Watson v. Matley

• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: FRASER, J.
• Citation: Watson v. Matley, 121 S.C. 482, 114 S.E. 412 (S.C. 1922)
• Decision Date: 17 August 1922
• Docket Number: 10988.
• Parties: WATSON v. MATLEY ET AL.

114 S.E. 412

121 S.C. 482

WATSON v. MATLEY ET AL.

No. 10988.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

August 17, 1922

Appeal from Common Pleas Circuit Court of Kershaw County; I. W Bowman, Judge.

Action by T. W. Watson against Mary Matley and others. From judgment for plaintiff, defendants appeal. Reversed.

B. B Evans, of Columbia, for appellants.

De Pass & De Pass, of Columbia, for respondent.

FRASER J.

The plaintiff brought this action against W. J. Matley for trespass upon his land. The plaintiff alleged that he was the owner and in possession of a tract of land, but that the defendant had entered upon his land, destroyed his crop, cut down his trees, and put a tenant in possession of a house on his land. It was a boundary dispute. The defendant claimed title, possession, and also set up that the plaintiff had made an assignment for the benefit of his creditors, and conveyed his interest, if any, to the assignee.

The defendant died, pending the litigation, and his heirs at law were substituted as defendants. There were orders of survey. The surveyors made their report. That report showed the land in dispute to be on the plaintiff's side. The plaintiff moved for judgment on the report of the surveyors. This motion was granted, and the defendants appealed. The appeal must be sustained.

The defendants set up title in themselves by adverse possession. They denied the plaintiff's title to the whole tract of land described in the complaint. Even granting that Hogan's line (conceded to be the original line) is...