Earle v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Earle v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This bill in equity for an accounting involves the title to certain coal land in the city of Scranton, formerly Providence Township. The case was heard upon bill, answer, replication and testimony. Thomas Griffin, the common source of title, died testate in March, 1854, and devised all of his large farm in severalty to three sons, Benjamin, Philo and Durlin and a daughter, Letta, except the tract of thirteen and one-half acres, here in controversy, known as the “Wood Lot,” as to which the will provides: “I also give and bequeath unto my sons, Benjamin, Philo and Durlin, to be held and occupied by them jointly or to be divided equally between them as they may agree, the following described piece of land, viz: all that piece or parcel of woodland lying west of the railroad and that portion bequeathed to my daughter Letta and bounded on the south by the parcel bequeathed to my son, Philo.” By deed dated August, 1854, Durlin conveyed the land so devised to him to Edmund Griffin, including by proper description his one-third undivided interest in the wood lot. Thereafter, in July, 1855, Benjamin conveyed the land so devised to him unto Ed
That rule is especially applicable here, as the father’s will provides that the sons may occupy the wood lot jointly or divide it equally as they may agree, and the chancellor finds upon sufficient evidence that a parol partition had been made thereof prior to Philo’s deed. If so, that accounts for the call in the latter for lands conveyed by Benjamin and Durlin to Edmund as the northern boundary. Had Philo intended the northern boundary of his conveyance to be the south line of the wood lot he naturally would have so stated. While there are some circumstances that seem to support appellants’ contention, notably the acreage mentioned in the deed from Philo, and the interests of Benjamin and Durlin in the wood lot being referred to in their respective de Ns as “undivided”; yet on the entire evidence we are satisfied that Philo by his deed to Edmund intended to and did convey his entire interest in all the land devised to him by his father, and that appellants, as his heirs, have no interest therein. It is incredible that Edmund, when purchasing this large tract of land as coal property, would knowingly leave in Philo an undivided interest in a small part thereof.
Moreover, in 1856, Edmund Griffin by warranty deed conveyed this entire property, including the wood lot, to Horatio T. Allen, who thereupon by like deed conveyed the same to the Nassau Coal Company, and thereafter by sundry conveyances the title became vested in H. S. Pierce et al., who in 1866 made a lease of the entire property to appellee for coal mining purposes, with surface rights, etc., to continue until all the coal was removed. Appellee has carried on active coal mining operations on the large tract ever since 1876; during which time several veins have been mined under the wood lot, but taken out through the main colliery located on another part of
True, the general rule is that the possession of a tenant in common is not adverse to his cotenant, but here the possession became adverse when Edmund by warranty deed conveyed the entire property to Allen, whose successors thereafter held the same exclusively and adversely to Philo. Such conduct justified the finding of an ouster and when followed by twenty-one years adverse possession extinguished any possible interest of Philo or his heirs: Culler v. Motzer, 13 S. & R. 355; Frederick v. Gray, 10 S. & R. 182; Rohrbach v. Saunders, 212 Pa. 636; Miller v. Miller, 60 Pa. 16; Cannon v. Jackson, 252 Pa. 257; King v. Pardee, 96 U. S. 90, 95; Kittredge v. The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Merrimac River, 17 Pickering 246; Sweetland v. Buell, 164 N. Y. 541; 1 Cyc. 1096.
As the lease included both the coal and surface of the wood lot, the suggestion that defendant had failed to show a sufficient separate adverse possession of the former is untenable; as it also is for other reasons.
The question of equity jurisdiction was expressly waived and the chancellor disposed of the case upon its merits and properly dismissed the bill. Appellants having no interest in the land are of course not entitled to an accounting.
The decree is affirmed and appeal dismissed at the costs of appellants.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Earle v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Co.
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- Syllabus
- Deeds—Descriptions—Boundaries—Will—Tenants in common— Partition—Parol partition—Findings of fact. 1. Where one tenant in common conveys by warranty deed a portion of an undivided tract which is equal to his interest in the entire tract, and describes the same by metes and bounds, his ¡grantee will be awarded such portion in partition proceedings, if it can be done without prejudice to the interests of the other tenants in common. 2. Such rule is especially applicable where a father by his will gives certain lands in severalty to his three sons, and provides that they may occupy another particular lot of land jointly or divide it equally as they may agree, and the chancellor finds as a fact that a parol partition had been made of the particular lot by the three sons, before the grantor had conveyed his interest by warranty deed in the land which had become vested in him under his father’s will, describing the same so as to include a share in the particular lot. Adverse possession—Tenants in common—Ouster. •3. Where a grantee of three tenants in common conveys the entire property by warranty deed to another, and the grantee and his successors in title hold the same exclusively and adversely for over twenty-one years, the heirs of one of the tenants in common, claiming that the title of the decedent had not passed from him, cannot set up the rule that the possession of a tenant in common is not adverse to his cotenant. 4. The conduct of the grantee in conveying the whole property justified the finding of an ouster, and this, when followed by twenty-one years adverse possession, extinguished any possible interest of decedent and his heirs.