Campbell v. Johnston
New York Court of Chancery
Thomas Campbell,, the father of the complainant, died in 1838, leaving a will in which he appointed Oliver Johnston and George Cummings, the defendants, guardians of his children, and executors of his estate, real and personal, which, in the terms of the will, he devised to them in trust, to be sold for the benefit of his heirs.
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Thomas Campbell,, the father of the complainant, died in 1838, leaving a will in which he appointed Oliver Johnston and George Cummings, the defendants, guardians of his children, and executors of his estate, real and personal, which, in the terms of the will, he devised to them in trust, to be sold for the benefit of his heirs. Part of the estate of which he died seised, was a house in Ludlow-street, then subject to three mortgages held by the New-York Contributionship Insurance Company. The executors took possession of the house after Campbell’s death, let it, and received the rents, which…
1Opinion of the Court
The Assistant Vice-Chancellor.
The defendants, under the will of Thomas Campbell, had merely a power in trust. No estate vested in them, and the land descended to the heirs. (1 R. S. 729, § 56.) Their possession of the premises, taken under the erroneous impression that they were entitled to it as executors, must be accounted for to the heirs.
The next question arises upon the attempts made by the defendants to sell the property under the will. No satisfactory or even plausible reason is shown, in either case, why the respective purchasers did not complete their purchases.
*150Assuming the mortgage…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Van Epps v. Van EppsNew York Court of Chancery · 1841
- Hallett & Davis v. HallettNew York Court of Chancery · 1829
3Cited by2 opinions
- Moncrief v. . RossNew York Court of Appeals · 1872
- Stiles v. StilesNew York Supreme Court · 1869