Coyle v. Davis

Citations

• 116 U.S. 108
• 6 S. Ct. 314
• 29 L. Ed. 583
• 1885 U.S. LEXIS 1897

Syllabus

<p>The grantor in an absolute deed of an undivided interest in land, in fee-simple, sought, by a suit in equity, against the grantee, to have it declared a mortgage. There was no defeasance, either in the deed or in a collateral paper, and the parol evidence that there was a debt, and that the intention ■ was to secure it by a mortgage, was not clear, unequivocal, and convincing, and it was held, that tile presumption that the instrument was what ■' purported to be must prevail.</p> <p>The weight oí the testimony was, that the transaction was a sale, and that the property was- sold for about its sale value, in view of the facts, that there was a poorly 'built and poorly arranged building on the premises, which was incapable of- actual partition, and that the law did not permit a partition by a sale in invitwm, arid that the grantor’s interest was a minority . interest.</p>