Pere Marquette Railroad v. Graham

99 N.W. 408, 136 Mich. 444, 1904 Mich. LEXIS 721
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedApril 26, 1904
DocketDocket No. 108
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 99 N.W. 408 (Pere Marquette Railroad v. Graham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pere Marquette Railroad v. Graham, 99 N.W. 408, 136 Mich. 444, 1904 Mich. LEXIS 721 (Mich. 1904).

Opinion

Montgomery, J.

This is an action of ejectment tore-cover the south two-thirds of lot 451 of the city” of St. Joseph, “being the premises now occupied by the Riverside House, so called,” which premises are situated at the southerly end of plaintiff’s railroad bridge across the St. Joseph river, and contiguous to its main-line track. At the conclusion of plaintiff’s case the circuit judge directed a verdict for defendants, and plaintiff brings error.

There was a conflict in the testimony upon two points, ihe first being whether the property in question was really a part of the south two-thirds of lot 451, and the other whether defendants had acquired title by adverse possession. The record distinctly states that these two ques[446]*446tions were open questions under the testimony, and,- in so far as the defendants’ brief attempts to treat them otherwise, we are not warranted in adopting their conclusions.

The plaintiff derived its title through a mortgage given by the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad Company to James F. Joy and Henry P. Baldwin, as trustees, a master’s deed given under foreclosure thereof, and by mesne conveyances from the purchasers under the foreclosure. The circuit judge directed the verdict on grounds stated as follows:

“ In this case I have thought it over carefully, and I simply decide this case on one point, and that is, the master’s deed, under the circumstances, did not pass title to this specific property, the Riverside Hotel. Now, in this case it appears that defendant Graham got a deed of this Riverside Hotel, and that he has occupied it for 14 years and over. Now, the mortgage given by the railroad company does not describe any specific property, and the master’s deed does not describe any specific property, and my opinion is that, not having described any specific property, and not having taken possession or done any act within 10 years after the making of the mortgage or the making of the master’s deed, the plaintiff has no title to this land.”

Defendants now contend that plaintiff failed to show a valid foreclosure, for the reason that the files and records of the proceedings in chancery were not introduced, nor was the order confirming the sale introduced. The objection to the introduction of the master’s deed did not disclose a purpose to raise any such question, nor does it appear that the circuit judge considered this question, or that the point was in any other manner made below. If it be urged, however, that the plaintiff was bound to show title before it could ask the judgment of the court in its favor, it may be answered that the defendant Graham introduced a deed to himself containing the following recital, having reference to the lot in question, among others:

“The south two-thirds of said above-named lotfe being owned by Chicago & West Michigan Railway Company, [447]*447which owns all in excess of 200 feet in depth, and which owns also the right of said railway company to use the track and maintain the same through a portion of said lots to the docks and along docks as now used and operated, without rent or charge.”

As plaintiff showed a chain of title from the Chicago •& West Michigan Railway Company, this recital, taken in connection with the conveyance to the plaintiff, constitutes some evidence of title in it. While such recitals between a party to the record and a stranger work no estoppel, they are some evidence of the facts recited. 24 Am. & Eng. Enc. Law (2d Ed.), p. 61; Merrifield v. Parritt, 11 Cush. 590, 598.

The plaintiff’s case, then, was not wholly barren of evidence of title, and the defendants are not in position to insist that the questions upon which the case was determined below are not open for consideration here. Apart from the question of the regularity of the foreclosure proceedings, which need not be considered, it is only necessary to state that the mortgage given by the railroad company undertook to mortgage its property then owned and to be thereafter acquired, in language following:

“ All the following present and in the future to he acquired property of said railroad company, and all the right, title, interest, and equity of redemption therein; that is to say: All the railroad of the said party of the first part, located and constructed and to he located and constructed, extending from the point at New Buffalo where the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad intersects the Michigan Central Railroad, to Manistee, in the county of Manistee and State of Michigan, and including the termini of said road and the land occupied thereby, and also including the right of way for said railroad, the roadbed, superstructure, iron, ties, supplies, chairs, bolts, nuts, splices, all lands and depot grounds, station houses and depots, viaducts, bridges, timbers, materials, and property, purchased or to he purchased, for the construction or equipment of said railroad; all engines, tenders, cars, machinery, and all kinds of rolling stock, whether now owned or to he purchased by said party of the first part in the future; and all franchises, rights, and privileges of said [448]*448party of the first part, and all property acquired by virtue of and under authority ihereof, now in possession- or hereafter to be acquired, including all machine shops, tools, implements, and personal property used therein or upon or along the line of said railroad, or at its stations, or any of them, wherever situated; and including all the appurtenances and appendages of said railroad and the property of said company, and all the net revenues, income, and profits of the said party of the first part which, may have been or shall hereafter be derived from said railroad and property.”

It appears that the land in question had been conveyed to the mortgaging railroad company some two years prior to foreclosure, and the deed given by the master on foreclosure described the following property:

“All and singular the railroad of the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, which extends from the point at New Buffalo, county of Berrien and State of Michigan, where the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad intersects with the Michigan Central Railroad, to Montague, in the county of Muskegon, and thence by way of Pent-water, in the county of Oceana, to Manistee, in the county of Manistee and State of Michigan. [Here follows a like description of the branches.] Including all the termini

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
99 N.W. 408, 136 Mich. 444, 1904 Mich. LEXIS 721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pere-marquette-railroad-v-graham-mich-1904.