Home/Supreme Court of North Carolina/Williamson v. Bryan

Williamson v. Bryan

142 N.C. 81
Supreme Court of North Carolina·Decided September 18, 1906·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

BeowN, J.

Tbe principal contention made by the defendant is to alleged error of tbe Court in tbe submission of issues to tbe jury. Tbe defendant tendered tbe following issue: “Is tbe plaintiff tbe owner and entitled to tbe possession of tbe narrow strip of land described in tbe third paragraph of bis complaint?” Tbe Court refused to submit such issue and submitted the following: 1. Which is tbe true line divid[82] ing plaintiff’s and defendant’s lands from tbe cypress at A to B, as indicated on tbe map ? Ans.: Tbe middle line. 2. Is tbe plaintiff tbe owner and entitled to tbe possession of any lands on tbe west side of tbe true line ? Ans.: Tes; plaintiff owns all land on tbe west side of tbe true line.

Tbe defendant contends that tbe issues submitted by bis Honor are not responsive to tbe allegations contained in tbe. pleadings and are not sufficient to justify a judgment for tbe plaintiff. Eor this position defendant relies upon tbe case of Tucker v. Satterthwaite, 120 N. C., 118. It is well settled that it is tbe duty of tbe trial Judge to submit such issues as are necessary to settle tbe material controversies arising upon tbe pleadings, and that, in tbe absence of such issues or equivalent admissions of record sufficiently to reasonably justify a judgment rendered thereon, this Court will order a new trial. The pleadings in tbe case at bar are quite different from those in tbe case cited. In tbis case tbe answer of tbe defendant is not simply a denial of tbe plaintiff’s title and right to possession of tbe land in controversy, but it undertakes to set out in a measure tbe title to tbe land and to specify and particularize tbe controversy between plaintiff and tbe defendant.

In tbe first allegation of tbe answer tbe defendant admits that tbe plaintiff is tbe owner and entitled to tbe possession of most of tbe lands described in tbe complaint, but 'be denies that tbe plaintiff is tbe owner or entitled to tbe possession of that part of tbe land which is described in tbe third allegation of tbe complaint if it shall be found that tbe boundaries set out in tbe first allegation cover tbe said strip of land so described in tbe third allegation. Tbe defendant further says that more than thirty years ago there was a well-established line owned and recognized by tbe owners of tbe lands belonging to the plaintiff and the defendant, which was well marked and defined and which formed tbe boundary-line between the lands described in tbe plaintiff’s complaint and

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Williamson v. Bryan, 142 N.C. 81 (N.C. 1906).

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