Jones v. Williams
| Decision Date | 23 June 1909 |
| Parties | JONES v. WILLIAMS. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
The motion to dismiss is controlled by the recent case of Mitchell v. Masury, 132 Ga. 360, 64 S.E. 275.
A deed from a grandfather to his granddaughter, which recites that the grantor, "for and in consideration of work and labor done and to be done, consisting of taking care and caring for the [grantor] for and during his natural life, upon the faithful performance of said duty upon her part this obligation is to be of full force and virtue, otherwise this deed to be and the above and foregoing to be null and void the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, does hereby sell and convey unto the [granddaughter], her heirs and assigns," a certain tract of land in fee simple, conveys an estate in fee on a condition subsequent.
[Ed Note.-For other cases, see Deeds, Cent. Dig. §§ 488-495; Dec Dig. § 155. [*]]
Forfeiture resulting from a breach of a condition may be released or waived, and a waiver may be either express, or implied from the circumstances.
[Ed Note.-For other cases, see Deeds, Cent. Dig. §§ 522-525; Dec. Dig. § 166. [*]]
Error from Superior Court, Union County; J. J. Kimsey, Judge.
Action by America Williams against Rachael Jones. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant brings error. Reversed.
Henry B. Gurley was seised and possessed of a small tract of land upon which he resided. In 1893, upon his invitation, his granddaughter, America Gurley, then a young girl about 14 or 15 years old, came to live with him, and on the 14th day of March, 1896, he executed to her a deed to the tract of land, the material parts of which are as follows: with warranty of title. The granddaughter remained on the premises, keeping house and caring for her grandfather, until the year 1900, when she married and left the premises to reside with her husband. Henry B. Gurley, who was then very much advanced in years, shortly thereafter moved into the house of his daughter, Rachael Jones, who resided about a half mile distant. On June 26, 1901, he executed to Rachael Jones a deed conveying the same land included in his previous deed to his granddaughter. Three or four years thereafter he died, and America E. Gurley (who had married Williams) brought suit against Rachael Jones to recover the land. In answer to the suit the defendant averred that the plaintiff had failed to support her grandfather according to the terms of her deed, whereby she forfeited all estate in the land conveyed to her by him, and that his subsequent deed to the defendant vested the title to the land in the defendant. It was also averred in the plea that the plaintiff was insolvent, and, if the plaintiff be permitted to recover the land, that the defendant was entitled to have judgment against the plaintiff for the value of the support and services rendered by the defendant to Henry B. Gurley, which should have been rendered by the plaintiff, and there was a prayer that such judgment be declared a special lien on the land. A verdict for the premises with mesne profits was rendered in favor of the plaintiff, which the court refused to set aside on motion for a new trial, and the defendant excepts.
W. E. Candler, J. B. Jones, John H. Davis, J. T. Davis, and B. F. Davis, for plaintiff in error.
O. J. Lilley and C.J. Wellborn, Jr., for defendant in error.
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Jones v. Williams
...64 S.E. 1081(132 Ga. 782)JONES.v.WILLIAMS.Supreme Court of Georgia.June 23, 1909. 1. Dismissal of Appeal. The motion to dismiss is controlled by the recent case of Mitchell v. Masury, 132 Ga. —, 64 S. E. 275. 2. Deeds (§ 155*)—Breach of Condition-Forfeiture—Waiver. A deed from a grandfather......