Marsh v. Marsh

Citations

• 72 Fla. 142
• 72 So. 638

Syllabus

<p>1. Courts of equity have a general supervision over judicial sales made under their decrees and may set aside or vacate sales for cause, even after confirmation.</p> <p>2. After confirmation a judicial sale may be set aside by an original bill in equity, even though a petition might also be an appropriate proceeding for that purpose.</p> <p>3. While mere inadequacy of price may not be sufficient in itself to justify setting aside a judicial sale of property, courts are not slow to seize upon other circumstances impeaching the fairness of the transaction as a cause for vacating it, especially if the inadequacy be so gross as to shock the conscience, and when such inadequacy is connected with, or shown to result from any mistake, accident, surprise, misconduct, fraud or irregularity the sale will generally be set aside.</p> <p>4. Where an original bill in equity is filed for the purpose of setting aside a judicial sale and alleges that the lands were worth at a fair valuation eight or ten thousand dollars and yet the same were sold .at such judicial sale for the gross sum of $800.00 to the defendants, though one of the complainants had stated prior to such sale that he was willing to pay $5,000.00 for such lands and requested one of the defendants to bid that sum for such complainant at such sale, which such defendant promised to do, but failed to keep such promise; that such complainant is still ready and willing to pay the sum of $5,000.00 for such lands, and that complainants know of other persons who are ready and willing to bid such amount, and perhaps more for such lands, if the same are ordered re-sold; that one of the defendants used every effort to keep bidders away from the sale and deterred and discouraged persons from being present at the sale and bidding thereat by making false and fraudulent representations to them; and that such sale was not held during the legal hours of sale, a demurrer is erroneously sustained to the bill.</p> <p>5. A demurrer to