Farys v. Farys
Farys v. Farys
Opinion of the Court
The bill in this case is brought to set aside a sheriff’s sale of lands, which were devised' to the complainant by her grand-father, W. Farys. The facts exhibited by the commissioner’s report, and other evidence, appear to be these: W. Farys, at his death, left a considerable real, estate» and but a small personal one;, his debts amounted only
It is manifest from this evidence that the complainant has been greatly wronged, and is entitled to all the relief which this court can afford.
I do not however feel authorised to set aside the whole
I could, wish that the sheriff’s deed could.be so restricted On the grounds of construction; but it isqflain that the terms in which it describes the land would give to the purchasers the unconscionable advantage which they claim. No fraud is imputable to the sheriff, as all his acts shew that he only intended to .levy on and sell the tract of 100 acres; but I am constrained to believe from the evidence, that he must have taken the description of the land from the representation of the defendant, Younge, who had procured the papers of old Farys for the purpose, and who afterwards avowed that he had got the sheriff to make the title “to his mind.”
The complaint has a right to still further relief. The executors, J. Farys and W. Smith, have been shamefully indifferent to her interests, for it is not to be believed that they could not, with a small exertion, and without any loss to themselves, have raised the trifling amount for which her land was sacrificed. They can however only be held legally responsible for this on the ground of a devastavit, and this has been fully established against the defendant, Smith. The commissioner has reported that the executor, J. Farys, was, at the time of the levy on the land, a creditor of the estate, to a small amount; but that the executor, Smith, was a debtor for'more than was sufficient to satisfy the judgment of Mr. Evans. . As a debt due by an executor to the estate of his testator is considered assets in his bands, the defendant, Smith, was Under a legal obligation to apply , his debt to the discharge of the judgment, and as by neglecting to do so, the complainant’s land was subjected to it, he is answerable to her for the full amount of the injury she has sustained by the sheriff’s sale;
It is therefore ordered and decreed, that the sheriff’s title to the defendant, T. L. Younge, and the subsequent title from him to the defendants, J, & H. Castles, for the land which
The costs to be paid by the defendants, T. L. Younge and W. Smith.
The defendants appealed bn the grounds,
That there was no mistake; the sheriff intended to sell, and Younge to purchase, the whole of the lands described in the deed:
That the evidence did not establish fraud on the part of Younge:
That the defendants, H. & J. Castles, were innocent pur-' chasers, for valuable consideration, without notice.
It was ordered and decreed that the decree of the circuit court be affirmed, and that the defendant, Younge, pay all the •costs of this suit. By the whole court.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.