The first error assigned in the decree of April 25, 1883, is: “Because the testimony in the case plainly shows that the price at which the said land was purchased was a most extravagant and exorbitant one.” It is denied that the price was extravagant or exorbitant. The most that can be claimed from the evidence is that the land sold for a fair or full price. All the witnesses proved that at the time this sale was made lands were at their highest market value. The evidence introduced by the defendants themselves proves that there was an exaggerated price put upon and obtained for lands sold in 1869. Parties buying and selling are left to fix their own prices; and in the absence of fraud, misrepresentation, and imposition, the courts sustain the prices fixed by the parties themselves. Neither inadequacy nor redundancy of price will vitiate a deed or contract unless there is fraud or mutual mistake connected with it; or there is some fiduciary relation between the contracting parties. The next assignment of error is that the price of the land obtained was induced by fraudulent
But even if the defence set up had been good and allowable at any time, they could not make it, after ten years’ acquiescence in the sale and conveyance, to defeat a suit to enforce a lien reserved by their recorded deed upon the land. Their laches and continued enjoyment of the land, and the death of parties who could explain the transaction, estops
The circuit court held that the alleged fraud had not been proved; and, upon a review of the whole record, we concur with that court, and affirm the decrees complained of.
Decrees aeeirmed.