Cochran v. Hiden
Cochran v. Hiden
Opinion of the Court
after making the foregoing statement, delivered the following opinion of the court:
The questions presented for our consideration by the assignments of error, will, so far as needful for the decision of the cause, be passed upon in their order as stated below.
1. Was the possession of the fifty and 121-acre tracts of land in the bill mentioned by the appellee, J. G. Hiden, and by his predecessors in title, beginning with James F. Robertson on May 28, 1884, originally taken and subsequently held in privity with the title of the mother of appellants or in privity with the title of appellants ?
This question must be answered in the negative.
The bill in the cause before us, however, expressly alleges, in substance, that Robertson entered upon the land in ques
The possession of Hiden and his predecessors in title, beginning with the entry of Robertson on May 28, 1884, was, therefore, originally taken and held, not in privity with the title of the mother of appellants, or of appellants, but such entry and posession was hostile and adverse to the title of appellants’ mother from, May 28,1884, until the death of the mother, and certainly thereafter (if not from the death of the father, or from their attaining the age of twenty-one years) it was hostile and adverse to the title and claims of appellants.
As said in 2 C. J., sec. 478, pp. 226-7: “While it was at one time thought that trust estates were not within the operation of the statute” (of limitations), “ever since a decision by Lord Hardwicke to the contrary” (Lewellen v. Mackworth, 2 Eq. Cas. Abr. 579, par. 8, 22, Reprint 488, 15. Viner Abr. 125 note), “it has uniformly been held that an adverse posession which is sufficient to bar the legal estate of the trustee, also bars the equitable estate of the cestui que trust.”
So that the case before us is not, in truth, complicated with the consideration of when the statute of limitations will commence to run in favor of a purchaser of property, embraced in an existing express trust. The case before us is that of a conveyance of property by the owner of an estate therein, although of an estate which is less than that purported to be conveyed by the deed. Hence, there is no occasion for us here to deal with the authorities (many of which have been cited in argument, but which need not be here mentioned), which enunciate the rule that the statute of limitations will not run in favor of an express trustee against the cestui que trust so long as the trust relationship continues to exist, but will, in general, run in favor of an
But one other question remains for our decision, and that is this:
It does not appear from' the bill, or exhibits therewith, that appellants were in any way prejudiced or injuriously affected in their rights by such letter or notice. Therefore, the doctrine of estoppel has no application to the case. Bradshaw v. Booth, 129 Va. 19, 105 S. E. 555.
The adverse possession of Hiden had existed for the statutory period of fifteen years after the death of Mrs. Cochran in March, 1902, and his title by adverse possession was perfected before the letter in question was written, or the notice in question was given. He was the owner of the property in fee, under the title by adverse possession, when the letter was written and the notice was given. Whether the letter was written and the notice was given on the part of Hiden under - a misapprehension of fact, or of his legal rights, is immaterial. It could not of itself operate to divest him of his title to the land. Even if such action amounted to an admission by Hiden that the title-to the land was not in himself at that time, and that the rights of appellants asserted in the bill were still in existence, that would not of itself have been sufficient to defeat Hiden’s title.
The decree under review will be affirmed.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Benjamin C. Cochran and Patsy C. Graves v. J. G. Hidens.
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Adverse Possession — Hostility of. Possession — Title Which Deed Purports to Convey. — In considering the question whether or not an entry and possession is adversary and hostile, it must be borne in mind that when one enters upon land, he is presumed to enter under the title which his deed purports on its face to convey, both as to boundaries or extent of the land and the nature of his title. 2. Adverse Possession — Hostility of Possession — Title Which Deed Purports to Convey — Case at Bo?'. — Property was conveyed in trust t.o a husband for the joint use of the husband and. his wife, during their joint lives, and for the joint use of the survivor of them and the children of the wife during the life of the survivor; and at the death of the survivor then to the heirs at law of the wife in fee simple. * After the death of the husband'the wife conveyed part of the land to one R. R. entered upon the land in question under the claim of title which his deed purported on its face to convey to him, namely, the fee simple ownership of the land; and R. and his successors in title from the entry of R. held uninterrupted possession of the property claiming to own the same in fee simple under deeds back to and including the deed to R. The possession of R. and his successors, in title beginning with the entry of R. was, therefore, originally taken and held not in privity with the title of the wife, the mother of appellants, or of appellants, but such entry and possession was hostile and adverse to the title of appellants’ mother from the entry of R. until the death of the mother, and thereafter was hostile and adverse to the title and claims of appellants. 3. Deeds — Construction—Joint Estates. — Property was conveyed in'. trust to a husband for the joint use of the husband and his wife, during their joint lives, and for the joint use of the survivor of them and the children of the wife during the life of the survivor; and at the death of the survivor then to the heirs at law of the wife in fee simple. Held: That, after the death of the husband, during the residue of the life of their mother, the latter and her children were, under the deed, joint owners of an estate for the life of the mother in the property embraced in such deed or derived from such property. 4. Joint Tenants and Tenants in Common — Adverse Possession— Conveyance of Whole Estate by One Co-Tenant. — When a grantee has obtained a conveyance of the whole estate from one of the co-tenants, entry made under such a title is a disseizin of the other co-tenants. This doctrine- is just and reasonable, for the grantee does not intend to enter or hold as a co-tenant. His entry is adverse. ' This is especially so if the conveyance is a deed of warranty. The same principle applies to joint tenants. 5. Adverse Possession — Hostility of Possession — Conveyance by Life Tenant. — After the termination, of the life estate the possession of a grantee of the life tenant, holding under a deed •conveying a fee simple is deemed adverse to the remainderman or reversioner. 6. Limitation op Actions — Equity—Statutory Period. — Appellants’ remaindermen were both of age, and otherwise sui juris, when their mother, the life tenant, who had conveyed the land in question in fee simple, died. Prom that time until suit was instituted -.was nearly seventeen years, a period longer than the statutory period of limitation- which is applicable in bar of appellants’ equitable rights, equally as if they were legal rights to the land. Equity in such cases applies the samenperiod 01 limitation as would be applied if the case were at law. 7. Adverse Possession — Entry in Privity With Title of Bightful Owner — Disavowal of Title — Case at Bar. — While it is well settled that when an entry, which is the origin of the possession, is made in privity with the title of the rightful owner, the possession does not become- hostile and adverse unless and until there is a clear, distinct and positive disavowal of the latter’s title, and such disavowal is actually or constructively brought home to the notice of the latter: This doctrine, however, has no application to the case at bar because the entry involved was not in privity, but hostile and adverse to the title of the true owners. 8. Trusts and Trustees — Constructive Trust — Purchaser of Trust Property. — A purchaser of trust property, or property ’charged with a trust, with actual or constructive notice of the trust, will be held to be a constructive trustee and be constrained to execute or submit to the execution of the trust. 8. Trusts and Trustees — Constructive Trust — Purchaser of Trust Property — Adverse Possession. — The doctrine of the preceding syllabus, however, has no application against one who has had merely constructive notice of the true owners’ title, and who has, as against such true owners, acquired title by adverse possession. Until the adverse possession covers the statutory period, it is true that the doctrine just mentioned is appplicable. But when the period of adverse possession has expired the doctrine is no longer applicable. 10. Trusts and Trustees — Constructive Trust — Purchaser of Trust Property — Statute of Limitations. — In the case of a purchase directly from a trustee or other fiduciary, where the pur-' chaser’s notice of the trust is constructive only (as when derived merely from a deed or deeds in his chain of title being of record), the statute of limitations begins to run at once in favor of such a purchaser and against the cestui que trust upon the entry of the purchaser into possession under the hostile claim of title. A fortiori is this true where the purchase is not from a trustee or other fiduciary, but from a beneficial owner, albeit from one owning a less estate than that which the deed from such owner purports to convey. 11. Trusts and Trustees — Purpose of Trust — Termination of Trust. —Property was conveyed in trust.to a husband for the joint use of the husband and his wife, during their joint lives, and for the joint use of the survivor of them and the children of the wife during the life of the survivor; and at the death of the survivor then to the heirs at law of the wife in fee simple. The purpose of the trust was recited to be that a sure and permanent home and support might be provided for the trustee’s “wife and children beyond the contingency of his personal success or failure in business.” Held: That upon the death of the trustee the contingency no longer existed and the object and purpose of the trust was fully accomplished. The trust ceased, the estate of the trustee ceased to exist and his title became extinct. 12. Adverse Possession — Good Faith of Purchaser Claiming Title Under Deed — Actual Possession. — Even good faith on the part of a purchaser, in obtaining and claiming title under his deed, is not essential to his acquisition of title by adverse possession to the extent of his pedis possessio. 13. Adverse Possession — Good Faith of Purchaser Claiming Title Under Deed — Constructive Possession. — Where the purchaser relies on constructive possession, arising from the color of title given by his deed, if his claim of title thereunder is bona fide, and the other requisites therefor exist, his title will ripen by adverse possession, however bad the title may in fact be; and mere constructive notice to a purchaser that his title is bad, will not of itself impeach the good faith of his claim of title. 14. Estoppel — Prejudice or Injury. — Where it did not appear from the bill, or exhibits therewith, that appellants were in any way prejudiced or injuriously affected in their rights by a letter of appellee, or by notice of motion by appellee to substitute a trustee deed, the doctrine- of estoppel can have ho application. 15. Adverse Possession — Admissions by Holder of Title by Adverse Possession. — Where title has become perfect by adverse posses-ion for the statutory period it is not lost by an admission by the holder that the possession was not adverse, although the admission is in writing; or by an admission of defects or infirmities in the title under which the holder held adversely ; or by a subsequent recognition of a previous title which, originally rightful, has lost that character by a delay to enforce it; or by negotiations for the purpose of quieting title.