Williams v. O'Donnell

Citations

• 225 Pa. 321
• 74 A. 205
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 658

Syllabus

<p>Deeds — Covenants—General warranty — Eviction—Covenant running with land — Mortgage—Incumbrances.</p> <p>1. A covenant of general warranty in a deed of real estate, whatever else it may be, is a covenant against eviction, and as such it runs with the land, and is not broken until there has been an actual or constructive eviction under a paramount title.</p> <p>2. In an action to recover damages for a breach of a covenant of general warranty, where the statement of claim shows explicitly that the cause of action was an actual eviction following a sheriff’s sale in foreclosure proceedings of a mortgage in existence at the time the deed of warranty was made, it is error for the court to find that the real cause of action was a violation of the covenant against incumbrances implied in the words “grant, bargain and sell,” or in the covenant of general warranty, and that as such a covenant did not run with the land, the right of action was limited to the original vendee, and not to his grantee.</p> <p>3. Where two persons execute a mortgage on land, and subsequently a third person acquires an undivided interest in the land, and thereafter the three execute a deed of general warranty, the third party is liable in damages for a breach of the warranty resulting from an eviction under the paramount title created by the mortgage.</p>