Marshall v. Peck

Citations

• 91 Ill. 187

Syllabus

<p>1. Witness—competency—party against heirs. On bill against the heirs of a deceased person to enforce an agreement claimed to have been made by the deceased in his lifetime with the complainant, the latter is not a competent witness in his own behalf.</p> <p>2. Same—competency—husband for his wife. On bill by a wife against the heirs of a deceased person to specifically enforce a verbal agreement of the deceased to convey a certain lot to a trustee for use of the complainant, made after the deceased had given a bond for a deed to her husband, and with the assent of the husband at the time, the latter is a competent witness for his wife to prove the agreement to convey to her. If, however, he- had assigned his claim merely to render him competent, he would be incompetent by the terms of the seventh section of the act entitled “ Evidence and Depositions.”</p> <p>3. Specific performance—requires clear proof after great delay. A decree for the specific performance of an alleged verbal agreement to convey land will not be granted where the bill is not filed until more than ten years after the alleged agreement and after the death of the other party, on slight evidence of the agreement, especially when the conduct and acts of the complainant for many years before are inconsistent with the existence of the right claimed, and such as to lead to the conviction that if the complainant ever had any claim to the relief sought, it must have been settled and adjusted long before.</p>