Coster v. Clarke
New York Court of Chancery
Application to compel a purchaser to take land bought at a master’s sale. With regard to the title, it appeared that in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five the complainant, John G. Coster, with James B. Clarke, Samuel James and Joseph Moser, agreed to purchase the lease of one of the Brooklyn ferries and also certain tracts of land in Brooklyn on joint account and for their mutual benefit.
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Application to compel a purchaser to take land bought at a master’s sale. With regard to the title, it appeared that in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five the complainant, John G. Coster, with James B. Clarke, Samuel James and Joseph Moser, agreed to purchase the lease of one of the Brooklyn ferries and also certain tracts of land in Brooklyn on joint account and for their mutual benefit. All these were conveyed to the said James B. Clarke, so that the legal estate appeared to be in him. On the seventeenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, the parlies…
1Opinion of the Court
The Vice-Chancellor :
When a sale is made by a master in chancery under a decree or order of this court and the purchaser is not informed at the time of sale that he is to take the risk of any defect in the title, the court will not compel him to complete his purchase, unless it can assure him that he will have not only a legal title, such as will avail him in a court of law to defend the possession if necessary, but also a title that will not be liable to be set aside or even seriously litigated in *431a court of equity. The rule appears to be, not to compel the acceptance of a title against…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Jackson v. EdwardsCourt for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1839
3Cited by4 opinions
- Tarbel v. BradleyNew York Supreme Court · 1878
- Musgrove v. LuskCourt of Appeals of Tennessee · 1875
- Hauptmann v. HauptmannAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1904
- Jones v. McKennaTennessee Supreme Court · 1880