Jordan v. Chambers

Citations

• 226 Pa. 573
• 75 A. 956
• 1910 Pa. LEXIS 821

Syllabus

<p>Deed, — Title to coal — Separation of title — Adverse possession.</p> <p>1. A conveyance before the grantor has acquired title does not as against him vest title of itself by estoppel, but operates as an agreement to convey, which, when the title has been subsequently acquired, may be enforced in chancery.</p> <p>2. The principle of estoppel as between the grantor and grantee is that such acquisition inures to the benefit of the grantee, because the grantor is estopped to deny that he had the title in question.</p> <p>3. The estoppel of the grantor inures only to the benefit of his grantee, and those who were not privies or parties to the original conveyance can take no advantage of estoppel arising out of it.</p> <p>4. Where a person having adverse possession of land -makes a deed of the coal thereunder to three persons before the adverse possession has continued for the period of twenty-one years, the conveyance passes no title, and there is no severance of the coal; but if the holder of the adverse possession or his successor acquires title by the adverse possession for the statutory period he will hold the legal title to the coal in trust for the three grantees in the deed, and may be compelled by such grantees to execute to them a proper conveyance of the coal; but if the successor in the adverse possession, after the completion of the twenty-one years and after he has taken a deed for one-third of the coal from one of the grantees, sues in ejectment the holder of the record title, he is entitled to recover the whole fee in the land, and is not restricted merely to the surface and one-third of the coal.</p> <p>5. The outstanding equitable title to two-thirds of the coal is of no avail to the record owner as against the holder of the legal title to the surface and coal, entitled under that title to possession of both. The estoppel created by the deed to the coal avails only in favor of the parties and privies, and the record owner is not a party or privy to t