Mattingly v. Wathen
Mattingly v. Wathen
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
James Mattingly, or rather his administrator, is not a party to the appeal, and the case will be considered alone with reference to the rights of FI. C. Mattingly, he being the only appellant. It is evident from the testimony in this case that neither the appellant nor his father were informed of the fact that a conveyance had been made of the land, the sale of which is the subject of controversy; and this fact, taken in connection with the contents of the bond
B. Wathen, the vendor, says he never showed appellant or his father any part of the land, and all he did was to sell him his farm. If such was the case the appellant certainly had no right to suppose that the word farm included a tract three or four miles off from the- principal tract sold and the singular contents of the bond conduces to show that Wathen was of the same opinion, and for that reason caused the execution of the bond evidencing the sale of all the land he owned in the county.
This was certainly not the contract as proven by any of the parties. It is true that Wathen swears that the appellant lived near the land, but the proof shows he lived many miles away, and had not been in the vicinity of the land more than twice before he bought, and then for a very short time. B. Wathen, the vendor, knew when he had the deed recorded that the appellant would not accept it, and without even making him a tender of the deed, seems to have consummated the entire agreement by having the deed recorded as if he were the only party in interest. The 183 acres and the SO acres was the only land sold, and while there may be some circumstances indicating a contrary conclusion, the decided weight of the testimony is in favor of the appellant on this branch of the case.
We have as little doubt as to the branch of the case involving the amount paid on this land. B. H. Wathen’s version of the payments is correct, and it is plain that the $900 receipt was embraced
The judgment is reversed and cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.