Sturm v. Sawyer
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal No. 44, April T., 1896, by defendant, from judgment of C. P. No. 1, Allegheny Co., Sept. T., 1895, No. 180, in favor of the plaintiff on case stated. Case stated. Before Slagle, J. Judgment for plaintiff for $500. The following facts were stated in the opinion of the Superior Court.
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Appeal No. 44, April T., 1896, by defendant, from judgment of C. P. No. 1, Allegheny Co., Sept. T., 1895, No. 180, in favor of the plaintiff on case stated. Case stated. Before Slagle, J. Judgment for plaintiff for $500. The following facts were stated in the opinion of the Superior Court. “ This action was brought to obtain a construction of the following clause of the will of John O’Brien: ‘To my son John W. O’Brien, and my daughter Jane F. Sawyer, I give, devise and bequeath all my property, estate and effects, real, personal and mixed, of whatever kind or nature, and wheresoever situate…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Smith, J.,
(after stating the facts as above):
The question raised by the case stated is whether the bequest to the testator’s son and daughter made them joint tenants or tenants in common.
In feudal times joint tenancies were favored in law, because they prevented the division of services secured by the feudal system of tenures. But the law of tenure having changed,the *256reason for the right of survivorship ceased, and the courts thereafter inclined against joint tenancies. In the absence of words creating a tenancy in common, or words from which an intent to create such an estate might…
2Cases cited6 opinions
- Jones v. CableSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1887
- Arnold v. Jack's ExecutorsSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1854
- Kennedy's AppealSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1869
- Kerr v. VernerSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1870
- Seely v. SeelySupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1863
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3Cited by7 opinions
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- Lober v. DorganMichigan Supreme Court · 1921
- Hafer v. McKelveySuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1903
- Margarite v. EwaldSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1977
- Michael EstateSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1966
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.