Veal v. Robinson
| Decision Date | 18 September 1883 |
| Citation | 70 Ga. 809 |
| Parties | VEAL et al. v. ROBINSON. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
September Term, 1883.
1. The judge who tried the case committed no errors in the various rulings and charges to which exception has been taken by the defendant below; nor was there error in the finding of the jury upon the questions thus submitted.
2. The court should not have refused to submit to the jury the issue made by the defendant's claim to a prescriptive title and should have charged, as requested, that " color of title is anything in writing purporting to convey title to the land, which defines the extent of the claim, being immaterial how defective or imperfect the writing may be so that it is a sign, semblance or color of title; and if they should be satisfied from the evidence that the defendant was in actual, public, continuous, peaceable, notorious and uninterrupte possession of the premises for seven years prior to the commencement of the suit under such color of title and that her claim ??d not originate in fraud, and that she held in her own right, in good faith, against all other persons, including her husband; then she was entitled to retain possession of the land." There was some evidence on which this charge could be based, and it should have been given, together with proper instructions, applying hypothetically to the assumed facts, and the jury should have been further instructed as to what constituted fraud and bad faith, and should have been told that if these things existed, defendant had no right to hold the premises.
New Trial. Title. Prescription. Fraud. Charge of Court. Before Judge HUTCHINS. Gwinnett Superior Court. March Adjourned Term, 1883.
Veal and Scruggs brought complaint for land against J. E. Robinson and his wife, Mrs. Fannie Robinson. The abstract of title attached to the declaration was as follows: A deed from Thomas M. Meriwether, chairman of the board of trustees etc., to Joseph Robinson, dated January 28, 1874; a deed from Joseph Robinson and his wife, Frances E. Robinson, to plaintiffs, dated December 21, 1874, and a deed from J. M Patterson, sheriff, to plaintiffs, dated December 5, 1876.
J. E Robinson filed a disclaimer of title. Mrs. Robinson pleaded the general issue.
On the trial, the following facts were shown: DeWitt C. Jones sold the property of Hopkins and others as trustees of the Orphans' Hom of the North Georgia Conference, on November 14, 1872; on January 28, 1874, Meriwether, as chairman of the board of trustees, conveyed the land to Joseph Robinson; Joseph Robinson made a deed to Mrs. Fannie Robinson, dated March 12, 1874, the expressed consideration being $1,500.00; the same grantor, his wife joining him, made a deed to plaintiffs, dated December 21, 1874, for the expressed consideration of $1,800.00; on December 5, 1876, Patterson, sheriff, sold the land under an execution in favor of Burge against Joseph Robinson, under a judgment obtained in 1867. Veal and Scruggs were the purchasers.
In addition, plaintiffs introduced evidence to the following effect: Meriwether, as chairman of the board of trustees, sold the land to J. E. Robinson; the latter paid $350.00 and gave notes for $1,400.00, receiving a bond for title. Subsequently, by consent of J. E. Robinson, his father, Joseph Robinson, paid the balance of the purchase money and took a deed in his own name; the payment was made by delivering to Meriwether certain notes given by one White to Joseph Robinson. Before the purchase, J. E. Robinson said it was all right; that there was nothing the way, but that it was bought with the proceeds of his father's homestead. He showed them over the land. In August, 1875, Scruggs, one of plaintiffs, went to the place. J. E. Robinson and his wife, the defendant, were living on it. Mrs. Robinson said they had it rented from Joseph Robinson (her husband's father), and wanted to rent it again if plaintiffs bought; that she would send her husband down to see about it. He did go to Stone Mountain, together with his father, in December, 1875, to see plaintiffs, and rented the place, giving his note for the rent; this has been sued on but not collected, and has been held by plaintiffs. Prior to this, Veal, one of plaintiffs, testified that he bought of Joseph Robinson a note of J. E. Robinson for $100.00 for rent of the place for 1874; J. E. Robinson said it was all right, that it would be paid; it was not, however, and Veal left it with one Miller, a justice of the peace, for collection, and has not seen it since. When the sheriff levied on the place, he served notice of the levy on J. E. Robinson; his wife was present at the time; it was spoken of at the supper table, in presence of Mrs. R., what the sheriff had come for. Subsequently plaintiffs sued J. E. Robinson for the land, a recovery was had, writ of possession issued in 1880, and plaintiffs were put in possession. Defendant was present; before dispossession, she told one to the plaintiffs that she wished to buy the land if she could get some money that was coming to her. When the sheriff sought to dispossess her, she refused to go out; wanted a few days to see her attorney; but did not claim or exhibit any title. Plaintiffs were put in possession and left a tenant there; the tenant remained two or three days, and was then put out by Wimpy, the attorney of defendant; and when one of plaintiffs went to the place, he found Wimpy and defendant and family there. J. E. Robinson returned the land for tax as his up to 1877, and then his wife returned it.
Defendant also presented evidence, in brief, as follows: J. E. Robinson bought the land from Meriwether, chairman of the board of trustees, for his wife, gave notes signed by him for her, and took a bound for titles for her. He paid off the first note of $350.00 with her money. The balance of $1,400.00 was paid in the following manner: Joseph Robinson, the father of J. E. Robinson, discovered that Mrs. Robinson, the defendant, had some money, and went to his son several times to get it; he had notes on one White, and it was arranged that Meriwether would take the notes for the last payment; this was done, and J. E. Robinson let his father have his wife's money for the White notes, contrary to his wife's wishes and instructions, she having given him the money to pay the balance of purchase price and take the deed to her. The deed was made to Joseph Robinson because he " wanted it that way, and he would make a deed to defendant in a short time." J. E. Robinson did not know there was anything against his father. On being informed what had been done, defendant was surprised and dissatisfied. Joseph Robinson came up on March 14, 1874, and made the deed to defendant.
J. E Robinson denied having given any rent note to Joseph Robinson; admitted that he gave the note to plaintiffs in 1875; he explained this by saying that he and his wife became dissatisfied and wanted to move off the place, and told Joseph Robinson to sell it; that Scruggs, one of the plaintiffs, came up and told him that plaintiffs had bought the land from Robinson, and he thereupon gave them a rent note; that when he went down to close the matter with Joseph Robinson, he found that " it was not satisfactory, and no sale as he instructed; then he repudiated said note and made old man Joseph Robinson, afterwards in November, 1876, take up this note by his note, and delivered it same day to Veal, and Veal gave an order on J. A. Miller for the note." (This was denied by the plaintiffs.) He never told his wife anything about the note, and she knew nothing of it until after it was sued. He received $375.00 from the estate of the father in 1872, and $88.00 in 1873, and these sums went towards paying for the land. They were married in 1866. Defendant went into possession of the land in 1873, and held adversely to him and every one else with claim of right; witness never laid any claim to the land. He bought land in Greene and...
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