Mays v. Dwight
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal from the Court of Common Pleas of Venango county: Of October and November Term 1875, No. 239. This was a bill in equity, filed by E. P. Dwight and Samuel K. Ashton, trustees of the Keystone Oil Company, against Henry Mays, David Ochs, J. H. Smith, Abraham Smith and H. M. Davis, for an account of the value of oil alleged to have been produced by the defendants under a lease from the plaintiffs.
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Appeal from the Court of Common Pleas of Venango county: Of October and November Term 1875, No. 239. This was a bill in equity, filed by E. P. Dwight and Samuel K. Ashton, trustees of the Keystone Oil Company, against Henry Mays, David Ochs, J. H. Smith, Abraham Smith and H. M. Davis, for an account of the value of oil alleged to have been produced by the defendants under a lease from the plaintiffs. The answer admitted substantially the facts averred in the bill, but set up the defence which appears below. The case was referred to a master, who reported substantially the following facts: “…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Paxson
Perhaps no rule of law is better settled than that a tenant in possession under a lease shall not be allowed to dispute the title of his lessor. Yet this rule, like most others, has its exceptions. Where the tenant has been induced to accept the lease by misrepresentation, fraud or trick practised upon him by the lessor, he is not estopped from setting up a superior title to. that of the lessor: Hamilton v. Marsden, 6 Binn. 45; Brown v. Dysinger, 1 Rawle 408; Baskin v. Seechrist, 6 Barr 154. It was said by Justice Bell in the last-named case, that “ It matters not whether the deception…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Brown v. DysingerSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1829
- Lessee of Hamilton v. MarsdenSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1813
- Geiger v. CookSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1842
- Gibson v. Union Rolling Mill Co.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1834
3Cited by1 opinion
- Miller v. Red Lion Cemetery Ass'nSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1934