Bacon v. Gennett

• Decision Date: 09 February 1915
• Docket Number: 2721.
• Citation: 220 F. 663
• Parties: BACON v. GENNETT.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

220 F. 663

BACON v. GENNETT.

No. 2721.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

February 9, 1915

Arthur Heyman and P. H. Brewster, both of Atlanta, Ga., for appellant.

Andrew Bennett, of Franklin, N.C., for appellee.

Before PARDEE and WALKER, Circuit Judges, and MAXEY, District Judge.

PARDEE Circuit Judge.

The case shows that the United States of America instituted its condemnation proceedings to condemn 32,000 acres of land lying in Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, and other counties in the northern part of Georgia. An examination of the title to said various tracts of land, including a great many land lots showed that there were possibly hundreds of claimants in many cases having apparently conflicting interests, whereupon, in aid of said condemnation proceeding, a bill was filed by the United States of America on the equity side of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Georgia, making all of these various conflicting claimants parties, and requiring them to come into court and set up by interpleader what, if any, claim they had to these respective properties. In response to the notice and service in said bill, Hal H. Bacon filed a claim to six land lots, to wit, Nos. 78, 104, 114, 145, 180, and 213, lying in the Sixth district and First section of Fannin county, Ga. N.W. Gennett also filed claim to said land lots Nos. 78, 104, 114, 145, 180, and 213 in the Sixth district and First section of Fannin county, Ga.

The disputed claims to said respective land lots between said Hal H. Bacon and N.W. Gennett were brought to trial before a jury, resulting in a verdict of the jury finding lot 114 to be the property of Hal H. Bacon, and lots 78, 104, 145, 180 and 213 to be the property of N.W. Gennett. A judgment was entered in accordance with this verdict. Counsel for Hal H Bacon filed a motion for a new trial, complaining that said verdict and judgment, finding lots 78, 104, 145, 180, and 213 to be the property of N.W. Gennett, were contrary to law and contrary to the evidence. Said motion for new trial was continued until the March term, 1914, of the said court, at which time, to wit, on March 31, 1914, the court rendered a judgment granting said motion for new trial as to lot 104, and overruling said motion for new trial as to lots 180 and 214. Thereupon Bacon petitioned for and was allowed an appeal to this court.

The suit between Bacon and Gennett in the District...