Nisbet v. Cristler
Nisbet v. Cristler
Opinion of the Court
rendered the opinion of the court.
Action in the Washington district court to quiet title to land' in Washington county, instituted December 30, 1908, by appellee as plaintiff, against appellant. Complaint is in usual form, to which defendant by his answer interposes three defenses, the first of which consists of admissions and denials. The second pleads title in defendant by virtue of a tax deed recorded February 8, 1901; also that no action for the recovery of the land sold had been brought within five years, etc. The third reiterates defendant’s claim of title by virtue of the tax deed aforesaid, and further pleads the seven years statute of
The record is short, and the evidence fixes the fee simple title to the premises in plaintiff. The defendant in proof of his pleaded title offered in evidence the tax deed above mentioned, to which plaintiff objected upon the ground that the deed was void on its face, because it shows an assignment of the tax sale certificate by the county clerk more than three years after the sale. The objection was sustained. Defendant then offered in evidence the county court decree, which purported to fix title to the disputed premises in one Henry G-. Hay, from whom defendant deraigned title. It was stipulated that whatever title the tax deed conveyed or the decree established was vested in defendant.
It is stated in appellant’s brief that but two questions need be considered on this appeal, first, was the action barred by the statute of limitations; second, did the court err in sustaining the objection to the county court
“Bills of relief, in case of the existence of a trust not cognizant by the courts of common law, in all cases not herein provided for, shall be filed within five years after the cause thereof shall accrue and not thereafter.”
This statute is usually spoken of by the profession as the “equity five years statute of limitations,” and its construction and application have been before the supreme court, as well as this court, several times, and they have definitely decided that the statute is not applicable to cases of this kind. — Morgan, Admr., et al. v. King, 27 Colo., 539, 63 Pac., 416; Ballard v. Golob et al., 34 Colo., 417, 83 Pac., 376; Munson v. Marks, 52 Colo., 553, 124 Pac., 187; Terry v. Gibson, 23 Colo. App., 273, 128 Pac., 1127; Empire R. & C. Co. v. Irwin, 23 Colo. App., 206, 28 Pac., 867; Wells v. Brown, 23 Colo. App., 190, 128 Pac., 869. From these decisions it will be seen that plaintiff’s contention is untenable.
. The second objection to the judgment, viz., that the trial court erred in excluding the county court decree from evidence, is equally untenable. Appellant’s counsel has ably and at great length discussed this proposition, but unfortunately for him our supreme court, as well as this court, has determined that question adversely to the views contended for by him. — McLaughlin v. Reichenbach, 52 Colo., 437, 122 Pac., 47; Terry v. Gibson, supra; Empire R. & C. Co. v. Coleman, 23 Colo. App., 351, 129 Pac., 522. The record shows that defendant pleaded this county court decree as vesting in him, through mesne conveyances, absolute title to the premises in dispute; that he relied upon the same to establish his title and offered it
Perceiving no reversible error in the record, the judgment is affirmed.
Judgment Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.