Shartzer v. Mountain Lake Park Ass'n

Citations

• 86 Md. 335
• 37 A. 786
• 1897 Md. LEXIS 100

Syllabus

<p>Equitable Defence to Action of Ejectment—Pleading—Estoppel—Sales in Equity—Rights of Purchasers— Warrant of Resurvey—Appeal.</p> <p>A plea setting up a defence to the action upon equitable grounds should contain a statement of the facts upon which the defendant relies and should not consist of a recital of the documents, &c., relied upon to prove those facts.</p> <p>A bill in equity was filed asking for the sale, for the purpose of partition, of the real estate of which W. H. died seized or to which he was equitably entitled. It was then supposed that tract of land to recover which the action of ejectment in this case was brought, was the property of W. H., the legal title to it, however, was in J. H. deceased. In the partition suit the executor and trustee of J. H. was a party as were also his residuary legatees and the executor was vested with a power of sale. The land in question was sold under a decree in this suit, together with land belonging to W. H., the sale was ratified and a large part of the purchase money distributed to the trustee and residuary legatees of J. H. These parties had actual or constructive notice that the legal title to the land in question sold as being the property ofW. H.. was inj. H., and the sale could not have been made without their acquiescence. Held, that the Court having jurisdiction over the subject-matter and the parties, the purchaser had a right to believe that the land sold was that to which W. H. was equitably entitled, and that the above mentioned facts constituted a bar to an action to recover the land from the purchaser instituted several years after the sale by a substituted trustee of the estate of J. H.</p> <p>Where one of the facts in issue in an action of ejectment is whether the land in controversy is contained within the lines of a certain tract, a warrant of resqrvey is properly issued.</p> <p>Where the record does not disclose the grounds of a motion by the plaintiff in an action of ejectment to strike out th