Dubose v. Abilene & Southern Railway Co.
Dubose v. Abilene & Southern Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
In 1949 Dubose and wife filed a suit in trespass to try title to a 6 and %oo acres of land against the Abilene and Southern Railway Company. Plaintiffs claimed the title to said tract (1) under the ten years statute of limitation and (2) on the theory that the deed to the railway company conveyed only a right of way or easement over a larger tract of land subsequently purchased by plaintiffs; that thereafter the railway company ceased to use said tract as a railroad right of way and thereupon the title vested in plaintiffs, who owned the land on each side of said strip. In a trial to the court in February, 1950, Mr. Dubose testified positively that he had not claimed the land for ten years, that is, he testified he had been claiming it for only four or five years. At the conclusion of the testimony, the court advised plaintiffs they had lost their suit,' disqualified himself and advised the parties to get another judge to try the case.
The plain and unequivocal testimony of Mr. Dubose showed conclusively that plaintiffs had not claimed the land in controversy for ten years. The deed to the railway company conveyed the land, not a mere easement. It is, therefore, evident plaintiffs were not entitled to recover on either of the theories on which they relied.
The judgment is affirmed.
. Thereafter, another judge was selected and the new judge tried the case now on appeal.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.