Edmonds v. Wery
Edmonds v. Wery
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT BY
This is an action of ejectment brought, in the fourth circuit court to recover the land described in the complaint to which plaintiffs claim, title by purchase from one D. Kamai. The case was brought before the circuit court, jury waived. At the close of the case for plaintiffs the trial judge, on the motion of defendants, granted a nonsuit, from which judgment plaintiffs have come here on exceptions.
The claim of plaintiffs is that the land in controversy is a portion, of the land described in R. P. 16 to George Moore and Naomi, his wife, and that title to the same has, by mesne conveyances, devolved upon plaintiffs. The plaintiffs further contend that the evidence shows that D. Kamai, the immediate predecessor in title of plaintiffs, had gained title to the land by open, continued, notorious, hostile and exclusive occupation for more than ten years. The trial court, in granting the nonsuit, found against plaintiffs on both contentions, holding that plaintiffs had failed to show any connection between the land described in R. P. 16 and the land in question, and that plaintiffs had not established title by adverse possession.
The sole question presented by the exceptions is whether, from the state of the evidence, the trial judge was in error in granting the nonsuit.
In support of the contention that the land in dispute is a portion of that described in R. .P. 16, a certified copy of that patent was received in evidence. The land commission award on which the patent was supposedly issued was not offered in evidence hut,' as no point in that regard has been made here, it may be assumed, for the purpose of this opinion, that the royal patent properly described the land that had been awarded to Moore and Naomi.
John K. Akau, a surveyor called on behalf of plaintiffs, testified that in his opinion as a surveyor the land in dispute was included in B. P. 16. This witness- had made a sketch of what he deemed was included in B. P. 16, which sketch was admitted in evidence as plaintiffs’ exhibit “D.” On this sketch the land in dispute, containing an area of 9354 square feet, is delineated. On cross-examination the reason given by the surveyor for his opinion that the land in dispute was included- within B. P. 16 was that the second course in the description indicated that B. P. 16 and the land of Kahanaumaikai adjoined each other, hence, the witness, claiming that this was frequently done by surveyors under such circumstances, totally ignored the express terms of the description and made R. P. 16 -adjoin the land which, several years after the issuance of B. P. 16, was awarded to Kahanaumaikai. That the surveyor was unwarranted in
It is contended, however, by plaintiffs that, even if their claim that the land in dispute was a portion of R. P. 16 was not established by the evidence, there was evidence showing that plaintiffs and their predecessors in interest had gained title by adverse possession. At the time set for argument of these exceptions counsel for plaintiffs did not appear and point out the evidence in support of this contention and this court was, therefore,
The court is unable to say that the trial court erred in finding that the evidence failed to shoAV title by adverse possession in plaintiffs, and the exceptions are overruled.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- HELENA W. EDMONDS AND HERMAN KAMAI KAIMANA, A MINOR, BY HELENA W. EDMONDS, GUARDIAN AD LITEM v. EMIL WERY, MRS. CLAY M. HUDSON, LAU KING FAI, ALIAS KONG FAI, WM. WERY AND JULES WERY
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Royal Patent — description, construction of. Where the courses and distances describing the land granted by a royal patent are clear and unambiguous the description in the patent controls and the grant should not be enlarged to cover land not included in the specific description although one of the courses is recited as running “along- the place that is said to belong to K,” the boundaries of which place were not definitely fixed at the time the patent was issued. Adverse Possession — exclusive possession — evidence. It appearing from the evidence that the person who, it is claimed, had gained title to the land by adverse possession was not in exclusive possession thereof for the statutory period, the land being occupied by other persons not shown to have been holding under the claimant, the trial court properly granted a nonsuit.