Bradley v. McBride
Bradley v. McBride
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Two legal questions have been argued in this case. 1st. Is the complainant precluded from setting up the fraud in the sale of the land, by the recovery had against him, by the present defendant, in the action of trespass to try title ? 2d. Is he barred by the statute of limitations?
1. I cannot think, with the Chancellor, that the discovery of parol evidence, since the trial of the case at law, would be any ground for relief against the judgment. It is no ground for a new trial, and I apprehend it would be still more difficult to show why it would be a ground to authorize the Court of Equity to interfere. Neither am I satisfied that the defendant could not, at law, have made the defence, which is now the ground of his relief in this Court. In the case of Keenan vs. Pearson,
2. The statute of limitations commences to run against a fraud, from the time it is .discovered. The time within which the statutory bar against a fraud is complete, must be governed by the nature of the claim against which it is set up. If it is for the enforcement of a parol contract, or the recovery of personal property, the time within which the statute has directed that actions of assumpsit, trover, or detinue shall he brought, is the rule in Equity. If it is for the recovery of land, then the time limited for the commencement of actions at Law, for its recovery, is the time within which a bill in Equity, to be relieved from a fraud defeating the complainant’s title, must be filed. The sale, in this case, was made in 1822, and the fraud, if any, was then consummated. In 1824,
Upon the facts, the Chancellor’s decision cannot be disturbed. The evidence of fraud was very slight, and I should have been better satisfied if he had dismissed the bill; but as he was
Decree affirmed.
In note, 5 Rich., 549.
6 Stat., 238.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.