McNair & Wade Land Co. v. Parker
McNair & Wade Land Co. v. Parker
Opinion of the Court
On the 20th day of June, 1910, appellees filed their bill against appellants in the Circuit Court of Taylor County alleging therein that on the 12th of
The foregoing statement contains the substance of the bill.
The deed from orators to the McNair & Wade Land Company is a warranty deed conveying for the consideration of $100.00 to said Land Company, its heirs and assigns forever, all the green pine and cypress timber on the 120 acres of land involved in this suit, with the right to enter on said land with full turpentine and timber privileges, and with the right to construct roads and tramroads over the land, the grantors reserving the right to use timber necessary to keep in repair the present farm only. The habendum clause of the deed is as follows : “to have and to hold the above granted, bargained and described premises with the appurtenances unto
There was a demurrer to the bill containing twelve special grounds which .in substance are:
1st. That the bill is contradictory and repugnant.
2nd. That its allegations do not show a forfeiture.
3rd. That it seeks to contradict and vary the terms of a solemn instrument under seal by a contemporaneous parol agreement.
4th. That the deed shows an absolute conveyance of the timber and shows no condition on which a forfeiture could be declared.
otli. That the bill does not show that the LaFayette Land Company had any notice of the alleged representations and agreements made by and with the agent of the McNair & Wade Land Company.
6th. That the bill does not show the alleged representations of the agent of the McNair & Wade Land Company formed any part of or constituted the inducement to said contract.
7th. That complainants do not show they were misled or deceived by any representation alleged to have been made by defendants or its agent.
8th. That the bill does not show a reasonable time has elapsed for the exercise of defendants’ rights under the lease.
9th. That the bill does not show the- complainants have been hindered in the free and unrestricted enjoyment of the premises.
10th. That the bill does not show the complainants have been damaged.
11th. That complainants do not offer to do equity in failing to tender the purchase price while seeking for a rescission of the contract.
This demurrer was overruled, and this ruling affords the ground for the first assignment of error.
In the brief of appellants it is first contended that the demurrer should have been sustained on the second and fourth grounds, and in support of the contention it is urged that the bill does not show a conditional estate, but shows a grant of an estate in presentí.
It does not appear that in any previous opinion of this court it has undertaken to define the nature of the estate or interest which is conveyed by a deed such as the one which is set out here, yet the effect and scope of such a deed is dealt with in the case of McNair & Wade Land Co. v. Adams, 54 Fla. 550, 45 South. Rep. 492, and other cases. In fact many of the questions presented here are settled by that decision, and the principles there enounced need not be repeated here. As to the interest conveyed by the deed it is plain that it carries no permanent fee simple interest in the land itself. It conveys only the timber growing on the land, which is a kind of servitude which may be lost by non.-use or abandonment. Owing to the peculiar nature of this interest this court has settled the doctrine that where the deed creating it is silent as to the time within which the rights conveyed must be used that a reasonable time will be allowed for their enjoyment, and that “in determining what would be a reasonable time to be allowed the purchaser of growing timber to remove the same, all the facts and circumstances of the case and the conditions surrounding the parties at the time of the execution of the contract of purchase should be considered.” The question of what is a reasonable time is not to be determined by the will
It would not be profitable to go into an examination of the many and conflicting decisions of the courts upon the construction of such a deed as the one before us. We are content with the rule laid down in the case of McNair & Wade Land Company, v. Adams, supra, where the deed construed was similar to the one in the instant case.
The other questions raised by the demurrer to the bill, except the one that no offer is made to return the purchase money, and the fifth ground, it seems to us are settled by the cited case, and by other cases in this court. As to this question it seems to be overlooked that the bill in this case does not seek to rescind the contract contained in the deed, but to obtain a forfeiture for non-uses or abandonment, and in such a case no equitable reason seems to demand a return of the purchase money. The agent of the McNair & Wade Land Company testified that he told the complainants at the time of the making of the deed “that the company would operate the timber as soon as they could get railroad facilities.” It is shown that a railroad was constructed and operated, and has since been operated near the property since sometime in 1902. It also appears that nothing had been done towards operating the timber when the testimony was taken. It seems to us that a reasonable time had elapsed for using the timber when the bill was filed.
It is contended that the LaFayette Land Company had no notice of the representations and agreements made by the agent of the McNair & Wade Land Company with the complainants in regard to the time of using the timber. It seems to us, however, that the deed itself under which the McNair & Wade Land Company acquired its rights carried with it, by clear implication, notice that
The Circuit Judge on final hearing decreed that the rights of the defendants acquired by the deed from the • complainants were forfeited and directed that said deed and the deed from the McNair & Wade Land Company to the LaFayette Land Company be cancelled. See Dow-ling Park N. S. Co. v. Hauck decided this day.
The decree below is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- McNair & Wade Land Company, a Corporation, and LaFayette Land Company, a Corporation v. William Parker and Elizabeth Parker, his Wife
- Cited By
- 8 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. A warranty deed conveying to a land company, its heirs and assigns forever, for the consideration of $100.00, all the green pine and cypress timber on 120 acres of land, with the right to enter on the land with full turpentine and timber privileges, and with the right to construct roads and tram-roads over the land, conveys no paramount fee simple interest in the land itself, but creates a servitude in the land for the benefit of the grantee and its assigns which must be used and enjoyed by such grantee or its assigns within a reasonable time after its creation, and which may be lost by non-use or abandonment. 2. Where a bill is filed to obtain a forfeiture of a contract or deed creating a servitude in land on the ground of non-use and abandonment, a demurrer to the bill on the ground that the complainant does not offer to return the purchase money, is not tenable. 3. It appears that the agent of the purchaser of the rights conveyed in the deed referred to in the first head note, told the grantors that the timber would be operated as soon as railroad facilities could be obtained. It further appears that a railroad was constructed near the land on which the tim- „ ber stood two years after the deed was made, and nearly eight years before the bill was filed in this case, and that nothing has ever been done towards operating the timber. It further appears that the land on which the timber stands has been the home of the complainants for a great many years: Held, that under these circumstances, the Circuit Judge committed no error in decreeing a forfeiture of the rights acquired under the deed.