Harrington v. Harrington

• Decision Date: 07 November 1906
• Citation: 55 S.E. 409,142 N.C. 517
• Parties: HARRINGTON v. HARRINGTON et al.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

55 S.E. 409

142 N.C. 517

HARRINGTON v. HARRINGTON et al.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

November 7, 1906

Appeal from Superior Court, Moore County; Webb, Judge.

Petition by Lucy A. Harrington against A. O. Harrington and others for the assignment of dower to petitioner. From a judgment affirming the ruling of the clerk ordering that petitioner's dower be assigned as therein directed petitioner appeals. Affirmed.

Petition for dower, heard on appeal from the clerk of the superior court of Chatham county, before his honor, Judge Webb holding the courts of the Eighth district. The petition was filed by the widow against the heirs at law of A. J Harrington, deceased, and on application duly made T. A Yarborough and A. D. Judd, purchasers of certain lands conveyed to them by said A. J. Harrington during his life were made parties defendant. On the hearing before the clerk, he found the facts pertinent to the inquiry and gave judgment as follows: "The court finds as a fact that this is a proceeding for dower in the lands of the late A. J. Harrington; that some time prior to his death he had sold the land claimed by T. A. Yarborough, to wit, 15 acres to the said Yarborough, and that he had sold the land claimed by A. D. Judd to N. G. Yarborough, who had sold and conveyed by proper deed the same to A. D. Judd, of all which property the said A. J. Harrington was seised during coverture; and that his wife, the plaintiff in this action, did not join in the execution of either of said deeds, but they were executed by A. J. Harrington alone. The court further finds as a fact that the report of the jury herein filed covers and embraces all the said lots of the said Yarborough and Judd as a part of the dower they allot; that there is a sufficiency of land outside of the said lots to constitute said dower, there being something like 150 acres; and that the dwelling house and improvements are not on either of the lots of said intervenors. The court, being of the opinion that it is proper and right for the value of the lots of the said Yarborough and Judd to be considered in estimating the value of the property out of which dower is to be allotted, is also of the opinion, and so adjudges, that the said Yarborough and Judd have the right to require the dower to be allotted elsewhere than on their property, so long as there is a sufficiency to make up same. The court further finds that the said T. A. Yarborough has put certain improvements on his lots, and that it would be inequitable to permit the same to pass to the widow in dower. It is therefore considered, ordered, and adjudged that the exceptions filed by the intervenors be, and they are hereby, sustained, and the report is remanded to the jury, and they are instructed to proceed to value the real property of the late A. J. Harrington, including the lots of the intervenors, and to allow one-third thereof in value, including the dwelling house, to the plaintiff, but they will allot the same on the lands other than the said two lots of the said intervenors and make their report to this court. Jas. I. Griffin, Clerk of Superior Court, Chatham County." These facts at the hearing before the judge below were admitted to be true;...