Lancaster Trust Co. v. Long

Citations

• 220 Pa. 499
• 69 A. 993
• 1908 Pa. LEXIS 804

Syllabus

<p>Statute of frauds — Parol agreement to purchase land at sheriff’s sale— Trust ex maleficio.</p> <p>A parol agreement by one to purchase land for another at a sheriff’s sale followed by a breach of the contract to convey on the part of the purchaser, gives rise to no resulting trust, unless the promisee furnished the purchase money in whole or in part, or had at the time of the contract an actual estate or interest in the land or a bona fide claim thereto. A mere initiate right of curtesy in the promisee is not sufficient.</p> <p>Execution — Sheriff’s sale — Possession—Practice, C. P.</p> <p>The Act of April 20, 1905, P. L. 239, which was intended to provide a new and more effective method of obtaining possession of real estate purchased at a judicial sale, does not affect or alter the defenses that may be set up by the person in possession. Thus the defendant in his answer to the purchaser’s petition may set up that the latter was a trustee for him under a promise to purchase and hold the property for the defendant’s benefit; but he can only do so if he is in a position to raise such a question.</p>