Hall v. Eaton

• Decision Date: 08 May 1885
• Citation: 139 Mass. 217,29 N.E. 660
• Parties: HALL v. EATON et al.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

139 Mass. 217

29 N.E. 660

HALL

v.EATON et al.¹

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Worcester.

May 8, 1885.

Exceptions from superior court, Worcester county; BLODGETT, Judge.

Writ of entry by Frank E. Hall against Eliza M. Eaton and others to recover certain land. The land was originally owned by one Henry Goulding, and was divided into lots and sold by his executors. The deed under which the tenants claim ran to Kelley and Blackmer, and was executed February 20, 1869, and described tenants' lot as follows: “A certain lot of land situated in the city of Worcester, on the westerly side of Wachusett street, and northerly side of Dix street, bounded and described as follows, to-wit: Beginning at the south-easterly corner of the lot conveyed, and at the intersection of said streets; thence running northerly, by Wachusett street, one hundred and thirty-four feet, to land of the heirs of Henry Goulding; thence running westerly, by land of the heirs of said Goulding, sixty feet; thence running southerly, by land of said heirs, at right angles to said Dix street, one hundred and twenty-five feet to Dix street; thence running easterly, by Dix street, sixty-one feet, more or less, to the first-mentioned bound,-containing 7,770 feet, more or less.” October 8, 1869, executors conveyed the residue of the land to one King, by a deed containing the following description: “Lot of land on the northerly side of Dix street, bounded as follows: Beginning at the south-easterly corner of the lot, at a corner of land of Kelley and Blackmer, and running westerly on Dix street, one hundred and eighty feet, to a new street about to be made; thence turning, and running northerly on said new street one hundred and twelve and a half feet, to land belonging to the estate of the late Henry Goulding; thence turning, and running easterly on said Goulding estate, one hundred and eighty feet, to land of Kelley and Blackmer; thence turning, and running southerly on land of said Kelley and Blackmer, one hundred and twenty-five feet, to the place of beginning on said Dix street.”May 8, 1871, King conveyed demandant a part of his lot on Dix street, by a deed containing the following description: “Beginning at the south-easterly corner thereof, at corner of land of Kelley and Blackmer, and at a point one hundred and eighty feet distant from the easterly line of Goulding street; thence northerly, on land of Kelley and Blackmer, one hundred and twenty-five feet, to land of the estate of Henry Goulding; thence westerly, on said land of Goulding, forty-five feet; thence southerly, and parallel with the first-described line one hundred and twenty-five feet, more or less, to said Dix street; thence easterly, on Dix street, forty-five feet, to the place of beginning.” If the third line described in the deed to Kelley and Blackmer is drawn at right angles to Dix street, the tenants' line on Dix street will be 80.52 feet long, instead of 60.5, and the whole lot will contain 9,101 square feet, instead of 7,770, which it would contain, exactly, if the line on Dix street should be 60.5 feet. Demandant offered to show that the executors of Henry Goulding had, before any of the lots were sold, prepared a plan of them, which plan showed that tenants' line on Dix street was only 60.5 feet long; but there was no evidence that Kelley and Blackmer saw this plan before they received their deed. Demandant also offered to show that, in 1876, he built a fence between his lot and tenants, on the line as claimed by him, and that this fence remained for several years, until taken down by tenants. The trial judge ruled, as a matter of law, that the westerly line of tenants' lot was to be drawn at right angles to Dix street, as called for in the deed, and excluded all evidence outside of the deed. Demandant excepts. Exceptions overruled.

F.P. Goulding, for demandant.

H.E. Hill, for tenants.

W. ALLEN, J.

The courses of the lines on Wachusett street and Dix street are fixed on the land, and fix the angle contained by them. There is nothing on the land to fix the course of the second or of the third line, for it does not appear that the line of the land of the heirs of Henry Goulding mentioned is fixed. The description in the deed gives the length of the first, second, and third lines, which there is nothing to control, and the angle contained by the third and fourth lines. There is no difficulty in locating this description upon the land, and it makes the length of the fourth line 80 feet and 52-100 of a foot, and the contents of the lot 9,101 square feet. The description in the deed gives the length of the fourth line as “sixty-one feet, more or less,” and the contents of the lot as “7,770 feet, more or less.” This discrepancy of one-third in the length of the front line of the lot, and one-fifth in its contents, could not have been intended, although the length and dimensions are only approximately given, and it is...