Batterton v. Chiles
Batterton v. Chiles
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Thomas D. Chiles, brought this suit in chancery to have a partition of some land within the boundary of William Hoys patent of fourteen hundred acres. He claims under Hoys heirs five-sevenths of the land formerly owned by John Evalt, and which was sold and conveyed by the latter to James Trabue; and also five-sevenths of the land conveyed by an individual by the ‘ name of Jones, to Nicholas Smiths sen. He asserts title to some other land within the aforesaid patent boundary; but as a Court of Chancery, has no jurisdiction, upon the matters set' forth in thejjbill, except for the purpose of decreeing a partition, it is unnecessary to advert to any part of his claim, but that already alluded to, which embraces the two pieces of land above mentioned.
The Court decreed a partition, giving to Chiles five-sevenths of both of said pieces of land. From that decree the defendants have appealed, and deny his right to any part of the land claimed by him.
It appears that William Chiles, as early as the year
These two pieces of land appear to have been originally settled under a claim in the name of Flournoy, and were held adversely to Hoy’s title. This adverse possession had been continued for more than half a century when this suit was commenced. The statute of limitations having been relied upon by way of de-fence's a complete bar to the claim asserted by Chiles, unless he can derive some aid from a judgment in an action of ejectment brought by Hoy’s heirs for this land in 1817, and thereby avoid the bar relied upo'n by the defendants.
In the action of ejectment alluded to, a judgment was recovered in 1818 for five-sevenths of the Evalt tract of land, and also for five-sevenths of the tract of land conveyed by Jones to Nicholas Smith. In 1845 a writ of habere facias possessionem issued upon said judgment, and was executed by the sheriff, by delivering to the complainant, Thomas D. Chiles, possession of one undivided seventh part of the land formerly in the possession of Nicholas Smith, sen., and five-sevenths of all the land formerly in the possession of Thomas Evalt.
To preclude Chiles from deriving any benefit from the judgment in ejectment, it is alleged that it was procured by fraud, and should be disregarded. Before the judgment was recovered, a contract had been made between William Chiles, Nicholas Smith, sen., and others, by which Chiles agreed to sell to these parties, at a stipulated price, the land in their possession, and to convey to them Hoy’s title to it. It is said^that it was a part of the agreement, that no defense should be made in the action of ejectment, which,-although in the name of Hoy’s heirs, was conducted by Chiles, for
It appears that a judgment in the action of ejectment was in the first instance rendered by default, and that at the same term Smith, who claimed and was in the possession of the Jones tract of land, and Evalt himself and others appeared, and upon their motion, the judgment by default was set aside, and they were entered as defendants. At a subsequent term, a trial was had, and the judgment referred to was recovered. If no defense had been made in the action of ejectment, but the judgment had been by default, as it was first entered, we should have had no hesitation in deciding that it had been obtained by fraud. The evidence in this case proves most conclusively an adverse possession of both the Jones and Evalt land, under Flournoy’s claim, for more than-twenty years before the commencement of the action of ejectment. How it happened that a recovery was had for five undivided sevenths only, when the land was not held under Hoy’s title, and the demise was in the name of all the heirs, is an unexplained mystery, and can only be accounted for on the supposition that it was decided by the Court, upon the trial, that five out of the seven lessors of the plaintiff
Another objection made to the efficacy of the judgment in affording any aid to the complainant in avoiding the operation of time upon his right, arises out of the failure to change the possession, by its instrumentality, until more than twenty years had elapsed after it was rendered. Subsequent to the execution of the writ of habere facias, that issued in 1845, a motion was made by the defendants therein to quash the writ and the sheriff’s return, which was overruled, and one of the grounds upon which the motion was based, was the same now relied upon in this objection. The point having been once made and litigated between the parties, and regularly adjudicated upon by the proper Court, and the judgment in that case not having been reversed, must be regarded as settled, and cannot be again re-litigated between the same parties. Besides, the question is one that cannot with propriety be made collaterally in this suit, but should be made, as was done, by a direct proceeding to quash the writ, and to have restitution of the possession.
But in this suit Chiles cannot derive any advantage
The sheriff’s return on the writ of habere facias shows that the complainant Chiles only obtained possession of one undivided seventh part of the Jones tract of land, and five undivided sevenths of the Evalt tract. The counsel of Chiles has filed with his brief a paper purporting to be a copy of a writ of habere facias that issued upon said judgment in ejectment in the year 1844, with a return of the sheriff indorsed thereon, that he had “delivered to William Chiles possession of all the lands outside and north of the 700 acres as original! y laid off and decreed to said Chiles.” Rut this paper cannot have the effect to enlarge the right of the complainant, Thomas D. Chiles, for several reasons. In the first place, it does not form a part of the record, having been brought up by certiorari, and therefore cannot be considered as belonging to the case now before the Court. In the next place, the complainant did not set up in the pleadings and rely upon any possession that had been acquired by William Chiles under the judgment in ejectment, but relied exclusively upon that which he had himself acquired under it, and therefore .the writ of possession, if it constituted a part of thfc ■record, would not sustain any claim asserted by him-
The defendants had a right to have this matter, if relied upon, presented in such a form that they could have responded to it, which not having been done, it is entirely extraneous, and must be disregarded.
If however, the complainant’s right toa partition, so far as he has obtained possession of the land, by an enforcement of the judgment in ejectment., is not affected by the adverse possession of the appellants, it is contended, that to entitle him to a partition, even to that extent, he must make it appear that he is invested wnh the title of Hoy’s heirs, and various objections are made to his title. It is argued that no title passed by any of the conveyances, except the one made by the sheriff, because the land conveyed was in the adverse possession of the defendants at the time the deeds were executed. But as the land had been recovered by Hoy’s heirs before the deeds were made, the case is not within the operation of the champerty law, if the judgment in ejectment was inforcible at the time, notwithstanding the possession was adverse, as this Court decided in the case of Chiles vs Jones, 2 Dana, 25. The doctrine established in that case does not apply, where the adverse possession has continued, until the judgment in ejectment, for some cause, has become unavailing; but in this case, the judgment has been enforced, and of course the doctrine must have its full application. Besides, some of the deeds were executed after tne sheriff had delivered the possession of the land to the complainant, at a time when no adverse possession existed, and they would be valid, if the others were not.
It does not appear from anything contained in the record, that the wife of John Sappington ever conveyed her title to any person, nor is she named in any of the commissioners’ deeds, nor in the deed made by the sheriff, although he was one of the heirs of William Hoy, deceased. But as Hoy’s heirs, or those holding under them, had title to so much of the land in contest as was outside of the 700 acres decreed to Boone’s heirs, and as the complainant was invested with the title of part of the heirs, he had a right to take posses'
As, however, the complainant’s evidences of title are rendered somewhat ambiguous by the failure to make it appear, in the copies of the decrees exhibited, which of the heirs of Win. Hoy were made parties to the suits in which the decrees were pronounced, the complainant will be allowed, upon the return of the cause, to produce such other additional evidence of title as he may deem proper; and unless he shall be able to manifest a complete title in himself, he must make such of the heirs parties as still retain the title, but they are to be brought before the Court, merely for the purpose, and no other, of authorizing a partition to be made, by, which they, together-with the complainant, will obtain one undivided seventh part of the Jones tract of land, and five-sevenths of the Evalt tract, outside of the seven hundred acres conveyed to Boone’s heirs.
Wherefore, the decree is reversed and cause remanded for further proceedings, and decree in conformity with the opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.