Metropolitan Building Co. v. Fitzgerald
Metropolitan Building Co. v. Fitzgerald
Opinion of the Court
-Respondent desires to have its title quieted to a fifty-foot strip of land which it claims hy adverse possession.
The appellants have the record title to this strip through a quitclaim deed made to them in 1890, and have ever since that date paid the taxes upon the property. Appellants’ property is uncleared and unoccupied and has always been so. The predecessors of the respondent, from the time of the quitclaim deed in 1890 to the appellants, have owned the property ad
In its complaint the respondent alleged that it was the owner of the strip; the appellants, by answer, alleged that they were the owners and set up their entire record chain of title. To this answer the respondent replied, denying that the appellants were the owners and, on information and belief, denying the record title.
In this state of the pleadings, the appellants contend that they were entitled to a judgment for the reason that the complaint stated no cause of action, as it did not allege, title by adverse possession. This contention must be disposed of against the appellants, for this court has already said that, under a general allegation of ownership, proof may be made of the title by adverse possession. Raymond v. Morrison, 9 Wash. 156, 37 Pac. 318.
The next point raised against the pleadings is that the respondent could not deny on information and belief the record title. Admitting that this was true, the denial on information and belief of the record title
There remains but one other question to determine in the case, and that is whether the facts justified the lower court in determining that the respondent had acquired title by adverse possession. The deed to the respondent carried the title of its predecessors, and the testimony shows that, outside of the payment of taxes by the appellants, they had done nothing with this property for many years, and that during all of this time, and for more than ten years prior to this suit, the property has been in the actual, open, notorious, adverse, continuous and exclusive use and possession of the respondent’s predecessors under their claim of right. The property had been included within their fences; it had been cleared and cultivated, buildings had been placed on it, orchards planted, and every attribute of ownership asserted and exercised. The case falls squarely within the law, and almost exactly within the facts of the cases in Bowers v. Ledgerwood, 25 Wash. 14, 64 Pac. 936; McCormick v. Sorenson, 58 Wash. 107, 107 Pac. 1055, 137 Am. St. 1047; and Alexander v. Bennett, 91 Wash. 688, 158 Pac. 534.
Decree affirmed.
Parker, O. J., Bridges, Holcomb, and Mitchell, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Metropolitan Building Company v. Lulu Fitzgerald
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Quieting Title (25, 28)&emdash;-Pleading (149)&emdash;Title&emdash;Issues and Proof. In an action to quiet title, under a general allegation of ownership, plaintiff is entitled to show title by adverse possession. Quieting Title (25-28)&emdash;Pleading (149)&emdash;Title &emdash; Issues &emdash; Motion for Judgment. In an action to quiet title in which plaintiff alleged that it was owner, and defendants alleged they were owners and had record title, plaintiff’s reply denying on information and belief defendants’ record title is an admission of it, and does not entitle defendants to judgment on the pleadings. Adverse Possession (9)&emdash;Claim of Right&emdash;Actual Possession&emdash; Evidence&emdash;Sufficiency. Plaintiff’s title by adverse possession of a fifty-foot strip of land adjoining its property, is established where it appears that for more than thirty years it was occupied, improved, fenced and cultivated by plaintiff’s predecessors as part of their premises.