Tapp v. Corey

Citations

• 64 Tex. 594

Syllabus

<p>i„ Practice — Evidence — Agreement.— An agreement between the litigants in a case of trespass to try title, that they claimed under a common source, was not an admission that each had a regular chain of title leading up to such common source, much less was it an admission that a deed offered in evidence was in the line of title.</p> <p>S. Same — Evidence.— The effect of such an agreement was to relieve the plaintiffs below from the necessity of tracing their title back to the government. If they traced their title back to a common source, and defendant failed to show title in himself derived from the common source, or an outstanding title in any one else, judgment should not have been for defendant.</p> <p>3. Equity — Trespass to try title. — A defendant in trespass to try title must connect himself with an outstanding equity in the hands of a third party, before he can use it as a defense.</p> <p>4. Trust — Evidence.— Land was conveyed to a church elder in trust for his church. Plaintiff in trespass to try title claimed under deed from the trustee; the defendant under a deed purporting to be made by the trustees of a church. Held:</p> <p>(1) That the recital in the deed that the grantors were trustees of the church was no evidence of the fact against a party claiming in opposition to the deed.</p> <p>(3) If it was, and there was no connection shown between the church and the one for whose benefit the conveyance to the elder was made, the court could not judicially know that they were identical, even if the names were the same.</p>