Bates v. Inhabitants of Sharon

• Decision Date: 28 February 1900
• Citation: 175 Mass. 293,56 N.E. 586
• Parties: BATES v. INHABITANTS OF SHARON.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

175 Mass. 293

56 N.E. 586

BATES v. INHABITANTS OF SHARON.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk.

February 28, 1900

COUNSEL

J. W. Spaulding, and R. W. Hunter, for plaintiff.

T. E Grover, for defendant.

OPINION

LORING J.

By virtue of a reservation in the deed, the plaintiff had a life estate in the dwelling house and the land belonging thereto including, at least, the land under it.The provision in the reservation that the grantor's right of occupation should be 'free of any rent or charge for taxes or otherwise' may have the effect of enabling her to recover from the grantee any sum which she has to pay by way of taxes or otherwise while she occupies the estate but it does not change the nature of the interest or estate reserved to her by the deed.The taxes on the dwelling house and land belonging to it were legally assessed to the plaintiff, who, as owner of a life estate in possession, was the owner thereof, within Pub. St. c. 11, § 13.It appears that the plaintiff was taxed, not only for the land in which she had a life estate, but for the land owned by the Ella Reed Home.Since a portion of the taxes were properly assessed to the plaintiff, her remedy, and her only remedy was a petition for abatement of so much thereof as should have been assessed to the home.Kelley v. Barton(Mass.)54 N.E. 860.This conclusion is in no way modified by the testimony of the plaintiff that she occupied the dwelling house as president of the Ella Reed Home.It was not pretended that the plaintiff had released her life estate to the Ella Reed Home,...