Willett v. Andrews

Citations

• 106 La. 319

Syllabus

<p>Syllabus.</p> <p>1. Advertisement is not a prerequisite to the admissibility of the contents of a lost document when loss is established.</p> <p>2. Parol testimony is admissible to prove the contents of a lost deed to land.</p> <p>8. A private deed of sale is binding on the heirs of the vendor and on those to whom notice is traced, even though it has not been recorded.</p> <p>4. A purchaser who seeks to oust those in possession of'property and owners of the title, who had knowledge of an unrecorded deed and who remained silent some thirty years, is without right to recover a judgment for the property.</p> <p>5. After the loss of the deed is shown, the question is one of weight of the testimony introduced in evidence to prove its contents. If the weight of testimony and all facts and circumstances sustain the claim to title, it will be held legal against one who does not show a better right to the property. The defendants are in possession and they and their ancestors in title have been in possession for a number of years under a recorded title. The hiatus in the chain of title is not one which can be of any avail to plaintiff.</p>