First Presbyterian Church v. Elliott
First Presbyterian Church v. Elliott
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
This action was commenced by the First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort against Mrs. Meta H. Elliott, on February 5th, 1901, to recover possession of a lot of land in the town of Beaufort. The plaintiff claimed under a deed executed to it by Lizzie H. Judd and H. G. Judd, her trustee, in May, 1886. 'The defendant admitted that this deed carried a good title to plaintiff, subject to be defeated, however, by its failure to comply with conditions attached to the conveyance. These conditions are thus set forth in the deed: “And the said party of the second part, the president and corporation of the First Presbjderian Church of Beaufort, for themselves and their successors in office in perpetuity, do covenant and agree to and with the said party of the first part, her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, as follows, that is to say: That the said party of the second part, his or their successors in perpetuity, shall not use or occupy, or permit the lot hereby conveyed to be used or occupied, for any purpose or purposes whatsoever other than for the erection of a church building and its appurtenances thereon, and *254 the support and maintenance of the same forever; and that they shall not at any time hereafter erect, or cause, procure, permit or suffer to be erected, upon any part of said lot, any building to be used or occupied as a tenement house or shop for the pursuit of any trade or occupation, or storehouse for the sale of wares and merchandise, or any structure whatsoever, which shall not be strictly part and parcel of the church building or appurtenant thereto. And it is further agreed by the said party of the second part, that no part of said lot hereby conveyed shall be devoted to or used for the burial-of the dead under any circumstances whatsoever, or shall be let or leased for secular purposes, it being expressly understood by the parties to these presents, and this conveyance being made and accepted upon the express condition, that if said premises, or any part thereof, or any building thereon erected, or to be erected, or any part of the same, shall at any time be used, permitted or suffered to be used, by the said party- of the second part for any other purposes than the establishment and maintenance of the public worship of God; or if the said party of the second part, or their successors in perpetuity, shall fail to perform, fulfill and keep the several covenants herein contained, or make default in the performance or fulfillment of said covenants, or any or either of them, then or in either of such events it shall be -lawful for the said Lizzie H. Judd, party of the first part, or her heirs and assigns, and she or they, or any of them, are hereby authorized and empowered to re-enter into and upon said lot of land and premises, and without notice evict any person or persons found in possesion thereof; and to tear down, remove therefrom and sell such building or buildings so used or employed or occupied for any of the purposes herein and hereby prohibited; such removal and sale to be made in manner and form as sales of personal property levied on by virtue of an execution; and the proceeds thereof applied in payment of any expenses incurred in tearing down, removal and sale, and in payment of all damages sustained or occasioned by reason of the breach of any of the covenants aforesaid.”
*255 • The answer in general terms, without specification, alleges these conditions were never performed, and that thereafter, on August 2d, 1899,in consequence of default in performance of the conditions, Louise C. Wiggins and Edward P. Judd, the heirs of Lizzie H. Judd, conveyed the lot in dispute to the defendant. In support of her position that the church had lost its title by failure to comply with the conditions required by the deed, under which it claimed, the defendant undertook to prove that Mrs. Judd and her husband exercised acts of ownership and held possession after the deed was made to the church, and used the lot for purposes forbidden by the deed; that the possession was continued by their heirs and by the defendant, their grantee, who also used the lot in a manner forbidden by the deed. The defendant further insists in this Court that the title has been forfeited by failure of plaintiff to erect a church within a reasonable time, but we are unable to ascertain from the record whether this position was taken in the Court below. The plaintiff offered evidence for the purpose of showing that the use made of the lot of Mrs. Judd and her husband was merely permissive; that this permissive use was continued without notice to the church that it would be claimed as a forfeiture until the heirs of Mrs. Judd sold to Mrs. Elliott, who set up possession and title adverse to the church. These appear to be the issues on which the case was tried. 'The jury found a verdict for the defendant, and plaintiff appealed, assigning numerous errors in the charge of the presiding Judge, in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth exceptions.
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Eor the errors above stated, the judgment of the Circuit Court is set aside and a new trial is ordered.
Argued before full Court.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- First Presbyterian Church of Beaufort v. Elliott.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
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- Syllabus
- 1. Deed — Conditions—Charge.—There being some proof of a breach of the conditions of the deed, it was proper for the Judge to instruct the jury as to the law applicable thereto. 2. Ibid. — Ibid.—Re-Entry.—Upon breach of conditions subsequent in a deed, only the grantor or his heir can re-enter and take possession, although this right be given by the deed to him, “his heirs and assigns,” and such right of entry cannot be conveyed or assigned. 3. Ibid. — Ibid.—Ibid.-—If a grantor use property inconsistently with the conditions subsequent expressed in his deed by permission of grantee, he cannot set up such use as a breach of the conditions nor as re-entry for breach thereof. 4.' Evidence — Mortgage—Possession.—That one claiming land gave a mortgage, is relevant as an act throwing light on the nature of the possession. 5. Jury — Papers—Discretion.—Permitting papers to be taken into the jury room is matter of discretion of trial Judge, and no abuse here.