Walrond v. Noyes

Citations

• 82 Kan. 118
• 107 P. 795
• 1910 Kan. LEXIS 204

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. School Land — Forfeiture—Defective Return of Service of Notice — Parol Evidence. A purchaser of school land made default in payment and the state took the statutory steps to declare a forfeiture of the contract. After forfeiture the land was sold to other purchasers, who went into possession and made improvements upon the land. After the lapse of more than ten years the first purchaser made a tender of the amount due upon his contract, which was refused. He then commenced an action of ejectment to recover the possession of the land from the second purchasers, upon the ground that the forfeiture proceedings were void. The forfeiture was claimed to be invalid because the return of the sheriff did not show a full compliance with the statute as to the service of notice. Upon the trial the court permitted the sheriff to state orally what he actually did in making such service, whereby the defect in the return was cured and the service was shown to be sufficient. Held, that the oral evidence was properly admitted.</p> <p>2. -- Description of Land in Return of Notice of Forfeiture. Where in such a case the sheriff’s return describes the land where notice of forfeiture was served as the “S. W. S. W. 36-9-13,” such description does not render the service void, where the notice upon which the return is written contains an accurate description of the land, to which the return refers as the “within-named” land.</p> <p>3. ■-• Record of Forfeiture Proceedings — Prima Fade Evidence of a Forfeiture. Where the county clerk keeps a book in his office in which school lands sold are recorded and in which forfeitures are noted, and there are notations in such record opposite lands described therein which read, “Notice issued December 2, 1895,” and “Forfeited February 23, 1896,” such notations are prima facie evidence that such lands were forfeited at the date stated.</p> <p>4. -Retrospective Law —• Validity. Chapter 373 of the Laws of 1907 was intende