Farmer v. Samuel

14 Ky. 187, 4 Litt. 187, 1823 Ky. LEXIS 155
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedOctober 16, 1823
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 14 Ky. 187 (Farmer v. Samuel) 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
Farmer v. Samuel, 14 Ky. 187, 4 Litt. 187, 1823 Ky. LEXIS 155 (Ky. Ct. App. 1823).

Opinion

[187]*187' ^ . -Opinion op the Court, bV

Judue Mills?" ,, •

John Arnold and John M’Campbell William Brya'n 344 acres ofland, in partnership,-to be divided equally, and a division line, dividing the trac-t 'into .two equal parts, was run. M’Gampbelf sold !Q0 acres thereof to John Montgomery, and gave his bond for the conveyance thereof, and Montgomery-took session of the land, and afterwards sold add assigned -the bond to James Samuel, who sold and assigned the1 bond,- and it passed through some two or three other hands, and then Samuel regained it, by purchasing ¡it back; and he then filed this bill against Arnold, alleging that Arnold had, by some address, procured a conveyance to himself from Bryan, and had then -sold, and conveyed the said 100 acres to Benjamin Farmer, who had full knowledge and notice of his equity. He-made Farmer, Arnold and M’Campbell, defendants, and ed .a conveyance of the land, or if the land .could not be obtained, the value thereof, either from .Arnold or Farmer. . ' f* 1 .

- Arnold answered, admitting the joint purchase, and 'the-division by survey of the land; but denies that-hie knows anything of the complainant’s claim, derived -through Montgomery from M’Campbell. -He insists that M’Campbéil wholly failed in paying up any part of-the money to Bryan; that he, Arnold, paid his part, an‘d then a settlement took place, in which Bryan took anew band for M’Campbell’s part,, with Arnold as security, asjd then M’Campbell also failed in paying that boñd, until Bryan assigned it away; and the assignee ,-brought suit and'recovered judgment; and then an ex-'UCution thereon was levied on M’Campbell’s share of the -"land, and it was sold, and he-, Arnold, became the purchaser and paid the money; that he had'given notice ilwM’Campbell and those who claimed/under him,; but noSjpgft.them would pay the money; and- alleges that-befwejhis, he'had. obtainedfhe whole-title from -Bryan, as he had, a right ‘to do, and had sold the land; to Farmer.

A summary the practice on thfs^sub-ject. Our commissioners ought not to exer-greater0au-°r thority than the master, chancery m England or New- Vork, can legally exercise. may lawfully land cases. What authority he cepted to, it ed correct.”" As far as a commissioner’s report was not ex- anVrcferring fo the deei-A decree deemed erroneous, as being uncertain, not finally deciding the cause, sion of the clerk, matters which ought to have been decided by the court.

[188]*188Farmeriblsoianswfred, denying any knowledge .of any .previous tr^'^actiio^is between Bryan, 4tep;c>ld and •bell, or " of any claim, derived from "%’Catnp> or M’Campbell, bell, held'-by the complainant; admits bis purchase and conveyance from Arnold, of a tract of land, and denies that he'had any knowledge, at the time of his purchase, that tlje complainant Held any equity in the land, ex-,, cépt that he had heard that the complainant once hafd, to have, some claim thereto,

M’Campbell made no answer. The circuit court decreed that Farmer should convey the laud, after direc^nS an Account to be taken of the money which Arnold had paid, and of improvements and rents and profits, the latter of which exceeded the former. The decree was conditional, upon the complainant’s tendering or Pa-Fno ihe excess which Arnold had paid to Bryan, before the conveyance was made. No decree was render-touching the rents and profits or improvements, From this decree Arnold and Fanner have appealed to this court.

Itis insisted in the answers, and is now contended m this court, that the bill is defective, in not expressly that M’Campbell had made his part of the paymen£ t0 Bryan, and therefore it shows no equity op its face. t

It will be readily admitted, that in a bill claiming the specific performance of a contract, it is n.ecessary that the complainant should show, in his bill, that he had done all that was incumbent upon him to do, or to set forth some valid excuse for not having done it. And if this was a bill of that character, we should deem'the allegation of payment indispensable; but this is not a bill of the kind. The bill charges a purchase in partnership, and is not claiming against Bryan the benefit of that purchase, but shows that Bryan has conveyed, The title of M’Campbell, as against Arnold, did not de-Peu^ so much on his payment, as on the joint purchase. Arnold, by paying more money than M’Campbell, could not increase his interest in the land. Although such excessive payment might give him a cause of action for the money, yet it could not take the.land from M’Campbell, unless express contract should so increase his interest, which is not pretended. Arnold, thenj¡! on acquiring the title from Bryan, mush be considered as holding it as a trustee for M’Campbell, as to his moiety, [189]*189.e&d notas a yender ta.lVf Campbell, in,wbjch relation Bt-yan sto|£t • All, then, that' Arnotó&ould expect, was, tháMEpyéhanpeilíOr would climpe"lOTl!Ca%r>pb^l'l, or bis vend?fe$8tf do justice, before he receiyed it, by pay- . in^.whatf' mpney- was paid by Arnpld.fo.r M’CaippbelL It was competent,,then, for Arnold to^sbow'thdt be had ¥gaid this excess;; but it.was not necessary for M’Camp-bdñ or his vendee to allege that he,;v>M’Campbell, had paid his full prQportion;, for thSfadtof equal partnership, and not the fact ofequalpayment, gave M’Campbell his equity against Arnold or his vendee.

A decree ,au. thovising -the clerk to issue an habere facial posses-" sionem, on-the production to him. of a receipt for money de-' creed to be paid before the land is recovered, is erroneous, in referring the genuineness and validity dft-he receipt to the clerk. A decree directing a tender' to be made in notes on the Bank of the Commonwealth, and in case they should be refysed* other measures to be taken by the person tendering them, is erroneous, in making the party '' a judge of the facts of tender and refusal, and the . legality "'of those acts.

It is -also insisted; that the proof is wholly insufficient to authorise relief against Farmer, especially as he requires full proof of every thing, in this, we also disagree with' the appellants’ counsel. Bryefft proves the partnership purchase, and sundry payments, by M’Campbell, and the execution of the joint note for the last payment, and the conveyance to Arnold of the whole, which conveyance is also filed. It is also shown, by at least two witnesses, that Farmer was informed of the true stale of the case, before he purchased. He, then, can stand in no better situation than Arnold.

We attach no importance to the sale under execution and-purchase by Arnold; for how Arnold, under apex-eculion against himself and M’Campbell, could becqme the purchaser of a title in himself, so as to extinguish the title of M’Campbell, is what we do not understand. His purchase, then, is no more than a bare payment, the singular and solemn formality of the sheriffs sale notwithstanding.

■It is further contended, that the bill is defective, in pot pointing out the division line between M’Campbell and Arnold, and particularly the boundaries of the bo.nd -for a less quantity than M’Campbell’s mqie.ty, given by M’Qatnpbell to Montgomery, and set up by the complainant. This bond requires the obligor to convey the’land, to wit, the 100 acres, as laid off or surveyed by James F. Mitchell. It is.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
14 Ky. 187, 4 Litt. 187, 1823 Ky. LEXIS 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farmer-v-samuel-kyctapp-1823.