45 Ky. 338 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1846
delivered the opinion of the Court.
In 1828, on the petition of Jane and Wm. McKee, infants, by their father and natural guardian,. Darius McKee, all their interest in remainder in a tract of land, lying on the north side of the road leading from Lancaster to Danville, derived by descent from their mother, who claimed under the will of Henry Pauling, deceased, was decreed to be sold, subject to their father’s life estate, as tenant by the courtesy, as necessary for their maintenance and support, and the same was sold according to the directions of the decree, by Jesse Yantis, a Commissioner appointed by the Court, and John Hann, is reported to have been the purchaser, at an aggregate sum, which is equivalent to $5 124 per acre, for 2134 acres, the estimated quantity, at which rate per acre it was sold, three good and competent Commissioners, appointed by the Court, having previously valued their interest only at $5 per acre. John Hann afterwards purchased from Lapsley, who had previously acquired the
Upon the motion of Jane Hann, the Court being satisfied that the consideration had been paid, a conveyance was made to her by a Commissioner appointed for that purpose. Mrs. Hann, by executory contract, afterwards, in 1839, sold the land to Vaughn, upon a credit, at $374 per acre, estimating the quantity at 200 acres, more or less, and received Vaughn’s two bonds for the price, executing her bond to him for a conveyance, by general warranty, upon the payment of the last instalment.
In 1841, Vaughn exhibited his bill, charging irregularity in the proceedings, under which the sale of the infants remainder was made, and inability on the part of Mrs. Hann to convey by good title, &c. &c. ■ While this case was pending,- a writ of error was sued out by the infants, to reverse the decree for a sale,, obtained under the petition aforesaid. That decree was affirmed by this Court, upon a full hearing, as to the land in question, as will be seen by a'reporl of the case, (9 Dana, 526.)
Vaughn’s bill progressed,-and the contract of sale by Mrs. Hann to him, being annulled by the Circuit Court, she brought the case to this Court, and the decree of the Circuit Court was reversed, and the cause remanded, with directions to dismiss the bill. After the return of the case, and execution of the mandate, by dismissing the bill, this bill in the nature of a bill of review was exhibited in the Circuit Court by Va,Jghn against Mrs. Plann, charging that about fifteen acres of the land sold to him, which embraced nearly all the timber upon the tract, was not embraced within the patent boundary of Plenry Pauling, under whom Mrs. Hann derived title, and that this matter had been discovered after the case upon the former bill, had been decided by this Court. Various amendments were subsequently made repeating the charge, and also charging fraud in the sale under the petition aforesaid, and that McKee’s children had instituted an ejectment against him for the land, and by a subsequent amendment he made them parties, who ap
This Court cannot notice any supposed errors or irregularities in the proceedings or decree, under which the' land in question was sold, on the petition' of the father and natural guardian of the infant McKees, arising upon the face of the' record, nor any irregularities in the sale made under the same, as those questions have been tried before and settled by this Court. And it is .a matter of some question whether the Court should investigate or notice the defect of title charged by -Vaughn, or the inability-of Mrs.'Hann to convey, as to any part of the land sold, as the allegations made and issues joined on Vaughn-’s former bill, were broad enough to admit proof as to a defect of title as to all or any part of the land sold, and the general rule is that the discovery of new evidence in parol, which was in issue, or might have been proven in a former suit, is not a good ground-for a bill of review, or re-investigation of the same subject matter of controversy. - That there may be'an end to litigation, vigilence is. required of- l-itigants to understand their cases, and to search out.and produce all Che evidence that can be produced in support of the issue made, and they- will not be indulged in a second hearing, upon the same matters involved in a former suit, or which might have been investigated, upon the discovery merely of hew proofs inparol. But waiving this objection and indulging Vaughn’.s bill in the case before us, on the ground of the -discovery, ■of new matter, in relation to the boundary of Pauling’s preemption -patent, under which Mrs, Hann claims, by
I. The fraud charged in the decretal order and sale under the petition, extraneous the record.
II. Is the fifteen acres out side of the western boundary of Pauling’s patent?
1st. As to the fraud charged, it is attempted to be sustained mainly by the proof of the declarations and confessions of John Lapsley, made before, about the lime of, and shortly after the sale, who it is .charged and attempted to be proven, was the purchaser of the remainder at the sale, and who was the owner of the life estate of Dárius McKee.
' We have examined with scrupulous care and attention, the proofs adduced, as well in relation to the matter as manner of the detail, and looked into the proofs as to the character of the witnesses, their standing and condition in life, and opportunities of hearing and-recolleciing the confessions of Lapsley, and without stopping to commént on the same in detail, we would remark: 1st, that some of the witnesses by whom the confessions are proven, are of bad, and others of doubtful character, and nearly all are obscure citizens, who, from their condition, would not be-likely to have much if any intercourse with Lapsley and Hann, and would be little likely to understand, recollect, or detail with accuracy and precission, any statement made by Lapsley some-sixteen years before, about a-matter in which they could have no interest nor feel any concern.
The evidence of confessions at hest, is the weakest and least to be relied on, of any known, to be competent in law, because, as has often been said, the confessions are easily misunderstood, mis-recollected, perverted, or misrepresented through design or mistake, immediately after the confession is heard, and-when the whole statement is fresh in the recollection of the witnesses, and it.is almost incredible that witnesses would be able to treasure up. and detail with reliable accuracy, casual and loose statements made about sixteen years before, about a matter
2dly. The confessions are proven to have been made in the presence of no respectable man who is living, but in the general, in conversations with men who are dead, and who consequently, cannot be brought forward to contradict the evidence or explain the confession, if any was ever made.
3dly, The confessions proven as to the purpose and object of Lapsley, are contradictory with each other, some of them tending to establish that he purchased for the benefit of Hann, others that he purchased for the benefit of the infants and as a. means of securing the land to them, against the wastefulness of their prodigal father, which latter purpose is ridiculously absurd and not to be believed, as their interest was as secure and beyond the reach of their father or his creditors, before as after the sale. A very slight change in the version of the pretended confession,, if any was made, might change the whole character of the admission. If the statement was that the sale was made on account of, and for the benefit of the children, meaning their support and maintenance, the confession was strictly true, and yet may have been understood by those not understanding the nature of the interest, that the land was purchased for the benefit of the children and for their use.
4thly. It is scarcely to be credited, that a man of Lapsley’s intelligence and standing in the church, would so often make confessions of his own fraud, on the rights of helpless infants to whom he and his wife were greatly ■attached, who were much of their time inmates of his house, and to whose necessary support, both he and his wife had 'contributed liberally; and the more incredible is it, that none of his intimate friends and associates, who understood the whole matter, ever heard such statements or confessions.
5thly. The proof of confessions is precisely that character of testimony which bad men may persuade or suborn witnesses to give, and bad men may, and do often give with impunity. And unusual and unjustifiable, and to say the least, unworthy efforts have been made to drum
The same objection lies also to the most of the proof that Lapsley was the purchaser. And in addition, it may be further remarked, that to those to whom it was known that Lapsley was the owner, of the life estate, the impression of course would rest on their minds, that it would suit him best, and he might afford to give more, and therefore would buy the remainder; and the impression that he had purchased, may have been thus honestly originated and left on their minds. And with others, and especially those who did not understand the character of the two estates, they might have understood the declarations of Lapsley, that he had purchased' the life estate, as an acknowledgment that he had purchased the remainder, or with a slight change in the version at this distant day, they might easily convert the acknowledgment of an intention to buy, or that he had bought the land from
The necessitous condition of the infants demanded the sale. They were without means of support or of education, and thrown upon the charity of others for both. The sale of a remainder was authorized'by the statute, and it was better that it should be sold, though on account of its contingent character, it might not command a good price, and the proceeds applied to the decent,support and education of the infants, than that they should be raised by an intemperate father, in idleness, ignorance, and dissipation, or thrown upon the cold charity of the world, without means of support or moral culture, and exposed to the temptations incident to their condition. It was better for them to be well raised, without property at their maturity, than to be badly raised with unbounded means at command when they arrived at age.
The wild lands in which they had a contingent interest, in part was incumbered by adversary claims, and if sold under the hammer, it is obvious if any of them would have commanded any price, it would not have exceeded a mere nominal amount, which would have availed nothing, in the support and education of the children.
Darius McKee, at whose death the interest putchased would come to the possession of the tenant in remainder, was a young man of stout and healthful constitution, and had before become temperate in his habits, and joined the Presbyterian church, though he afterwards returned to his previous dissipated habits. • In view of his age,
2d. The decretal order directed the remainder in all the laud lying on the North side of the road leadihg from Lancaster to Danville to be sold, and the Commission, er reports that the sale was made according to the directions of the decree, which implies that every thing was done as to the advertisements, and in other respects, which the decree directed, the Commissioner being a man and officer of acknowledged skill and integrity. And the bonds of Hann exhibited with the report, show an aggregate amount which, at $5 124 per acre, would require the sale of precisely 2134 acres to produce. This shows that the quantity was ascertained by survey before ■the sale, or at least before the report, and Yantis, the ■Commissioner, proves that the quantity was ascertained by survey before the sale.
But if the quantity was not ascertained before the sale, the advertisement produced shows that the quantity was estimated at between 150 and 200 acres, and is so stated in the notice, and if it be true that the quantity was
Nor can we believe that any person who desired to-purchase, could have been or was misled by the casual omission in the single advertisement produced,- of the precise place at which the sale was to be made, even if such omission was made in the other advertisements, which were directed by the decree, which does not appear. The place to be sold was clearly described, and was well known, “lying one mile from Lancaster, on which Lapsley lived,” &c., and the interest in it was clearly indicated. Had any one seeing the advertisement, desired to purchase, he would, from the language of the advertisement, have been certainly brought to the conclusion that the sale would be made either on the premises or at Lancaster, and most likely at the former place. And if he was left in doubt, he might have attended at both places on the same day, and made inquiry of Yantis himself where the sale would be made. Besides, loud proclamation was made in the streets of Lancaster,- by Yantis, on the day of sale, that he was then going out to the premises to make sale of the land, under the decree. If any person was in town waiting an opportunity to buy, the presumption is, that he would have heard the proclamation, and if on the premises, he would have been at the place where the land was sold, ready to bid.
Upon the whole, without referring’to other corroborating proofs, in favor of the validity of the sale, we are satisfied, if Lapsley was the purchaser, and was now the holder of the estate, that there is no sufficient ground to annul the sale on the -score of fraud. But if Hann was the purchaser, as the best bidder, and not Lapsley, then there is no plausible pretext for the dissolution of the sale, as there is no plausible evidence of fraud, concealment, misrepiesentation, or other misconduct, in procuring the sale, or affecting the purchase, unless it was that he was a rival bidder against Lapsley, and made the-.
But if Lapsley was the buyer, arid the fraud was made out against him, there being no sufficient evidence of combination or fraud against Hann, nor participation in Lapsley’s-fraud, and be having paid the consideration, and the deed having been executed to Mrs. Hann, his devisee, without notice to either of Lapsley’s misconduct, her title cannot be affected. She has law and equity upon her side, and cannot be ousted by a latent equity, resting upon extraneous facts, made out by parol proof, and of which she and her husband had no notice. Without pursuing this branch of the subject further, we are satisfied that there is no sufficient ground to annul the sale of tb© remainder.
II. We have had more difficulty with the second question stated, or the question in relation to the boundary.
There are two corners found, each claimed by the parties as the true S. W. corner of Pauling’s pre-emption survey of 1,000 acres. The one claimed by Vaughn, stands nearly due east, about forty poles from the corner claimed by Mrs. Hann as the true corner. And by running from the N. E. corner, a black oak stump, acknowledged by both parties to be a true corner, to the corner claimed by Vaughn, about. 15 acres-of timbered land sold by Mrs. Hann to him, will be left out of Pauling’s pre-emption patent, under which she claims title. By running from the same corner, black oak stump, to the corner claimed by Mrs. Hann, the whole quantity sold will be embraced In the patent. The evidence and circumstances adduced to establish each of the corners, are contradictory, irreconcilable, and greatly perplexing. The patent calls for “a hickory and dogwood, near a branch that runs into Dick’s river, thence crossing said branch East,” &c.; a, hickory is found at both corners, marked with old marks as corners to the survey, and a dogwood stump is found near the hickory claimed by Vaughn as the corner, an unmarked dogwood is found at no great distance from the hickory claimed by Mrs. Hann. There are old line" marks found on both lines, running from the
If the variation found by Doty, in running the line from the beginning of the survey to the black oak stump, (two admitted corners,) be adopted in running the line from the same stump southwardly, at the end of the distance, a point would be run to, at neither of the corners in contest, and not far from midway between them, as the course to be run would be south two and a half east, instead of south three and three-fourths east, the course run to reach the corner claimed by Vaughn.
It is stated in the original certificate of survey of Pauling’s pre-emption, made in 1784, that the variation of the needle at that time was three degrees east. From the black oak stump to strike the corner claimed by Vaughn, according to the report of Doty, a variation west of three and three-fourth degrees being required, the declension of the needle, within the last sixty years, would be six and three-fourth degrees west, which would be
And it is known to the Court, that many inaccuracies and mistakes are-found in surveys executed at so early a day as that of Pauling’s. And the fact that a mistake in course or distance is made in one line, is certainly no evidence that a similar mistake is made in others. Hence if one variation or departure from the magnetic or true
Again, more than half a century ago, and a short time after the original survey was made, there was a long and angry controversy between Pauling and Meriweather’s heirs, on a caveat filed by the former against the latter, who claimed nearly the same land covered by. Pauling’s pre-emption, under an adversary pre-emption of 1,000 acre survey. In this controversy several surveys and connections were made and reported to the Court by different surveyors. In all of these surveys it appears that the western boundary line is laid down as crossing the branch, now called Gill’s branch, below the junction of the forks. The line running 1oQthe corner claimed by Mrs. Hann, ciosses the branch just below the junction of the forks, and that running to the corner claimed by Vaughn, crosses the branch just above the junction of the forks. When the objects and marks upon the ground were fresh, and witnesses living by whom they could be established, it is to- be presumed that the true line was then found and laid down.
Again, there is parol testimony proving that Pauling, some thirty years ago, recognized the corner claimed by Vaughn as bis true corner, and the line running to it as his western boundary. On the other hand'there is, as we think, a preponderance of evidence that he always recognized the corner, and line running to it, claimed by Mrs. Hann, as his true coiner and western boundary, and -remained in possession till his death, claiming up to that line. And Meriweather’s heirs, who lost the land embraced in Pauling’s patent boundary, but holding a part of their pre-emption adjoining and up to Pauling’s western boundary, and who were interested, being entitled to all the land between the two lines, if Pauling’s western boundary was the line claimed by Vaughn, certainly recognized the line claimed by Mrs. Hann as early as 1810, if not sooner, by written evidence which is not subject to the mistakes or mis-recollections of witnesses. In 1810 they sold and conveyed to Sasseen a part of their land-lying adjoining the western boundary of Pauling’s survey, and in the same year
Under all the circumstances, the quiet of titles and security of purchasers demand, that a line thus recognized and admitted as the true line, should be established and treated as the true line, or at least should not be unsettled and changed by any thing less than the most satisfactory and conclusive evidence in favor of another line being the true one, and of fraud or mistake in the recognition of the line as the true one, if even such evidence should be regarded after so great a lapse of time.
Upon the whole, we are satisfied that there is no ground for the rescission of the contract of sale made by Mrs. Hann to Vaughn.
The decree of the Circuit Court dismissing the bill of Vaughn, and cross bill of McKee’s heirs is, therefore, affirmed, with damages upon the damages awarded below, and costs.