30 Minn. 372 | Minn. | 1883
Gen. St. 1878, o. 75, § 15, provides: “Where any person, under color of title in fee, and in good faith, has peacefully taken possession of any land for which he has given a valuable consideration, *• * neither such person, nor his heirs, representatives, or assigns, shall be ejected from such land, except as hereinafter provided, until compensation is tendered him or them for all improvements-which he or they may have made upon said land previous to actual notice of the claim upon which the action is founded.”
At common law there was no liability on the part of the owner of real estate for improvements made by an occupant, even in good faith, under color of title. The right to recover for them is based upon this statute, and the claimant must bring himself within its provisions. The statute was designed for the benefit of those who have gone into possession in good faith, under color of title in fee, for which they have paid a valuable consideration, and, while thus in possession, believing themselves the owners, have made valuable improvements. Two things are essential to the right to recover for improvements: First, the party must have, under color of title in fee and in good faith, peaceably taken possession of land for which he has paid a valuable consideration; second, he must, while thus in possession, have made the improvements, previous to actual notice of the claim upon which the action against him is founded. The words of the statute refer to the time of making the improvements, and mean that, at the time of making them, he .must be in possession under color of title in fee, and be without notice of the claim under which the plaintiff in the action against him seeks to recover. Hence, where the claim for the improvements is made by the grantee of the party who made them, the material inquiry is, not the standing of the grantee when he purchased the land, but of the grantor at the time of making the improvements. A grantee does not occupy a better position in regard to the improvements made by his grantor than the latter himself occupied. Any other construction of the statute would compel the owner of land to pay for unauthorized improvements
In the ease at bar all the improvements were made by defendant’s grantor, Harris, before he conveyed to defendant. The court below instructed the jury, in effect, that if defendant entered into possession under color of title in fee, and in good faith, and paid a valuable consideration, he was entitled to compensation for all the improvements made by his grantor, Harris, thus entirely ignoring the questions whether Harris had color of title in fee, or' had actual notice of plaintiff’s title, when he made the improvements.
It follows from what has been already said that this was error for which the judgment must be reversed.
This disposes of this appeal, but, as another trial may.be had, it is proper to consider other questions involved in the ease.
It is unquestionably true that a deed cannot operate as color of title so as to have effect beyond the estate which it purports to pass. But a deed of quitclaim and release, like the one under consideration, is sufficient to pass all the estate which the grantor could convey by deed of bargain and sale. Gen. St. 1878, c. 40, § 4. Nor, in our judgment, do the words limiting the title conveyed to title acquired by purchase for taxes, alter the case. If these tax titles had been valid, Easton would have been the owner in fee, and the deed .under consideration effectual to pass the title in fee to his grantee. We are, therefore, of opinion that this deed gave Harris color of title in fee. The recital in. the deed was actual notice to Harris that the title which Easton was conveying to him was that which he had acquired at tax sale; but this of itself did not amount to actual notice that this title was invalid, and it is only actual and not constructive
If the facts assumed are true, the conclusion must be conceded, for the state cannot interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States, or with any regulations congress may find necessary for securing the title in the soil to bana fide purchasers. The facts disclosed by the record are these: One White purchased the land of the United States, on the 2nd of October, 1857, by locating upon it a military-bounty land-warrant. The issue of a patent upon this location was suspended, on account of a caveat being filed in the general land-office against the warrant by the owner thereof, on the ground that the assignment was forged; and on that ground the warrant was cancelled, in November, 1864. As is well understood, in such cases, the locator or his assigns have the right to file another warrant, or pay in the cash in lieu of the cancelled warrant, and thereupon a patent will be issued upon the original location. In this case the plaintiff, who was the grantee of White, the locator, in July, 1880, paid to the United States $100 in lieu of the cancelled warrant, and, the substitution being thus made, a patent issued to White upon his original location of October 2,1857. .Had this location been can-» celled and the land reverted to the United States, and by them been sold to another purchaser, an entirely different question would have/ arisen. But in this case the location was never cancelled, but merely the issue of a patent suspended until the substitution was made, the money beihg substituted for the warrant, and relating back to the original location in 1857, and a patent issued upon that location. The case would not have been different had the entry been made in the first instance with a warrant to which the locator had good title. It is well settled that land purchased of the United States and paid
The jury, by their verdict, found that the plaintiff was the owner of the premises and entitled to the possession. With this the defendant, not having appealed, is content. Hence there is no occasion for a new trial upon the question of title. But, for the reasons given, the judgment must be reversed, and a new trial ordered upon the issues arising out of defendant’s claim for compensation for improvements.
Ordered accordingly.