Baltimore Bldg. & Loan Ass'n v. Bethel

• Decision Date: 06 April 1897
• Citation: 27 S.E. 29,120 N.C. 344
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: BALTIMORE BUILDING & LOAN ASS'N v. BETHEL.

27 S.E. 29

120 N.C. 344

BALTIMORE BUILDING & LOAN ASS'N

v.BETHEL.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

April 6, 1897.

Deeds—Property Conveyed.

A deed described the property by metes and bounds, adding: "This lot is known as 'Lot No. 13, ' * * * and upon this lot the Hotel Bethel is erected." The hotel in fact extended over the line, and covered a part of lot 12. Held, that no part of lot 12 was conveyed.

Appeal from superior court, Forsyth county; Hoke, Judge.

Ejectment by Baltimore Building & Loan Association against W. L. Bethel. From a judgment of nonsuit, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

J. S. Grogan and Watson & Buxton, for appellant.

A. H. Eller and Glenn & Manly, for appellee.

FURCHES, J. This is an action of ejectment. The defendant, for the purpose of securing money borrowed from the plaintiff, executed a deed of trust to one Grogan, by which he conveyed to said trustee lot No. 13 in the city of Winston. The description contained in the deed is as follows: "Beginning at the corner of lot No. 12, and running southwardly the west side of Chestnut street 44 feet 3 inches to Seventh street, thence westward with said Seventh street 100 feet to an alley, thence northward with said alley 39 feet 11 inches to the line of lot No. 12, thence eastward with the line of lot No. 12 100 feet, to the beginning. This lot is known as 'Lot No 13' on the Show ground plot, recorded in the register's office in Book 42, page 274, and upon this lot the Hotel Bethel is erected." Grogan, trustee, sold, and plaintiff bought, and brings this action. In fact, the Hotel Bethel is erected on lot No. 13, but extends over the line between lots Nos. 12 and 13, eight feet on lot No. 12, and this action is to recover this eight feet of lot No. 12.

Plaintiff contends that the language used in the closing sentence of the description, "and upon this lot the Hotel Bethel is erected, " controls the description; and thereby this eight feet was conveyed by the deed of trust to Grogan, and by him to the plaintiff; it being admitted that the Grogan deed to plaintiff contains identically the same description as that in the deed of trust. But we do not agree with the plaintiff. If the mortgage had been a conveyance of the Hotel Bethel situate on lot No. 13, we would say it conveyed the ground upon which it stood, so far, at least, as the mortgagor was concerned, and he would be estopped to deny that it did. But that is not the case here. The grant is of lot No. 13, specifically described by metes and...