Kirby v. Tallmadge

Citations

• 160 U.S. 379
• 16 S. Ct. 349
• 40 L. Ed. 463
• 1896 U.S. LEXIS 2109

Syllabus

<p>When one party to an action has in his exclusive possession a knowledge of facts which would tend, if disclosed, to throw light upon the transactions which form the subject of controversy, his failure to offer them in evidence may afford presumptions against him.</p> <p>Where land is used for the purpose of a home, and is jointly occupied by husband and wife, neither of whom has title by record, a person proposing to purchase is bound to make some inquiry as to their title.</p> <p>The possession of real estate in the District of Columbia, under apparent claim of ownership, is notice to purchasers of the interest the person in possession has in the.fee, whether legal or equitable in its nature, and of all facts which the proposed purchaser might have learned by due inquiry. This principle applies with peculiar cogency to a case like the present, where the slightest inquiry would have revealed the facts, and where the purchaser deliberately turned his back upon every source of information; and a purchase made under such circumstances does not clothe the ven- . dee with the rights of a bona fide purchaser without notice.</p>