Holt v. Tate

17 S.E.2d 12, 193 Ga. 256, 1941 Ga. LEXIS 515
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided November 13, 1941·No. 13858.·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

*259 Jenkins, Justice.

Some elaboration of headnote 6 seems proper. Taking the description of the land sued for as contained in the security deed, since it appears that the entire eastern boundary is described as being the original land line of lot 213, and since the southern boundary of the premises is likewise ascertainable as being the northern boundary of land belonging to Gee, the southeast corner of the conveyed premises is determined by the point where the northeast corner of Gee’s land touches the original line of lot 213. From this starting point, following the northern boundary of Gee’s land westward until the land of Williford is reached renders certain not only the southeastern corner and the southern line, but the southwestern corner. Then starting at the southwest corner as thus ascertained, and proceeding north along the Williford land line to a point sufficiently far, so that a straight line running east to the original land line would embrace 39 acres, would, except for the reason hereinafter stated, complete the description. Except for that reason later mentioned, this could be done; for, as was held in the similar ease of Moody v. Vondereau, 131 Ga. 521 (2), 526 (62 S. E. 821), where the western, southern, and eastern boundaries were definitely fixed by the deed, "in the absence of a contrary intent appearing, the northern line of the land granted is to be located by a line drawn due east and west so as to cut from the larger tract the number of acres specified in the deed.” Especially would this be true in the instant case, except for the reason to be stated, because if this northern line were not run due east and west, either the eastern boundary would not be made up entirely of the original line of the land lot, or else the western boundary would not be determined entirely by the land of Williford, and would thus contradict the terms of the security deed. See Crosby v. McGraw, 133 Ga. 560 (66 S. E. 897).

It appears, however, that such a northern boundary line running west to east so as to include thirty-nine acres as required by the security deed can not be established without contradicting other vital descriptive data given by the same deed, since it is a physical fact, which is shown to be true by the amendment to the petition, that such a northern line running from west to east so as to include the required thirty-nine acres would not strike the original land line of lot 213 at all, as would be required by the security deed, but would strike a church lot, and the land as thus surveyed *260 would not be bounded on the east entirely by the original land line of lot' 213. Even were it possible to assume that, without any authority or key from the terms of the security deed, this northern line might be so run as to cut off forty acres, instead of the stated thirty-nine, and thus allow for the one-acre church lot, this too would be in contradiction of the explicit terms of the security deed, since the land thus segregated and set apart would be bounded on the east only partly by the original land-lot line and partly by the church lot, whereas the deed says that the eastern boundary, which means the entire eastern boundary, is the original land line of lot 213. Accordingly, the descriptive language given by the security deed is fatally deficient, and fails to afford the basis of a definite description; and not only is there no key for the aid pleaded in its support by the amendment to the petition, but the actual physical facts thus pleaded are in direct contradiction to the data embodied in the security deed itself, on which the plaintiff must rely.

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Holt v. Tate, 17 S.E.2d 12, 193 Ga. 256, 1941 Ga. LEXIS 515 (Ga. 1941).

17 S.E.2d 12 (Holt v. Tate) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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