Richardson v. Morris
Richardson v. Morris
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
An owner of land may fortify his possession by purchasing outstanding claims and procuring as many conveyances as he deems sufficient, and when it is attempted to eject him he may defend under any or all of the titles which he has thus acquired. The mere fact that Joseph Davenport, the predecessor in title of the defendant, had accepted a conveyance from
The rejection of the offers of testimony which are the subjects of the third and fourth specifications of error worked no injury to the cause of the plaintiff, whether the evidence was competent or otherwise. The purpose of both of said offers was to lay ground for the introduction of evidence as to a conversation between Davenport, the witness, and Richardson, the plaintiff. This witness had already been examined and testified, notwithstanding the objection of the defendant, as to the very matter with regard to which it was again proposed to interrogate him. He had testified that after Richardson had the property surveyed he spoke to the witness about his being over the line, whereupon the witness said: “ If I am I will make it right to you one way or the other. I told him I would give him a couple of feet at the back for a foot in the front.” But there was nothing in the testimony which could be tortured into an admission that Davenport’s possession extended, or that he believed it extended, over the true line between the properties. He testified that Richardson asked him something about accepting a lease for the strip of ground, but that he, Davenport, had agreed to nothing; “I said I will get it surveyed and we will make some settlement about it; that is what I told him.” Davenport never got the property surveyed, and there never was any agreement between them. The third and fourth specifications of error are dismissed.
The testimony as to the location of the line between the properties, according to the various conveyances under which the parties claimed, was conflicting. There were no ancient monuments upon the ground. The surveyors who testified in the interests of the parties, respectively, had attempted to locate the line by measuring from monuments located some distance from the property, and the results were not the same
The judgment is affirmed.
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- Ejectment — Defenses—Purchase of outstanding claims. Ail owner of land may fortify his possession by purchasing outstanding claims and procuring as many conveyances as he deems sufficient, and when it is attempted to eject him he may defend under any or all of the titles which he has thus acquired. Evidence — Parol evidence — Written article of agreement — Lost paper. Where a written article of agreement has been lost, it is competent to prove its contents by parol. Ejectment — Evidence—Conflicting testimony — Question for jury. In an action of ejectment testimony as to the location of the line between the properties of the litigants, according to the various conveyances under which the parties claimed, was conflicting. There were no ancient monuments upon the ground. The surveyors who testified in the interests of the parties, respectively, had attempted to locate the line by measuring from monuments located some distance from the property, and the results were not the same when different monuments were selected. Held, that the case was for the jury.