Smith v. Woodlawn Const. Co., Inc.

Jack Davenport, the owner of an 85-acre tract of land in Hanover County, Virginia, died intestate in April of 1941. Davenport had eight children, some of whom predeceased him but were survived by issue. In December of 1945, most of Davenport’s heirs or their successors in interest attempted to partition the 85-acre tract among themselves. They had the entire tract surveyed and divided into eight parcels. They attempted to convey parcel number eight to the heirs at law of Bettie Davenport Johnson, who had predeceased her father, Jack Davenport. The conveyance was allegedly defective because it…