Cohan v. Thurston

Francis H. and Pearl E. Cohan instituted an action in ejectment against E. J. Thurston, and others, claiming title to a strip of land also claimed by the defendants. The dispositive question in this appeal is whether the trial court erred in finding an ambiguity existed in the deed description of the land and in admitting extrinsic evidence to clarify it.

The plaintiffs alleged the disputed land was a part of Lot 1 as shown on the plat of Section 1, Lynnhaven Colony, 1 in the City of Virginia Beach. Plaintiffs acquired Lot 1 in 1956 by a deed which described the lot by reference to the plat.…