School District No. 43 v. Veach
School District No. 43 v. Veach
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The sole question presented for our consideration is the alleged error of the court in not directing the jury to return a verdict for the plaintiff because, as it contends, the undisputed testimony shows that the defendants purchased the property in controversy with full knowledge of the possession of the tract by the plaintiff, and that the defendants were not innocent purchasers. There was testimony tending to show that prior to 1892 there was a schoolhouse on the realty in dispute which was moved off and a new one built projecting from adjoining land about 10 feet upon the premises here involved. This was used for school purposes until some time in November, 1911, when the district, having built a new schoolhouse about 40 rods distant, took out of the old structure all the furniture of any value, installed it in the new building, and left the former unoccupied until the autumn of 1913. During this time most of the windows were broken by boys throwing stones through them, and tbe walks leading to it were torn up. On December 28, 1912, tbe defendants bought from their immediate grantor tbe land including tbe plat in question and paid $1,500 in cash. Before buying they caused tbe record of conveyances to be examined and an abstract made which failed to disclose any title in tbe plaintiff or any connection with tbe title on its part. It is conceded, as stated above, that tbe lease was never recorded. Tbe testimony tends to show that it was not until about two months after tbe de
The contention of the plaintiff is that, under all these circumstances thus narrated, the defendants were put upon inquiry which would have disclosed the lease mentioned, and that hence'the court should have directed a verdict for the plaintiff. Conceding as a ■postulate that the lease was established and that the plaintiff had previously used the ground on which to erect a schoolhouse, we may well say that there is evidence of facts which would put the defendants upon inquiry when about to purchase the land: Stannis v. Nicholson, 2 Or. 335; Bohlman v. Coffin, 4 Or. 314; Musgrove v. Bonser, 5 Or. 317 (20 Am. Rep. 737); Exon v. Dancke, 24 Or. 113 (32 Pac. 1045); Cooper v. Thomason, 30 Or. 173 (45 Pac. 296); Ambrose v. Huntington, 34 Or. 490 (56 Pac. 513); Randall v. Lingwall, 43 Or. 383 (73 Pac. 1). This, however, is not all the case. The ultimate question to be determined is the title to the property. All the inquiry could have disclosed was the existence of the lease in question. Whether that document was still in force was not to be determined by its mere execution. Remembering that it was to operate only so long as the premises described therein “may be used for a site on which to build a district schoolhouse,” we find that there was evidence which was sufficient to go to the jury on the question of the surrender of the premises. It is not disputed that the plaintiff had built a new schoolhouse some distance from the tract
In brief, all that an inquiry under any condition of the case would have disclosed was the existence of the lease. Whether the tenancy under it still ■ continued depended upon the equivocal situation disclosed by the ■testimony, calling for a solution by the verdict of the jury. The court was not authorized to say as a matter of law that the plaintiff’s estate was still in effect or had been surrendered.
Finding no error, the judgment is affirmed.
Aeeirmed. Rehearing Denied.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- SCHOOL DISTRICT No. 43 v. VEACH
- Status
- Published