Cox v. Ellsworth
Decision Date | 06 January 1886 |
Parties | JOSHUA COX, APPELLEE, v. FRANCIS M. ELLSWORTH ET AL., APPELLANTS |
Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
APPEAL from Hamilton county. Tried below before NORVAL, J.
AFFIRMED.
Austin J. Rittenhouse and William P. Hellings, for appellants cited: Burr v. Sim, 4 Wharton, 150. Eagle's Case, 3 Abbott, 218. Proctor v. McCall, 23 Amer. Decisions, 135. Holmes v. Johnson, 42 Pa. State 164. Miller v. Beates, 8 Amer. Decisions, 658. Abbott's Trial Evidence, 74.
Alfred W. Agee, for appellee, cited: Jamison v. Smith, 17 Rep., 300. John Hancock v. Moore, 34 Mich. 41. Best Evidence (Morgan's Ed.), § 409. Tisdale v Insurance Co., 26 Iowa 170. Ryan v. Tudor, 31 Kan. 366. Hancock v. Insurance Co., 62 Mo. 29.
This is an action in equity brought in the district court of Hamilton county, by Joshua Cox, plaintiff, against Francis M. Ellsworth and wife, defendants, to reform an error or mistake in a deed of real estate executed by said defendants to one Mitchel Clement, under whom the plaintiff claims. The alleged error or mistake consisted in a misdescription of the land intended to be described in and conveyed by the deed. The defendants answering denied that there was a mistake or error in the deed, and denied the death of Mitchel Clement, their grantee. The deed under which the plaintiff claims his right in the premises was executed by Sarah J. Clement, widow or wife, and Minnie L. Clement, only child of said Mitchel Clement. This land was purchased and deed received by said plaintiff, and executed by said Sarah J. Clement and Minnie L. Clement on the theory that said Mitchel Clement was deceased prior to the date thereof--November 21, 1881.
The cause was tried to the court, which found all of the issues for the plaintiff, and adjudged, decreed, and ordered the said deed reformed and corrected as prayed by the plaintiff in his petition, etc.
The cause is brought to this court by the defendants by appeal. The case presents two questions:
1. Was there a mistake in the description of the land sought and intended to be conveyed by Francis M. Ellsworth and wife to Mitchel Clement under date June 9, 1875?
2. Was Mitchel Clement deceased prior to November 21, 1881?
The deed as recorded describes the land conveyed as "the south half of the north-west quarter of section 34, in township 10, range 5 W. It was amply proved on the trial that this land was entered under the homestead law prior to any of the transactions between Ellsworth and Clement by one Thomas C. Klumb, who continued to own and occupy it until long after the date of said transactions. The defendant F. M. Ellsworth presented his own deposition, taken in Washington Territory, as evidence on the part of the defendants. In his deposition he does not claim that he ever owned the land actually described in the deed to Clement; but he does swear that he did not intend by the said deed to convey to Clement the south half of the north-west quarter of section 34, in township 11, range 5 W., the only tract of land that he is proved to have owned in Hamilton county at that time. On the other hand, Mr. Agee, a witness on the part of the plaintiff, testified that he was intimately acquainted with the defendant Francis M. Ellsworth in the fall of the year 1874, and for three or four years thereafter; that in the fall of 1875 he had a correspondence with said defendant (defendant residing at Seward, and witness at Aurora, Hamilton county) in reference to this land; that one Hyatt came to witness, who was then a law partner of said Ellsworth, and inquired if Ellsworth would sell the said tract of land, the south half of the north-west quarter of section 34, in township 11, R. 5 W.; that at the request of said Hyatt witness wrote to Ellsworth in regard to said tract of land, whether it was for sale, and the price and terms; that Ellsworth wrote a letter to witness in reply. Said letter having been destroyed at the time of the closing up of the partnership business between witness and defendant, witness was permitted to state the contents of the letter, and testified as follows:
Upon this and other testimony I do not think that the court could have found otherwise than that "there was an error and mistake inadvertently made in the description of the premises intended to be made," etc. Some stress is laid in the deposition of defendant on the assertion made by him that if there was a mistake in the description of the land in the deed it was not his mistake, but the mistake of Mills, the agent of the grantee. I do not think it would make any difference whose mistake it originally was. By executing and acknowledging the deed he adopted its terms, and if there was a mistake in it, though made by the draftsman, whoever he might be, so that the deed did not express the true intention of the grantor, a court of equity will reform it so as to comply with such intention.
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