Linhart v. Foreman's Adm'r

• Decision Date: 03 May 1883
• Citation: 77 Va. 540
• Parties: LINHART v. FOREMAN'S ADM'R AND ALS.
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

77 Va. 540

LINHART v. FOREMAN'S ADM'R AND ALS.

Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.

May 3, 1883

Appeal from decree of circuit court of Charlotte county in suit of James D. Linhart against Thomas H. Foreman, T. W. Greer and A. G. Jeffress.

The object of this suit was to rescind the contract and deed of 20th October, 1875, whereby said Foreman and wife conveyed 1,112 acres of land to said Linhart, and to have repaid the sum of $3,500, which he had paid, and to have returned his bond for $1,500 given for the balance of the purchase money on the ground that the defendants induced the complainant to purchase the land by fraudulent misrepresentations, or false representations as to the validity of the title and the freedom of the land from the encumbrance of the dower of the widow of Thos. Pollard, deceased, in the said tract.

The circuit court refused to rescind the contract, and dismissed the bill at the complainant's costs, and he appealed to this court.The view of the evidence taken by this court appears in the opinion of the court.

M M. Martin, and W. W. Henry, for the appellant.

F D. Irving, and R. T. Hubard, for the appellees.

OPINION

HINTON J.

From the record it appears that the appellant, James D. Linhart, a resident of Pennsylvania, attracted by advertisement of an association known as the " " National Virginia Settlement Association," of which A. G. Jeffress, one of the respondents in the court below, was secretary and treasurer, another, Thos. W. Greer, was a director, and one other of the respondents, John W. Foreman, was manager, visited the county of Charlotte, Va., in the fall of 1875, with a view to purchase a tract of land.That amongst the various tracts of land offered him by Foreman was one of 1,112 acres, called " the Thomas Pollard Tract," for which he began to bargain; that he was told at the time that this tract of land had been sold by A. G. Jeffress, as commissioner of Charlotte circuit court, to Foreman, who had not completely paid for it, and that the widow of Thomas Pollard, deceased, was entitled to a dower interest in the tract; that the appellant refused to purchase the tract unless a pefectly good and complete title was given to him, free from the widow's dower and from all other claims of every kind whatsoever; that Foreman thereupon carried him to see Jeffress, who, as commissioner, he claimed, had sold the land to him, and who, Foreman said, would arrange the matter of the dower with the court so that the deed from him (Foreman) should convey to the appellant a clear and perfect title.

A contract in writing was executed by the appellant and Foreman, which specifies $5,000 as the purchase price of the land, and provides, to follow the language of the contract, that " $3,500," part thereof, " should be paid on or before the 1st day of December, 1875, on delivery of a warranty deed for said property free and clear of all encumbrance, and that the balance of $1,500 should be paid at any time thereafter when full possession is given to the party of the second part."In a letter dated October 13, 1875, Foreman informs Linhart that " we have got a decree from the court ordering the commissioner to make a deed to the land, and also to clear the place of encumbrance by the 1st of January next.We will meet at the courthouse on the 20th to make the deeds, at which time they will be sent to you with a copy of the decree of the court, so that you can see how the decree is Mr. North, guardian of the widow, will also make a deed to you as guardian, so that you will have a perfect title, clear of all encumbrance."

The decree referred to in this letter orders " A. G. Jeffress, who is appointed a special commissioner for the purpose, to convey to John H. Foreman, the purchaser, the 1,112 acres of land * * * by proper deed, and to deliver possession thereof to him on the 1st day of January, 1876."

Soon after the execution of the contract and the reception of this letter the appellant received a letter from Jeffress, dated October 22d, 1875, in which he says: " This is to inform you that I have made a deed (in accordance with a decree of our circuit court) of the land.A copy of the decree has been sent you.The dower has also been arranged, so that Mr. Foreman's deed is a valid one in every respect.By sending the check, your desire can be consummated and your title good."At the same time he received this letter Foreman wrote him: " Mr. Jeffress made me a deed as ordered by the court, which he will notify you of if you desire it.Mr. Greer secured widow's dower with the court, so the court makes a clear title to me, and do the same with you, as you see by the decree and deed which I send to Mr. Gill," who was the appellant's neighbor and attorney in the State of Pennsylvania." I also enclosed a condition bond for the deferred payment.* * * I have taken the trouble to have everything right, which I believe I have got done to a dot," & c.

Under these circumstancesthe appellant handed his certified check to Mr. Gill, his attorney, with directions to enclose it to Foreman.And on the 10th December, 1875, Greer writes, acknowledging the receipt thereof, and in this letter he states that the land was conveyed by Jeffress, commissioner, to Foreman, and by Foreman to Linhart, in order that Linhart might get a deed with general warranty.

The appellant, believing he had a perfect title, rented the farm to a gentleman named Scott, who, in January, 1876, moved with his family from Pennsylvania to ...