Beers v. Beers
| Decision Date | 25 October 1870 |
| Citation | 22 Mich. 42 |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
| Parties | William A. Beers et al. v. Alice M. Beers |
Heard October 21, 1870
Error to St. Clair circuit.
This is an action on the case brought by William A. Beers and others heirs at law of Horace Beers, in the circuit court for the county of St. Clair, against Alice M. Beers, the widow of the deceased, and administratrix of his estate. The declaration alleges that Beers, at his death, was seized of certain premises therein described, by virtue of an unrecorded deed that the defendant caused said deed to be destroyed, and obtained from the grantor a deed to herself of the same premises, and had sold and conveyed said property to a bona fide purchaser. On the trial, the defendant was sworn as a witness, to prove that said deed made to her husband was not absolute, but conditional or in trust. The circuit judge admitted the testimony, against the plaintiffs' objection, and rendered a judgment for the defendant; and the plaintiffs bring the cause in this court by writ of error.
Judgment reversed and a new trial ordered, with costs to plaintiffs in error.
W. S Edwards and C. I. Walker, for plaintiffs in error.
T. C. Owen, W. T. Mitchell, and D. C. Holbrook, for defendant in error.
The plaintiffs in error, being heirs at law of one Horace Beers, deceased, brought an action on the case in the court below, against the defendant in error, who was the widow of the latter, and administratrix of his estate, to recover damages for the alleged destruction by her of a deed of certain premises, of which it was claimed Horace Beers died seized.
The plaintiffs submitted evidence tending, among other things, to show that shortly before the death of Horace Beers, one Orvil Heminger executed, acknowledged and delivered to him the deed in question as a conveyance of the lands described by it in fee, and that, as grantee named in it, Beers retained the deed up to the time of his death, and left it among his papers.
Having gone through with their evidence in chief, the plaintiffs rested, and the defendant being then sworn as a witness in her own behalf, was allowed to testify, under objection, in substance, that the deed from Heminger was given under a parol agreement between her husband and Heminger, and that by such agreement Beers was to give Heminger certain promissory notes, and a debt owing by Heminger to Beers of $ 450, secured by mortgage on the land to be conveyed, and which had been executed by Heminger to Beers, and that Heminger was to execute and...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Cardiff v. Marquis
...136; Gibson v. Forte, 40 Miss. 792 Lowry v. McGee, 3 Head 274; Snyder v. Wolford, 33 Minn. 175; Farnham v. Clements, 31 Me. 426; Beers v. Beers, 22 Mich. 42; Hanson Berthelsen, 19 Neb. 433; Philbrook v. Delano, 29 Me. 410. Parol evidence is inadmissible to establish an express trust. Dick v......
-
Kulenkamp v. Groff
... ... Ch ... 523; Martin v. Hamlin, 18 Mich ... 354; Adair v. Adair, 5 Mich. 204; ... Vanderkarr v. [71 Mich. 680] Thompson, 19 ... Mich. 82 ; Beers v. Beers, 22 ... Mich. 42; Gram v. Wasey, 45 Mich ... 223, 7 N.W. 84, 762. For cases elsewhere similar to the one ... under consideration, see ... ...
-
Billingsley v. Ricketts
... ... Atherton, 106 Ill. 31; Warrall v. Munn, 5 N.Y ... 229; Cocks v. Barker, 49 N.Y. 107; Ordinary v ... Thatcher, 41 N.J.L. 403; Beers v. Beers, 22 ... Mich. 42; C. W. & Z. R. Co. v. Iliff, 13 Ohio St ... 235; Plank Road Co. v. Stevens, 10 Ind. 1; Wight ... v. Shelby, 16 B. Mon ... ...
-
Doyle v. Mizner
... ... Adair v. Adair, 5 Mich. 204; Holmes v ... Hall, 8 Mich. 66; Martin v. Hamlin, 18 Mich ... 354; Vanderkarr v. Thompson, 19 Mich. 82; Beers ... v. Beers, 22 Mich. 42. A bill of sale that purports on ... its face to be an absolute conveyance, and to have been ... signed, sealed and ... ...