Wooten v. . Hobbs
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Appeal by plaintiff from order of Bond, J., beard at chambers on 18 October, 1915; from GkeeNK Controversy without action to determine title to land, submitted to the Court, under Revisal, sec. 803, for its decision and judgment.
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Appeal by plaintiff from order of Bond, J., beard at chambers on 18 October, 1915; from GkeeNK Controversy without action to determine title to land, submitted to the Court, under Revisal, sec. 803, for its decision and judgment. Simeon Wooten died in Lenoir County, leaving a last will and testament, duly admitted to probate, and in the tenth item thereof he devised his land in Greene County as follows: “I loan to my six children, Leonard E. Wooten, Helen R. Hobbs, Mary Y. Peele and John S. Wooten, Cecil 0. Wooten, and Lester D. Wooten, for and during their natural lives, with the right to…
1Opinion of the Court
Walker, J.,
after stating the case: Where the meaning of the testator or other maker of a written instrument is not plainly expressed, we must resort to construction in order to ascertain the intention, but when there is no uncertainty in the language used and it expresses a clear and definite purpose, construction is not necessary. It has been said by one of the standard text-writers that “the will of a competent testator, and every part thereof, presumably expresses an intelligible intent; i. e., means something. When the language, in view of all the circumstances, can have but one meaning,…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Johnson v. . JohnsonSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1844
- Mebane v. . WomackSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1855
- Todd v. . TrottSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1870
- Hinton v. . LewisSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1851
- Sawyer v. . TruebloodSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1808
1 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by13 opinions
- Smyth v. . McKissickSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1943
- Entwistle v. CovingtonSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1959
- McCain v. WombleSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1965
- Stephens v. . ClarkSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1937
- Westinghouse Electric Supply Co. v. BurgessSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1943
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.