Griggsby v. Osborn
Supreme Court of Virginia
Appeal from decree of circuit court of Scott county. The object of the suit was the partition of a certain tract of land, of which Nancy Griggsby died seized and possessed. The bill was filed by Solomon Osborn and Eliza W., his wife, the latter and the appellant and the appellee, Nancy Griggsby, being children and the heirs-at-law of the decedent.
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Appeal from decree of circuit court of Scott county. The object of the suit was the partition of a certain tract of land, of which Nancy Griggsby died seized and possessed. The bill was filed by Solomon Osborn and Eliza W., his wife, the latter and the appellant and the appellee, Nancy Griggsby, being children and the heirs-at-law of the decedent. The appellant, who was a defendant in the court below, claimed in his answer to be the equitable owner of the land, averring that he “took possession thereof with the express agreement and understanding with his mother in her lifetime that it should…
1Opinion of the Court
Lewis, P.
(after stating the case), delivered the opinion of . the court.
It is now well settled by the decisions of this court, in accordance with the great weight of authority in this country, that a court of equity will compel the conveyance of the legal title to land claimed under a parol gift, accompanied by possession, where the donee, induced by the promise to give it, has made *373valuable improvements on the land. But since the ground of the interference of the court, notwithstanding the statute of frauds—which was meant to suppress and not to encourage fraud—is, that the refusal to…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Neale v. NealesSupreme Court of the United States · 1870
- Halsey v. Peters'Supreme Court of Virginia · 1884
3Cited by9 opinions
- Biern v. RayWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1901
- Wohlford v. WohlfordCourt of Appeals of Virginia · 1917
- Hanna v. WilsonSupreme Court of Virginia · 1846
- Trout v. Trout's Ex'rSupreme Court of Virginia · 1896
- Steinman v. Clinchfield Coal Corp.Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1917
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