Grim v. Murphy

Citations

• 110 Ill. 271

Syllabus

<p>1. Boundaries—settled by parol agreement. The owners of adjoining tracts of land may, by parol agreement, settle and permanently establish a boundary line between their lands, which, when followed by possession according to the line thus agreed upon, is binding and conclusive, not only upon them, but also upon their grantees.</p> <p>2. Limitation—adverse possession—how it may be shown. Adverse possession of land under the Limitation law may be shown by inference, from circumstantial evidence. In respect to a disputed boundary line, the fact that the defendant placed his fence twenty feet beyond or outside of what was generally regarded, and he was told was, the true line, and that he built his house and planted his orchard on the disputed land, are circumstances from which a jury may infer his possession was adverse, and that he claimed to own the land,—and this, too, in the absence of any declarations of such claim of adverse possession. It is not true that adverse possession can be proved only by clear and positive evidence. It may be proved by any legitimate testimony, and by a mere preponderance, like any other issue in a civil suit.</p> <p>3. Same—what regarded as adverse possession. If'the owner of a tract of land, in inclosing the same, builds his fence on one side in doubt as to whether it is on his own land, and declares that if it is not on the true line, when established he will conform to it, the possession outside of the true line, and up to the fence, will not be adverse; but if such party believed his fence was within the true boundary line, and he took possession and occupied it under that belief, his possession would be adverse. Nor would it matter that he made a statement that if it should be established that the fence was not upon the true line before the bar of the statute had run, he would submit and regard the true line under his possession subservient to the true owner.</p> <p>4. Instbuction—calling attention to an issue not in the case. In