Smith v. King

188 So. 25, 192 La. 346, 1939 La. LEXIS 1090
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedMarch 6, 1939
DocketNo. 35046.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 188 So. 25 (Smith v. King) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. King, 188 So. 25, 192 La. 346, 1939 La. LEXIS 1090 (La. 1939).

Opinion

ODOM, Justice.

This is a petitory action, brought by Hilliard Smith, who claims to own an undivided %s interest in 360 acres of land in Claiborne Parish, described as follows: E y2 and SE % of NWy4 of Sec. 35, T. 21 N, R. 5 W. He alleges that F. Boykin King claims to be the owner of the entire interest in this property and is in possession of it and refuses to recognize that plaintiff owns any interest whatsoever therein. He further alleges that the Standard Oil Company of Louisiana, Inc., and the Atlantic Refining Company claim to own oil and gas leases on the land granted by F. Boykin King. Plaintiff prays that he be recognized as owner of this fractional interest in said property, *349 free from the rights claimed by the said lessees.

F. Boykin King, the defendant, filed answer in which he denied that plaintiff owns any interest in the property. The lessees also filed answer in which they denied that plaintiff had any right, title, interest, or claim to the property, and set up practically the same defenses as those made by King.

Briefly stated, plaintiff alleges as the basis of his claim to ownership of an undivided %8 interest in this property that it belonged to the community which existed between his grandfather, Monroe Smith, Sr., and Jane Smith, his grandmother; that the said Monroe and Jane Smith had seven children, one of whom was Burl Smith, plaintiff’s father; that, when Monroe Smith died, his % community interest in the property was inherited by his seven children, share and share alike, each inheriting a interest; that the interest of Burl Smith, plaintiff’s father, which was an undivided JÍ4 of the property, was inherited by Burl’s seven children, each inheriting an undivided %8 interest in the whole, property.

The defendants denied that Monroe Smith, plaintiff’s grandfather, owned any interest in the property at the time of his death, and therefore claim that his descendants have no interest therein. They further set up the defense that, if Monroe Smith, plaintiff’s grandfather, did have an interest in the property, which was inherited by his descendants, the defendant, F. Boykin King, has acquired a perfect title to the entire interest in the property by the prescriptions of 10 and 30 years acquirendi causa.

They set up other defenses, but, under the view which we take of the case, these need not be stated.

There was judgment in favor of the plaintiff as prayed for, and defendants appealed.

The facts, in so far as they need be stated, are that Monroe Smith, Sr., plaintiff’s grandfather, purchased the property here involved while he was living in community with his wife, Jane Smith. On April 27, 1893, he deeded the property to the Homer National Bank, the consideration being a debt which he owed the bank. On October 29, 1894, the bank sold the property to Jane Smith, plaintiff’s grandmother. The deed is notarial in form and recites that the bank, by and through its duly authorized officer and agent, “has this day sold, transferred and delivered with a full guaranty of title unto Mrs. Jane Smith of the same residence the following described land situated in Claiborne Parish La. to wit”. Then follows a description of the land, which is the same as that described in the deed from Monroe Smith to the bank. The sale was made under full warranty of title, the recited consideration being $769.65, represented by two notes, one for $151.50, due December 1, 1894, and the other for $618.15, due December 1, 1895, the notes secured by vendor’s lien on the property.

It is conceded by all parties that the Jane Smith to whom the bank sold the property is the same Jane Smith to whom Monroe Smith, Sr., was married when he *351 sold, the property to the bank. But the marital status of Jane Smith is not stated in the deed from the bank to her. Plaintiff predicates his case upon the theory that his grandfather, Monroe Smith, Sr., was living at the time Jane Smith acquired the property from the bank and that therefore the property fell into the community which existed between them.

But the defendants deny that Monroe Smith was then living, their contention being that he died at some time between the date on which the bank acquired the property and the date on which it sold to Jane Smith. If that be true, then Monroe Smith ^owned no interest in the property when he died and had nothing to transmit to his heirs. It is conceded by counsel for plaintiff that, if Monroe Smith died prior to the date on which the bank sold to Jane Smith, plaintiff has no case.

The testimony taken in the trial of the case to establish the date of Monroe Smith’s death covers several hundred pages of the record. It is conflicting, as might be expected in any case where an attempt is made to establish by parol evidence the exact date of a death which occurred at least 43 years prior to the date of taking the evidence. The trial judge evidently concluded that Monroe Smith was alive at the time Jane purchased the property from the bank, because he rendered judgment for plaintiff.

But, according to our view, it is not necessary to decide that point. Conceding that the trial judge’s conclusion as to this point was correct, we think defendants’ plea of prescription of 10 years, under Article 3478 of the Revised Civil Code, is good and must be sustained. That article reads as follows: “He who acquires an immovable in good faith and by just title prescribes for it in ten years.”

Referring now to the Conveyance Records of Claiborne Parish, in which this property is situated, we find that Jane Smith, who acquired the property from the bank on October 29, 1894, sold it to two of her sons, Henry Smith and Monroe Smith, Jr., on January 9, 1900. The deed was passed before a notary public in the presence of two witnesses. Jane Smith, the vendor, signed by making her mark, and the vendees signed in person. The deed was recorded in Conveyance Record Book “S”, page 468, of Claiborne Parish. The sale was made under full warranty of title, the recited consideration being $518.15, represented by three notes secured by mortgage on the land. The marital status of the vendor, Jane Smith, is not stated in the deed.

The testimony shows that Henry and Monroe Smith, Jr., the vendees, lived on the property and cultivated portions’ of it continuously from the date of their purchase to January 11, 1906, when they sold it to A. B. Boykin and A. T. Boykin. The deed evidencing the sale was passed before a notary public, attested by two witnesses, and signed by the vendors in person and by A. T. Boykin for himself and as agent for A. B. Boykin. The deed was filed for record on January 11, 1906, and “Duly recorded on page 280 Book W Conveyance Records Jan 19/06”’.

*353 The deed recites that the property is sold “with full and complete guarantee of title unto A. B. Boykin & A. T. Boykin of the same residence” for the consideration of $559.85 “cash in hand paid the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged”.

While the deed recites that the consideration was paid in cash, it was brought out at- the trial that the consideration in fact was the return and delivery to Henry and Monroe Smith, Jr., of certain mortgage notes due by them and held by A. B. Boy-kin, but no point is made of this, it being conceded that the vendors received valid ■consideration for the property.

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Bluebook (online)
188 So. 25, 192 La. 346, 1939 La. LEXIS 1090, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-king-la-1939.