Heath v. Hurless

Illinois Supreme Court
Heath v. Hurless, 73 Ill. 323 (Ill. 1874)
Scholfield

Heath v. Hurless

Opinion of the Court

Mr. Justice Scholfield

delivered the opinion of the Court:

The hill in the present case is claimed to be in the nature of a bill of interpleader. Such a bill is said to differ from a bill of interpleader, in this: the complainant, by it, seeks not only to have the conflicting claims of the defendants against himself, which he desires to discharge to the proper parties, adjudicated, but also some affirmative relief; whereas in a bill of inter-pleader, strictly, he only asks that he may be at liberty to pay money or deliver property to the party to whom it of right belongs, and that he may, thereafter, be protected against the claims of both. 2 Daniell’s Chancery Practice (Perkins’ Ed.), 1680.

The decree in favor of Deihl against Heath, directing the conveyance of the land therein described, is entirely outside of any allegation or prayer in the bill. The bill is framed upon the theory that Heath’s title may be superior to that of Deihl, and prays only, in the event such shall be ascertained to be true, that so much of the purchase money in the hands of Harmon’s executor as shall have been paid on account of the land conveyed by Harmonio Hurless, which he had previously conxreved to Heath, shall be refunded to Hurless, that he make good his cox^enants to Deihl in respect to this land. It seeks to perfect no title, but simply to ascertain the present state of title, and have the purchase money refunded in accordance with the equitable rights of the parties, as they maybe affected by the state of the title.' It is obvious that, under the allegations of the bill, the only pertinent inquiry was, is Heath’s title superior to that of Deihl, and, if so, shall the purchase money paid for that portion of the property be refunded to the complainant?

Conceding it to be true, as contended by the counsel for Deihl, that the defendants to a bill of interpleader are considered as plaintiffs, each answer being regarded as the complaint of the party making it; and, hence, when it is determined the bill is properly filed, the court may proceed to direct a reference to a master, or hear evidence, and thereupon decree as to the rights of the parties without further pleadings; yet, neither the authorities cited by them, nor the well settled rules of equity pleadings, sanction such practice in any other case than where the bill is strictly a bill of interpleader, and the relief decreed is consistent with the allegations and prayer of the bill and the issues submitted by the answers.

Deihl’s answer does not even pray for a decree in his favor against Heath. It sets up a claim of title to the property in himself upon the ground of estoppel, alleging that before he purchased from Hurless, Heath showed him the boundaries of the land Hurless was intending to sell, and that the boundaries thus shown him included the land now claimed by Heath. It may be recognized as the law, in general terms, if Heath pointed out the boundaries of the land to Deihl, intending that Deihl should rely upon him in that regard, and Deihl, in purchasing, did, in good faith, rely upon the correctness of the boundaries as pointed out to him by Heath, it would be such a fraud as a court of equity will not tolerate, to allow Heath to subsequently claim title to lands in himself, inconsistent frith the boundaries which he thus pointed out. See 1 Story’s Equity Jurisprudence, §§ 384, 385, et seq.; Bigelow on Estoppel, 473; Jordan v. Deaton, 23 Ark. 704.

But, unfortunately for Deihl, the evidence in the record utterly fails to show that Heath did point out to him the boundaries of the land before he purchased, or that he, in purchasing, relied upon or was misled by Heath’s representations as to the location of the boundaries. Deihl swears, indeed, that Heath, at one time, showed him the boundaries of the land conveyed by Hurless to him, as containing what Heath now claims to belong to himself; bnt he does not say that this was before his purchase, or that it in any degree affected his conduct in respect to the land. The necessary inference from the dates given by him, when compared with the date of his deed from Ilurless, is that this was not until about one year after his purchase; and so the act lacked the most essential elements to constitute an estoppel. Bigelow on Estoppel, 560; 1 Story’s Equity Jurisprudence, § 386.

There is evidence strongly tending to show that the deed from Harmon to Heath was not intended to include the land now claimed by Heath from Deihl, and that the description embracing it was inserted therein by mistake; hut Deihl’s answer sets up no superior equity in himself on that ground, and, as before observed, the bill is not framed upon the hypothesis that a decree should pass directing a conveyance from Heath to Deihl. Hpon the only ground, therefore, which to us it appears the claim of Deihl to the land, as against Heath, is, under the evidence preserved, tenable at all, there is not a single allegation in the pleadings to predicate a decree.

We are of opinion that Deihl, after answering, should have filed a cross-bill against Heath setting up his claim to the land according* to his proofs, and specifically praying for the relief to which he deemed himself entitled.

The decree is reversed, and the cause remanded.

Decree reversed.

Reference

Full Case Name
Ira Heath v. Samuel F. Hurless
Cited By
4 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
1. Chancery—distinction betioeen bill of interpleader and bill in nature of interpleader\\ In a bill, in the nature of a bill of interpleader, the complainant seeks, not only to have the conflicting claims of the defendants against himself, which he desires to discharge to the proper parties, adjudicated, hut also some affirmative relief, whilst in a hill of interpleader strictly, he only asks that he may be at liberty to pay money or deliver property to the party to whom it of right belongs, and that he may thereafter he protected against the claim of both. 2. Same—decree should not go beyond the allegations and prayer of the bill. A decree which is entirely outside of the allegations and prayer of the bill is erroneous. 3. A bill, in the nature of a bill of interpleader, was filed by one who bad sold land with covenants of warranty, against the executor of his grantor, to reach the balance of the purchase money paid by him to such executor, on the ground that the testator, before conveying to the complainant, had conveyed a portion of the same land to one of the defendants in the bill, who was threatening to bring an action of ejectment against the grantee of the complainant, who was also made a defendant to the bill. The hill only prayed to have the money in the hands 'of the executor held by him until the question of title to the land, as between the complainant’s grantee and the other claimant of the land, was settled, and that the same be applied, if necessary, to satisfy the covenants of warranty in the deed of the testator to the complainant: Held, that, on such a hill, it was error to render a decree that the party threatening the ejectment suit should convey the land claimed hy him to the grantee of the complainant. 4. In such a case, the only inquiry is, was the title of the party threatening the ejectment suit superior to that of the complainant’s grantee, and if so, shall the purchase money paid for the land to the executor of the complainant’s grantor he applied to make good the testator’s covenants of warranty to the complainant, and his covenants to his grantee. 5. If the grantee of complainant claimed that he was entitled to a decree for the conveyance of the land to him, he should, after answering the bill, have filed a cross-hill, setting up his claim, and prayed for such a decree.