Kirby v. Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co.

Citations

• 109 Ill. 412

Syllabus

<p>1. Contracts—rule of construction—as to meaning of words. Words in a contract are to be construed according to their strict and primary acceptation, unless from the context, and the intention of the parties to be collected from it, they appear to be used in a different sense, or unless in their strict sense they are incapable of being carried into effect.</p> <p>2. Same—in case of doubt, in whose favor to be solved. If from a contract for a conveyance of a right of way upon a certain condition, it is doubtful what is intended by the words as to the condition, the doubt must be solved in favor of the grantee.</p> <p>3. Same—a contract construed as to location of right of way and railroad. The owner of lands gave a bond to a railway company proposing to construct a railroad, obligating himself to make a deed for a strip of land fifty feet wide on each side of the center line of the road, as the same might be located upon and over his lands, which were described, provided said railroad should be built west and north of his dwelling house then occupied by him “on said premises,” when the road was completed, etc., which also provided that unless the road was constructed so that cars might run over the same by a day named, it should become void. Under this, the company entered upon a part of the premises, without objection by the owner, and constructed its road in the time named, west and north of the dwelling house, but that part of the road north of the house was not built on such party’s land. It appeared that his house was situate only two hundred feet south of his north line: Held, that the condition of the bond was complied with if the road was built west and north of the house, without regard to the ownership of the land on which it was built, and that the words, “on said premises,” qualified the word “house,” or should be regarded as merely redundant.</p> <p>4. Ejectment—plaintiff must recover on the strength of his own title— bond for a deed as a defence. The