Oberthier v. Stroud

Citations

• 33 Tex. 522

Syllabus

<p>1. Land was purchased by W. with money belonging to Ms father and sister, but the deed, by mistake of the draftsman, was taken in his name instead of tbeir’s, as was intended. Held, that W. was the trustee of an implied trust, and held the land for the use of his father and sister.</p> <p>2. - The land so conveyed to W. was levied on and sold under execution as his property, but notice was given to all bidders at the sale that he had no interest iu it. Held, that the rule caveat emptor applies, and the purchaser bought at his peril.</p> <p>3. The lien of a judgment upon land is no better than the title of the judgment debtor, and a purchaser at an execution sale takes the land subject to all equities available against the judgment debtor himself. Hence, it seems, that when the defendant in execution held the legal title under a resulting trust for others, with whose money he had paid for the land, the purchaser at execution sale could acquire no beneficial interest, even though he was m no way chargeable with notice of the trust, and the title as recorded stood in the name of the defendant in execution. {In this case the sheriff’s deed was-to two persons jointly, one of'whom was one of the plaintiffs in execution, and was present at the sale when notice was given that the defendant in execution had no interest in the .land.)</p> <p>4. A resulting trust, it seems, is protected against the operation of the ■ registiation laws.</p> <p>5. Plaintiffs in trespass to try title claimed as purchasers atan execution sale of the land as the property of W., in whose name the title stood. Defendants claimed under W.’s father and sister, and offered W. as a witness to proye that the title was conveyed to him by mistake, and that the land was paid for with money belonging to his father qnd sister. Plaintiffs objected that W. was interested by having made to one of the defendants a bond for title to the land ; and the court below sustained the objection and excluded the witness.