112 So. 2d 231 | Miss. | 1959
This case involves the boundary line between two plantations. The chancellor found for the appellee Chaney, who was defendant in the court below, and the facts must be stated in the light most favorable to the successful party where there is any conflict. The strip of land
In tbe deed from Waid to Bryan, tbe easterly boundary is described as follows: Beginning at a point 8 chains east of tbe NW corner of tbe NE% of Section 1, Township 18, Range 1 E in Leflore County, Mississippi, “thence south 39 degrees east to a stake on tbe south boundary of Section 6, Township 18, Range 2 E, Carroll County, Mississippi, thence in a westerly direction along said boundary line 8 chains, more or less, to SW corner of said Section 6.”
Bryan died and bis widow, who thereafter remarried, on February 10, 1951, conveyed tbe same lands by tbe same description to B. C. Chaney, tbe defendant below and appellee here.
A. B. Waid conveyed tbe eastern portion of said 800 acres of land, more or less, to T. A. Guy on January 1, 1945. Tbe western boundary line of the land thus conveyed, which would be tbe eastern boundary line of tbe appellee’s land, is described as follows: Beginning 8 chains east of tbe NW corner of tbe NE]4 of Section 1, Township 18, Range 1 E in Leflore County, Mississippi; “thence on a line south 39 degrees east to a point where said line intersects tbe south and east boundary line of a public road known as Sidon or Black Hawk public road, and tbe point of beginning of tbe property hereby conveyed; from said point of beginning run on a line south 39 degrees east to a point where said line intersects tbe south boundary line of tbe W% of tbe SW]4 of Section 6, Township 18, Range 2 E, 8 chains more or less, east of tbe southwest corner of said Section 6, Car
T. A. Guy died and his heirs conveyed to the complainant below and appellant here, Harry Flowers Williams, on March 15, 1952, the same lands by the same description as contained in the deed from Waid to T. A. Guy.
It will thus be seen that the appellee and the appellant had a common boundary running southeasterly from a point on the south side of the Sidon or Black Hawk Road. This boundary line is in dispute.
Appellant filed his bill against the appellee charging that a mistake or error was made in the deeds from Waid to Bryan and from Waid to Guy and in the other deeds hereinabove mentioned; and charged that the course of the boundary line between said tracts running south 39 degrees east would intersect the southern boundary of said Section 6, 22 chains east of the point called for in said deeds; that a line running between the two stated points would run from the point of beginning south 27 degrees 22 minutes east; that if the boundary line runs on a course south 39 degrees east, appellee would acquire approximately 70 acres of land more than his deed called for, and appellant would have approximately 70 acres less than his deed called for; that the true line between appellant’s land and the appellee’s land runs south 27 degrees 22 minutes east. Appellant prayed for cancellation as a cloud upon his title the claim of appellee to the disputed strip, consisting of about 70 acres of land, and to have the boundary line established as running north to south on a line south 27 degrees 22 minutes east. We shall refer to the line claimed by appellee as the 39 degree line, and the line claimed by appellant as the 27 degree line.
Since Waid sold the western portion of his land to appellee’s predecessor in title the 39 degree line has been considered as the line between the two tracts until
There are a number of rules of construction cited and relied upon by the parties. The rule applicable to this case is stated in 8 Am. Jur., Boundaries, Section 50, page 782, as follows: “Another basic consideration is that those particulars of a description which are uncertain and more liable to error and mistake must be governed by those which are more certain; that one should be retained and given efficacy which is the most certain and the least susceptible to mistake.”
We are of the opinion that under the particular situation here involved that the place where the boundary line intersects the southern boundary of Section 6 (stated in the deeds as being 8 chains, more or less, east of the southwest corner) is more liable to be erroneous than the course. The course of the boundary line could be easily observed and determined from the Sidon or Black Hawk road, and from that part of the lands which was in cultivation. A surveyor could no doubt determine with fair accuracy the point of intersection of the boundary line with the southern boundary of Section 6 by calculation, using the starting point and the course as the basis. But finding said point of intersection on the ground required surveying through a large area of woods, some of which was waist deep in water when one sur
The chancellor’s decision is further justified under the rule which is stated in 16 Am. Jur., Deeds, Section 174, and approved by this Court in Sumter Lumber Co. v. Skipper, 183 Miss. 595, 184 So. 296, and Cummings v. Midstates Oil Corp., 193 Miss. 675, 9 So. 2d 648, as follows:
“174. Contemporaneous or Practical Construction. — A deed which is ambiguous or uncertain may be definite and certain by the practical construction of the parties to it while in interest. The construction put on such a deed by the parties is an indication of their intention. Therefore, where the construction of a deed is doubtful, great weight is to be given to the construction put upon it by the parties, especially in the case of doubtful questions which must be presumed to be within their knowledge, and such practical interpretation of the parties themselves by their acts under a deed is entitled to great, if not controlling, influence.”
Shortly after the deed from Waid to Bryan, appellee’s predecessor in title, a fence was built on the 39 degree line by Waid’s employee. This employee testified that it was not built on the true boundary line, but the chancellor could reject this testimony. Nevertheless, the 39 degree line was recognized by Waid and Bryan until Waid deeded the land now owned by appellant to T. A. Buy in 1945, and as already stated, the owners of the two tracts recognized the 39 degree line as the boundary until shortly before this suit was
The chancellor also found that appellee has been in adverse possession of the disputed strip for more than the statutory period. ~We need not consider that question, since our decision on the construction of the deeds affirms the action of the chancellor.
. Affirmed.