Haynes v. Jackson
Haynes v. Jackson
Opinion of the Court
Trespass upon the Spencer meadow, so called in Milford. The writ at first described the close to be in Bradley.
The principal question in this case was whether the plaintiff or defendant was the owner of Spencer Meadow. This meadow was a part -.of a tract of land in said Milford, known as the Southgate tract. S. H. Blake once owned the whole tract; and each party claims under him. One Wentworth Lord had the care of the tract, and was to be interested under Blake when the land was paid for.
In 1862, Blake conveyed the whole track to one Bitchie, with an exception in the words following, “excepting and reserving the meadow land on the westerly end of said tract, extending to the highland on said tract, said excepted parcel and not hereby conveyed, containing from two to three hundred acres more or less,” said boundary by the highland to be located and fixed by said Bitchie and W. Lord. The plaintiff became the owner of Bitchie’s title, one undivided half in September, 1868, and the other undivided half in May, 1870.
In 1864, said Blake conveyed to the defendant and another so much of the tract as was not conveyed to Bitchie as aforesaid. The description in this deed is as follows: “The meadow land on the west end of the Southgate tract, so called, extending to the highland on said tract; said meadow land containing two to three hundred acres more or less. The easterly part of said tract was deeded to E. C. Bitchie, 9th of June, 1862, and the intention of this deed is to release all my title and interest in the remaining portion of said tract. The boundary line between Bitchie and the present grantees to be established, if not already done, as provided in Bitchie’s deed.”
Upon the question of the construction of the deeds the presiding judge instructed the jury as follows: “A question arises upon the language of the two deeds, whether the defendant has the title to all the meadow land on the westerly end of the Southgate tract, provided there are two meadows thereon, or to only one of such meadows or one parcel, to use the phrase used in the deed. For the purposes of this trial I instruct you that the defendant’s title is limited to one parcel or piece of laud, ‘iiis meadow land’ must be virtually and really but one piece of territory. It may be irregular in its shape and proportions, still it cannot be made up of separate i*pd distinct pieces, although upon the west end of the tract, but it must be in fact and reality but one parcel and not two parcels of meadow land.”
It is contended on tbe part of defendant, that this construction of the deed is not correct; that by the true construction of tbe deed from Blake to Ritchie, all the meadow land on the westerly end of the tract, whether in one or more parcels, was excepted, and that the grantee took the highland only. Upon a careful examination and consideration of the language of the deed, we think the construction given by tbe presiding judge to the jury is
The jury having found that the strip of land, some twenty rods in width, separating Spencer meadow from Sunkhaze meadow, is not meadow land, but highland, it follows that Sunkhaze meadow, extending to the highland between that and Spencer meadow, is the parcel excepted and owned by the defendant, and that he has no title to Spencer meadow.
By the deeds under which both parties claim, Ritchie and Lord had the power to locate and fix the boundary by the highland. The instructions of the presiding judge as to the legal effect of the action of Ritchie and Lord in locating and fixing the line were correct. Haynes et al. v. Jackson et al., 59 Maine, 386. But the jury having found that the strip or belt of land connecting Sunkhaze and Spencer meadows was not meadow land, it follows, as we have seen, that the defendant had no title to Spencer meadow where the alleged trespass was committed ; and the line located and fixed by Ritchie and Lord became immaterial to the result of this suit, and the judgment will not establish it as the dividing line between the parties.
But the defendant contends that plaintiff is estopped from claiming title to Spencer meadow by the judgment in case Haynes et al. v. Jackson et al., rendered at the April term of this court, 1872, reported in 59 Maine, above cited. That was an action of
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Hollis M. Haynes v. Moses Jackson
- Status
- Published