Herman v. Somers

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Herman v. Somers, 158 Pa. 424 (Pa. 1893)
27 A. 1050; 1893 Pa. LEXIS 1606
Dean, Green, McCollum, Mitchell, Sterrett, Thompson, Williams

Herman v. Somers

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

According to express terms of the contract of sale, the property was “ to be free from all liens and encumbrances,” and the hand money was “ to be refunded if title should not prove good on examination of records, or cannot be made good.” *428This is equivalent to a covenant to convey a good marketable title. In equity a marketable title is one in which there is no doubt involved, either as to matter of law or fact: Dalzell v. Crawford, 1 Parsons, Equity Cases, 45; Nicol v. Carr, 35 Pa. 382; Swayne v. Lyon, 67 Pa. 439. In Speakman v. Forepaugh, 44 Pa. 373, it was said : “ Every title is doubtful which invites or exposes the party holding it to litigation. If there be color of outstanding title which may prove substantial — though there is not enough in evidence to enable the chancellor to say so— a purchaser yjill not be held to take it and encounter the hazard of litigation.” The testimony in this case is quite sufficient to bring it within the principle recognized in these cases, and hence there was no error in affirming plaintiff’s first, second and third points, or in charging the jury as requested in his fourth point, that, under the law and evidence, the title to the property in question was not marketable and their verdict must be for the plaintiff; nor was there any error in refusing to affirm defendants’ first and second points, or in charging the jury as complained of in the seventh specification. Neither of the specifications of error is sustained.

Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Cited By
16 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Vendor and vendee — Marketable title — Gontraet. In equity a marketable title is one in which there is no doubt involved, either as to matter of law or fact. Every title is doubtful which invites or exposes the party holding it to litigation. If there be a color of outstanding title which may prove substantial, though there is not enough in evidence to enable the chancellor to say so, a purchaser will not be held to take it and encounter the hazard of litigation. A covenant in a contract of sale of land that the property is “to be free from all liens and incumbrances,” and the hand money is “tobe refunded if title should not prove good on examination of record, or cannot' be made good,” is equivalent to a covenant to convey a good marketable title. A vendee of land will not be required to complete his contract of put chase where it appears that the vendor bought the land at sheriff’s sale, and affidavits in support of exceptions to the acknowledgment of the sheriff’s deed averred that the vendors husband had fraudulently procured the sale to defeat the rights of the real owners of the land who had recovered a verdict and judgment in ejectment.