Davis v. Jackson

55 So. 2d 292, 1951 La. App. LEXIS 916
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 30, 1951
DocketNo. 7761
StatusPublished

This text of 55 So. 2d 292 (Davis v. Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davis v. Jackson, 55 So. 2d 292, 1951 La. App. LEXIS 916 (La. Ct. App. 1951).

Opinion

TALIAFERRO, Judge.

This is a petitory action wherein the plaintiffs seek to be adjudged owners in indivisión of the following described property — to wit: “A certain parcel of ground situated in Filhiol’s Second or Guinea Addition to the City of Monroe, Louisiana, described as beginning at a point on the South line of Breard Street where the East line of Lot 104 of said Addition intersects therewith: proceed in a westerly direction along the South line of Breard Street a distance of 22.77 feet; thence 'back between parallel lines, one of which is the East line of said Lot 104 a distance of 160 feet (less and except a strip Six (6) feet wide along the East side thereof, which strip was the subject of an exchange between Olivia Jamison Davis, Ida Mc-Neal and Elvia Bartlett and Byron Marcus executed on the 26th day of September, 1927 and recorded in Conveyance Book 164, at page 183),” which has been decreed by this Court to be in the actual possession of the defendants, Robert J. Jackson, Jr. and wife, Gertrude Gray Jackson.

The suit was instituted pursuant to final judgment of this Court rendered in the suit styled, Jackson, Jr. et al. v. Davis et al., and reported in 49 So.2d 497. This last mentioned suit is a sequel to the judgment of this Court rendered in the suit entitled “Jackson, et al. v. Davis et al.” reported in La.App., 43 So.2d 494.

The entirety of the lot 104 mentioned in the description above given, was acquired by Caroline Courtney from Hypolite Fil-hiol on October 11, 1869. She lost the north 100 feet of the lot by tax sale to Louis H. Goldman in July 1893. She died owning the next 60 feet across the lot below said 100 feet. L. H. Goldman, the tax purchaser, on December 28, 1894, sold said north 100 feet of the lot to John Jam-ison, her son-in-law, who, at the time was the owner of the entirety of Lot 102, which adjoins Lot 104 of the said Filhiol’s or Guinea Addition to the City of Monroe, on its east side.

Caroline Courtney died intestate, the date of which is not shown. She was survived by two children, viz.: Henrietta Bell Jam-ison, the wife of John Jamison, aboved mentioned, and Alex.Rhodes.

Henrietta Bell Jamison died intestate on May 15, 1911, survived by Elvia, who mar[294]*294ried one Morris Bartlett; Olivia, who married one Emmet Davis, and Ida, who married B. F. McNeal. These three persons were also the sole heirs of their father, John Jamison.

At the death of Elvia Bartlett, her sole surviving heirs were petitioners, Morris Bartlett, Jr., Clotile Bartlett Simmons and Sipora Hortense Breckenridge.

On December 13, 1927, the three above named daughters of Henrietta Bell Jami-son were recognized as ¡her sole heirs by judgment of the District Court of Ouach-ita Parish, and sent into possession of the said 100 feet off of the north side of Lot 104. However, their father, John Jamison, was then dead, hut as his sole 'heirs, they are not mentioned.

On May 12, 1928, the above named sole heirs of Henrietta Bell Jamison, and Sophie Lexcy, sole surviving heir of Alex Rhodes, were recognized as the sole heirs of Caroline Courtney, deceased, and as such, sent into possession of all of said Lot 104, excepting portions theretofore sold off, including said north 100 feet thereof lost by tax sale to Goldman, above mentioned.

On April 3, 1928, Sophie Lexcy transferred to Olivia Davis, Elvia Bartlett and Ida McNeal all of her interest in the portions of said Lot 104 owned by Caroline Courtney, her grandmother, at her death.

Through this act of sale to them and the inheritances described above, plaintiffs base their claim of ownership to the embattled lot.

Defendants deraign their title back to Hypolite Filhiol, also. On the 20th day of October, 1869 he sold to said John Jam-ison the entirety of Lot 102 of the mentioned addition. This deed was registered in Conveyance Book S. pages 257-258 of the records of Ouachita Parish. By virtue of this chain of title, details of which will be hereinafter set out, defendants allege ownership of the lot in question; and, of course, deny that plaintiffs have any interest therein.

Defendants filed exceptions of no cause and no right of action, pleas of estoppel and of prescription of 10 years and 30 years. The estoppel plea and that of ten years prescription were sustained. The suit was dismissed at plaintiffs’ cost, and they appealed.

The record history of the lot in controversy, ownership of said lots 102 and 104, their relative situation, etc., is elaborately discussed in the opinion of this Court in 43 So.2d 494, referred to above.

Filhiol’s Second or the Guinea Addition, in part, consists of a tier of lots, numbered from east to west, 98, 102, and 104. Their northerly ends adjoin Breard Street and Washington Street is on the south. The frontage on Breard Street of Lots 98 and 100 is 100.12 feet each; that of Lot 102 is 100 feet, while that of Lot 104 is 100.11 feet.

On April 1, 1910, John Jamison executed to his daughter, Ida McNeal, a donation of a lot of land described therein as follows, to wit:

“Beginning at a point One Hundred and Thirty-eight feet west from the intersection of Breard Street with Congo Street and running thence along the south side of Breard Street in a westerly direction a distance of Forty-Two feet; thence running back in lines parallel to Congo Street a distance of One Hundred and Sixty feet.
“Being a portion of the property acquired by the Donor herein from H. Filhiol as per deed on file and of record in -Conveyance Book ‘S’ page 258 of the records of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana.”

To two monumental errors in this description may be ascribed this suit, the two preceding ones, plus the expense of several surveys and much hard feeling between the parties litigants, all neighbors and members of the colored race. The first error is the reference to “Congo” Street. By express dedication, there is no such street above Washington Street, hut that part of Lot 98, not embraced in railroad right-of-way, that traverses it from north to south has been in many deeds referred to as “Congo” Street, and locally goes by that name. There is a dedicated street below Lot 98 named “Congo”, but it ends at Washington Street.

[295]*295The other error lies in the measurement, 138 feet west of the intersection of Breard Street and so-called "Congo” Street. If we concede that “Congo” Street embraced all of Lot 98 outside the railroad right-of-way, the measurement should have read 100.12 feet, being the frontage of Lot 100 on Breard Street, ¡bcause it is certain that the donor intended to convey and the donee intended to acquire a parcel of land in the northeast corner of Lot 102, owned by Jam-ison, that measured westerly from said northeast corner 42 feet on Breard Street. The donee, Ida McNeal, took possession of a lot in Lot 102 that measures 42 feet on Breard Street from the northeast corner of Lot 102, erected thereon a home, and today lives on same.

Had the description of the McNeal lot begun at the intersection of Breard Street with the railroad right-of-way, as some think it should have, the measurement to her northeast corner should have read 115.-24 feet and not 138 feet. The east line of the lot possessed by Ida McNeal is common with the west line of Lot 100 and another person has deed to all of that lot, save a strip on the east side, 12 feet wide, and his possession adjoins that of Ida Mc-Neal.

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Related

Jackson v. Davis
43 So. 2d 494 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1949)
Jackson v. Davis
49 So. 2d 497 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1950)

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Bluebook (online)
55 So. 2d 292, 1951 La. App. LEXIS 916, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davis-v-jackson-lactapp-1951.