Ball v. Lively

34 Ky. 369, 4 Dana 369, 1836 Ky. LEXIS 82
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedOctober 7, 1836
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 34 Ky. 369 (Ball v. Lively) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ball v. Lively, 34 Ky. 369, 4 Dana 369, 1836 Ky. LEXIS 82 (Ky. Ct. App. 1836).

Opinion

■Judge Ewing

delivered the Opinion of the Court:

‘This case was formerly before this Court, and a statement of the case, as well as many principles seitléd in relation to it, will be found reported in 1 Dancds Rep. page 60 to 67*

Upon thé return of the cause to the Circuit Court, in addition to the facts formerly before the Court, the plaintiff introduced and read a copy of the original reCord of Payne v. Lively and others, in which, by the confession of Lively and others, defendants, a judgment kvas entered, “that the plaintiff recover against said de- “ fendants, agreeably to the amended survey filed herein-, “ his term yet to come of and in the premises in the “ declaration mentioned,” &c. Also-, a receipt dated the 22d of October, 1822, executed by John Morgan; executor of Gharles Morgan, deceased, acknowledging the receipt of one hundred and fifty dollars, the balance in full of thé land sold by Mountjoy, as agent for said Charles, deceased, to said Ball; and recognizing the sale made by said agent.

Evidence was, also introduced by the defendants, tending to show, that Charles Morgan was dead at the time of the sale and execution of the deed, by said agent to Ball.

Whereupon, the Court qualified an instruction asked by the plaintiff, in relation to the lease, by instructing [370]*370the jury as followeth, to-witi “That if Bali falsely rep- “ resented the facts to Lively, and Lively, confiding in them, accepted the lease, it was as much a fraud on “ Lively, as if Ball had known his representations to be untrue

Verdict &é. A knowledge 'of the facts, and a deceitful intent, are both essential to make actual misrepresentations, or a concealment of the truth, amount to fraud in law. The statements which a party makes without knowing them to be untrue, sub ject him. to no liability (unless they amount to a warranty) how ever erroueous they may be, or however injurious to him who give» them credit;

And, at the instance of the defendant, among other instructions, instructed the jury, “that if they believe from the evidence, that Ball induced Lively by fraud, to accept the lease read in this cause, that said lease is void, and Ball'cannot recover of said Lively any land Under said lease, by virtue of said lease.”

A verdict was found for the defendant, and a judgment rendered thereon, and a motion for a new trial, predicated upon the erroneous instructions of the Court only, being overruled, the case has been again brought to this Court.

We cannot coücür in the' qualification given by the Court, to the instructions asked by the plaintiff. Fraud consists in á wilful misrepresentation of facts, or in a fraudulent concealment of them, with a view to deceive. If a party honestly believe the representations which he makes, to be true, he is guilty of no moral turpitude, or legal responsibility for making them.

The party to whom they are made, it is true, may be misled, but he is misled without intentional wrong on the part of him who makes them, and therefore has no remedy agaiftst him, on the score of fraud. One party confiding in the truth of tvhat he states, makes the representations. The other equally confiding in the truth of the representations, trusts ,to them. Both are mistaken and deceived; but neither has recourse upon the other, on the ground of fraud. To be guarded against injury, each of the contracting parties should inform himself of the true state of facts, or exact a warranty from the other, for his indemnity, knowing, as he should- be taught by the law, that he has no redress over, or dischai’ge from his Contract, unless he has been deceived into it by the wilful misrepresentations or fraudulent concealment of material facts, by the other contracting party.

Lively, therefore, cannot be relieved from the effects of bis lease, on the ground of fraud, unless he shows [371]*371that, the misrepresentations charged to have been made b.y Ball, were known by him to be untrue.

The record of an eject, shows a recovery on a confession of jndg’t, “ agreeably to the amended survey” filed in tha cause. It appears the pl’tf had been tenant-in-common with another,butthera had been a partition between them: presumed that the pl’tf’a recovery was lim ited to the part allotted to him, and thatthe sheriff had no right to deliver any land to him beyond its boundary. The sheriff in executing a ha. fa. and the plaintiff in taking possesr sjon, must, at their peril, deliver and receive the parcel,recovered: if. they exceed it, they are trespassers, and restitution will be awarded. An occupant turned out w‘lhout legal authority, is entitled to h?may°consent to surrender his ptóer^daimant" and hold under him; and if induced to do so, without fraud or deception, he is bourn! b.y the act, and cannot afterward^ dispute the title,or resist the recovery, of him under whom he has thus agreed, to hold,

But in relation to the habere facias in the name of Payne: it appears, that partition deeds were executed, between Morgan an,d Payne, prior to Payne’s original judgment in ejectment, informal, it is true, but substantially good, as we conceive.; whereby Payne’s part was allotted to him, in the lower part of the five thousand acre tract; and which interfered in, no.respect, with the possession of Lively. And if the connected plat exhibit ted in said record, as copied into this, be the amended survey alluded to in said judgment, it will appear therefrom, as well as from the deed and agreed facts in this case, that said division was made; that the. part allotted to Payne did not conflict with Lively’s claim..

We must, therefore, conclude that, the original judgment by confession, in favor of Payne, was. limited to the land allotted to him in said division. The scire facias and habere facias, as it should do, pursues, the judgment. And if Payne’s recovery is to be restricted to the land allotted to him, the sheriff had no legal authority to, deliver the possession of the land claimed and occupied by Lively, to Ball, or Payne, or any other, because it was not embraced by Payne’s recovery. For it is now well settled that, a plaintiff shall take, and the sheriff deliver, possession, at their peril, of the land recovered, to be ascertained by the title papers. And if possession is taken of other or more land than is embraced in the recovery, all concerned are trespassers, and restitution will be awarded, upon motion to the court from whence the execution emanated. 5 Lilt. Rep. 324; 2 J. J. Marshall, 389.

The possession, therefore, delivered to Ball, of the land in the occupancy of Lively, under the writ in favor x . , , . of Payne, was without legcl authority. And had Lively been turned out of possession by force, he would have had a legal right to restitution. But an occupant may voluntarily, by contract, yield up his possession to another, and agree to become his tenant. And if he [372]*372has done so, without fraud or deception as to his rights, he (is as much estopped to dispute the title of his landlord, as if he had been turned out of the possession legaily, by the process of the Court.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kentucky Electric Development Company's Receiver v. Head
68 S.W.2d 1 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1934)
McGuffin v. Smith
286 S.W. 884 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1926)
Pickrell & Craig Co. v. Bollinger-Babbage Co.
264 S.W. 737 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1924)
Ramsey v. Reynierson
255 S.W. 274 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1923)
Lowe v. Taylor
189 S.W. 204 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1916)
Schnabel v. Waggener
80 S.W. 1125 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1904)
Boddy v. Henry
53 L.R.A. 769 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1901)
Livermore v. Middlesborough Town Lands Co.
50 S.W. 6 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1899)
Lively v. Ball
38 Ky. 312 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1839)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 Ky. 369, 4 Dana 369, 1836 Ky. LEXIS 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ball-v-lively-kyctapp-1836.