Feuer v. Henderson

• Decision Date: 08 July 1980
• Citation: 435 A.2d 1011,181 Conn. 454
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: Bernice B. FEUER et al. v. Grove W. HENDERSON et al.

Page 1011

435 A.2d 1011

181 Conn. 454

Bernice B. FEUER et al. v. Grove W. HENDERSON et al.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued April 8, 1980.

Decided July 8, 1980.

Bertlen F. Turner, Simsbury, for appellant (defendant Harold C. vienot).

Russell L. Post, Jr., Avon, with whom, on the brief, was Jewel A. Gutman, Avon, for appellees (plaintiffs).

Before COTTER, C. J., and BOGDANSKI, PETERS and HEALEY, JJ. ^*

COTTER, Chief Justice.

The plaintiffs brought this action pursuant to the provisions of General Statutes § 47-31 to settle title to a parcel of land in which they claimed ownership, located on the easterly side of Southeast Road, formerly Seventh Highway, in New Hartford, containing 38.45 acres as shown, inter alia, on two maps which were introduced as exhibits at trial. Judgment was rendered against all the nonappearing defendants who it was alleged might appear to have an interest in the described property. The sole remaining defendant Harold C. Vienot owned land south of the parcel at issue and claimed title to 20.59 acres of the 38.45 acres to which the plaintiffs claim title. The trial court rendered judgment for the plaintiffs and the defendant Harold Vienot has appealed.

A substantial amount of evidence was presented by the parties at the trial, consisting of some 35 exhibits including maps, sketches, probate documents, tax sales and deeds together with considerable testimony from many witnesses. The memorandum of decision, when examined in the light of the evidence presented to the trial court, discloses the following facts: The plaintiffs' chain of title to the disputed parcel extends back to 1857. At that time the 20.59 acre parcel in question formed a part of a large farm, commencing with the ownership in Gordon W. Henderson. The so-called Henderson farm resulted from the amalgamation of land conveyed to Gordon W. Henderson in three warranty deeds, which are recorded in the New Hartford land records: One piece, 15 acres, was conveyed to Gordon W. Henderson by Gordon Henderson on April 12, 1833; another piece, 20 acres, was acquired from Samuel and Josiah Goodsell on November 11, 1854; and the third parcel consisting of 1 acre, was conveyed to Gordon W. Henderson by the Goodsells in 1857. As described in the three warranty deeds, the boundaries of the various tracts encompassed a total of approximately 36 acres and referred to various abutting owners and courses.

By means of several transfers and conveyances of the property, variously described as the "Henderson Farm," "Gordon W. Henderson place" or the "Gordon W. Henderson farm," title was eventually acquired from the Hendersons on October 28, 1892, by Jakobine Strobel who later transferred the property by warranty deed dated May 19, 1897, to Joseph Teufel and referred to the property as "the Gordon W. Henderson farm." The 1892 deed described the property as the "Henderson Farm" containing 14 acres and this description was repeated in the subsequent deeds.

The defendant argues that the parcel of land described as "containing 14 acres more or less" perpetrates a discrepancy in the plaintiffs' chain of title from that time and, since the discrepancy is carried down to the present, it creates a defective title in the plaintiffs as to the 20.59 acre parcel in dispute. The plaintiffs claim, however, that the description of the farm as 14 acres was erroneous because there were no other conveyances out of the chain of title, and that since all deeds refer to the "Gordon W Henderson place" or the "Gordon W. Henderson farm," it is reasonable to conclude that the entire Henderson farm was conveyed throughout. The defendant admits that the deeds refer to the Henderson farm, that the plaintiffs acquired their title by conveyance dated December 30, 1966, from Elsie M. Teufel and that the property is described as "land formerly known as the Gordon W. Henderson Farm," but argues nonetheless that the reference to the 14 acres in those deeds creates a "substantial discrepancy between the 38.45 total acreage shown in the plaintiffs' exhibits and the 14 acres referred to in the later deeds."

The defendant also attacks the decision of the court on the basis of the descriptions in the deeds of the plaintiffs' east and west boundaries; he claims that the plaintiffs' chain of title indicates that their property is rectangular in shape and thus "the approximately 21 acres in dispute could not ... be owned by the plaintiffs."

The evidence at trial also disclosed that Pleasant Valentine, the defendant's predecessor in title, acquired from Winsted Savings Bank, in 1896, 100 acres on both sides of the highway. Subsequently, Valentine conveyed a parcel purported to be 75 acres on the east side of Seventh Highway to Stephen Kulich who lost the property through tax liens. This land was divided by two tax collectors' deeds into an easterly half, which was conveyed to Conrad Vienot, the defendant's father, in 1931, and a westerly half, which was deeded to Joseph Boulli in 1929. The defendant eventually acquired both tracts through various conveyances and estates. When the defendant's total claimed area is considered, including the disputed area of some 20 acres, he would own less than 75 acres, or approximately 67 acres. Without the disputed area, the defendant would have approximately 46.5 acres. It is thus not possible to reconcile the respective claims of the plaintiffs and the defendant as to acreage.

Thus, it is apparent that the pivotal questions in this case concern the chains of title of the parties and whether the various conveyances adequately resolve the controversy as to the location of an abutting line which would be the plaintiffs' southerly boundary and the defendant's northerly boundary. We have held that where the issue was whether the land was included in one or the other chain of title, it was a question of fact for the court to decide. Byard v. Hoelscher, 112 Conn. 5, 11, 151 A. 351. Similarly, we have held that in an action to settle title to lands and boundaries between parties, where the testimony of witnesses as to the location of the land described in deeds is in conflict, it becomes a question of fact for the determination of the court which may rely upon the opinions of experts to resolve the problem and it is the court's duty to accept that testimony or evidence which appears more credible. Ball v. Branford, 142 Conn. 13, 17, 110 A.2d 459; Morgan v. Keefe, 135 Conn. 254, 258, 63 A.2d 148.

Three surveys of the disputed parcel were admitted in evidence as full exhibits. Edward F. Reuber, a licensed, certified land surveyor, prepared a map of the plaintiffs' property and testified that he researched the land records of the disputed property and found no records or deeds which suggested that the defendant Vienot had title to the 20.59 acre portion or that there was a conveyance out of the plaintiffs' chain of this particular parcel. The Reuber map was based on his examination of the land records, evidence of the stone wall and fence line along the southern boundary, and the consistent job in one of the boundaries. He also made a sketch, which was introduced as a full exhibit, that showed the boundaries of the Henderson farm together with those of other adjoining owners. ¹ Reuber also testified that his map, which revealed the plaintiffs' property to be approximately 38.45 acres, would be a reasonably close approximation of the size of the Henderson farm derived from the three deeds existing in 1857 in the plaintiffs' chain of title.

Another survey, prepared and certified by civil engineers in 1930 for Joseph H. Boulli, one of the Vienots' predecessors in title, and recorded on the New Hartford land records, supports the plaintiffs' claim and shows their southerly boundary line as running "980 feet plus" along the stone wall. This conforms with the survey made by Reuber. A third map or survey of the defendant's property was made in 1973 at the request of the defendant and certified as substantially correct by Francis C. Messenger, L.S. This survey also agrees with that made for the plaintiffs by Reuber, and supports the boundary line as claimed by the plaintiffs. Although the survey was made at the request of the defendant, he claims the survey was erroneous and would incorrectly give him title to only 45 or 46 acres rather than 75 acres.

Where the ultimate question was whether the tract in...