Ball v. Campbell
Ball v. Campbell
Opinion of the Court
Opinion,
Where a party claims as a bona fide purchaser for value, against an asserted trust or fraud, it is incumbent on him to prove affirmatively the payment of the consideration relied on, and the mere receipt of his grantor or vendor, even, though it be in a deed, will not be sufficient for that purpose against third parties. Such receipt. is prima facie evidence against the grantor and those claiming under him, but against others it is no evidence at all: Lloyd v. Lynch, 28 Pa. 419; Redfield etc. Co. v. Dysart, 62 Pa. 62; Baum v. Tonkin, 110 Pa. 569. And, as the defence is founded on good faith, as well as consideration paid, the knowledge of the party is always evidence relevant upon that question.
Appellant is therefore clearly right in his second and third specifications of error, as general propositions .of law. But, unfortunately for him, he has no case to which these propositions can apply. As was said in Redfield etc. Co. v. Dysart, supra, “ where there is proof, however slight, of fraud, the burden of proving payment is thrown on the vendee, and other evidence than the receipt to the deed is necessary to establish the payment of the purchase money.” But there must first be such proof, and more than a scintilla. A careful examination
The case was altogether too barren of evidence of fraud to go to the jury, and, though the learned judge gave some reasons in which we cannot concur, his action in directing a verdict for the defendants was entirely right.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHN B. BALL v. J. C. CAMPBELL
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. A defendant in ejectment, claiming as a bona fide purchaser for value, against an asserted trust or fraud, must prove affirmatively the payment of the consideration for the deed relied upon, the mere receipt of the grantor, though in the deed, being insufficient for that purpose as against strangers to the deed. 2. But the burden of proving such payment affirmatively is not thrown upon the defendant until there is evidence adduced by the plaintiff, and more than a scintilla, which upon its submission to the jury would justify them in finding the trust or fraud alleged. 3. Where a conveyance is attacked as a fraud upon creditors, and the plaintiff’s testimony does not supply proof that there was an intent to defraud creditors, or knowledge on the part of the grantee that there were creditors to be defrauded, it is not error to instruct the jury to find for the defendant.