Turnbull v. Weir Plow Co.

| U.S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illnois | Oct 15, 1874

DRUMMOND, Circuit Judge.

The question in this case arises upon the plea of the defendant, from which, and from the bill of complaint, the following facts appear: A patent was issued to one McQuiston on the 18th of October. JS59. for an improvement in cultivators [No. 25,843], and re-issued on the Kith of May, 1871 [No. 4,383], Both parties claim under this patent. The defendant claims under a conveyance from William S. Weir, who purchased from the patentee on the 18th of November, 1870, and the assignment of purchase was recorded on the 3th of December, 1870. The terms of this assignment were that the patentee granted and conveyed to William S. Weir, through whom the defendant claims, “all my right, title, and interest in and to the said letters patent in the following described territory” (within which we may concede, for the purposes of the case, was included the state of Illinois), “* * * as fully and entirely as the same would have been held and enjoyed by me if this assignment had not been made.”

On the 17th and 26th of April, 1860, the patentee assigned to the parties through whom the plaintiffs claim, the exclusive right to make and to sell all machines and rights under the patent, in the territory comprising the counties of Warren and Henderson, in Illinois. These assignments were not recorded in the patent office at the time that Weir's assignment was recorded, and the question presented by defendant’s plea is as to the effect of the assignment to Weir, recorded in December, 1S70, as against the assignments through which plaintiffs claim, and which were not then recorded.

I think there can be no question but that, under the 11th section of the act of congress of 1836, as between the parties, the assignment by the patentee of the right under the patent would be valid without recording. In other words, the recording did not give it effect as between them. The only object of the law, I think, in 'requiring the assignment to be recorded, was to protect bona fide purchasers without notice of prior assignment of a right under the patent. It is contended, on the part of the defendant, that as it has been the practice for many years for rights under a patent to be conveyed by an assignment. the language of which is, "all the right, title, and interest” of the patentee in the patent, it substantially amounts to a warranty on the part of the patentee that lie conveys by such language all the right which he ever had under the patent, and therefore, that when this language was used in the assignment to Weir in October, 1859, it meant all the interest which the patent originally conveyed to the patentee within the territory named. Of course the controversy turns upon what is the true construction of this assignment. Without deciding what might be the effect of an assignment of all the right, title, and interest of the pat-entee in a particular county, where there was no residuary interest left in the paten-tee. I am of the opinion, notwithstanding this alleged uniform practice as to assignments, that the true construction of such an assignment is. that where there is a residuary interest left in the assignor under the patent. within the territory mentioned, it must be construed as only conveying that residuary interest. I mean, of course, where he has previously parted with some interest under the patent in a portion of the territory. For example, in this ease, so far as we know from the history of the case and what is before us in the pleadings, the patentee had conveyed all his interest in the patent in Henderson and Warren counties in 1860, but he had left and had a right to convey all his remaining interest in the state of Illinois. And when he stated that he conveyed all the interest which he had under the patent in the state of Illinois, and that the assignment was to vest in the assignee all his right under the patent in the state of Illinois as fully and entirely as the same would have been held and enjoyed by him if the assignment had not been made, we must construe it as not indicating on his part an intention to convey what he had previously conveyed to other parties, viz.: his rights under the patent in the counties of Warren and Henderson. Otherwise we must infer that he was perpetrating a fraud on the assignee by the assignment of 1870.

The question is, what is the legal effect of the language used, or what did he mean? We have nothing to guide us except the language of the contract. Did he intend, and is it necessarily the legal construction of that contract from the language, used, that he intended to convey, in November, 1870, what he had previously conveyed in April, 1860? If, as I have already intimated, there was nothing on which the conveyance of 1870 could operate, then a different question would arise. But the whole state of Illinois, except the counties of Henderson and Warren, was left, upon which the conveyance could take effect. And I think that, looking simply to the contract, notwithstanding the practice which is said to have grown up under the law as to the form of these assignments. we must' hold that where there was anything upon which the assignment could' be said fairly to operate, we cannot construe it as showing an intention on the part of the assignor to convey what he had previously conveyed. In other words, we will not infer from language such as this, and in the absence of any proof upon the subject, that the patentee intended a fraud upon his assignee.

This is the general rule as applicable to conveyances of real estate. The question always is, did the person intend to convey,— and is that the true meaning of the language used in the instrument. — the same property and the same right that he had previously conveyed to other parties? If he did. and if that is the necessary construction of the language, then it may be fairly said that the recording law should operate upon it, as well in the case of the conveyance of lands, as the assignment of rights under a patent. But I think the result of the authorities as to the conveyance of real estate is, that where there has been a conveyance of property which is unrecorded, and there is a conveyance afterwards of the property which is recorded, and there is anything upon which the second conveyance can operate, where it purports to transfer simply his right and title, it does not cut off the prior unrecorded deed. Perhaps the authorities go further and hold, in the case of real estate — at least such seems to be the intimation of the supreme court of the United States — that a mere quit-claim of the right and title of the grantor .will not, per se, operate as against a prior unrecorded deed, which purports to convey the property.

[For another case involving this patent, see Turnbull v. Weir Plow Co., 14 F. 108" court="U.S. Cir. Ct." date_filed="1880-03-15" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/turnbull-v-weir-plow-co-8123135?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="8123135">14 Fed. 108.]

The act of 1836 declared that a patent should be assignable, either as to the whole interest or any undivided part thereof, by any instrument in writing; and that the assignment should be recorded in the patent office within three months from the execution thereof. Now the language of the 11th section of the act of 1836, as construed by the courts, is not essentially different from the language of the 36th section of the act of 1870. The courts have construed the assignment, where it -was not recorded, to be void as against parties who held by the subsequent assignment purporting to transfer, when recorded and taken in good faith, and without notice of the prior assignment or conveyance. The language of the 36th section of the act of 1870 is, that “said assignment, grant, or conveyance shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration without notice, unless it is recorded in the patent office within three months from the date thereof.” I do not understand that this language is substantially different from that of .the 11th section of the act of 1836, as construed by the courts, so that I hold that we cannot construe the language of the assignment made in November, 1870. to Weir, under whom the defendant claims, as intending to convey the right and title under the .patent within the counties of Warren and Henderson, which the patentee in 3S(K) had conveyed to another party, through whom the plaintiffs claim. The result therefore, is, that the assignment in 1860 is operative. The plea of defendant is therefore overruled.