Maryland State Fair, Inc. v. Schmidt

Offutt, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Being seised ias tenants by the entireties of a tract of land, containing about one hundred and twenty-two acres, in Anne Arundel County, near the present location of the Laurel ⁶¹⁵ race track, Adolph. Schmidt and Louisa his wife, on July 24th, 1888, joined in a deed conveying it to* Louisa Schmidt, the wife, in trust to hold, use, occupy, and enjoy it during her life upon.the payment of taxes, and at her death, upon their payment of certain ‘Charges aggregating nine hundred dollars against the property, the grantors conveyed the home and ten acres surrounding it to Kate Schmidt, wife of Jonah Boyle^ a daughter, and eighteen acres to Augustus, a son, and the remainder in equal shares to their *ofber children, Mary S. S. (the wife of O. Wesley Jess), BasiMeus, Alexander Oscar, Emma (the wife of John S. Boyle), and Henry, subject to a privilege reserved to* Adolph to occupy during his life, upon certain conditions, a part of the property.

Alexander' renounced the provision for him in the deed and his interest was acquired hy Augustus. The other children paid off the charges against the property, and in 1895 the trustee and life tenant, acting under a power contained in the deed, agreed with the remaindermen to* allot and grant to them certain portions of the property, .and accordingly, to carry -out that .agreement, .they had the property surveyed. Prior to the survey the parties in interest had agreed that Wilhalminia Katherine, also called Ka,ta, Schmidt should receive an equal share with the other children, and the surveyor was directed to apportion .the ¡property which they then believed contained 118 .acres, so as to give to Gustave, also called Augustus, 18 acres., and to each of the other children who took remainders tinder the deed of trust 16.6 acres. The survey, however, disclosed the fact that the tract contained 122 acares, but when the parties were informed of that fact, the ¡surveyor had already platted the property, setting off 18 acres for Augustus and 16.6 acres for each ■of tine other .children, and ¡a residuum .of 4% acres was left as an unallotted parcel on the plat.

It was then agreed that, rather than incur the expense *of a resurvey, deads would be prepared .allotting and conveying the property in .accordance with the plat and the descriptions which the surveyor had prepared, and that was accordingly done. ⁶¹⁶ On February 10th, 1896, Louisa Schmidt, trustee, and Adolph Schmidt conveyed to- Augustus in fee the 18 acres given him hy the deed -of trust, and later he was granted Alexander’s part, which fully satisfied all his claims -against the estate, .and he thereafter -had no further interest in it. On April 12tjh, 1891, the s-aonie parties, with -all their children hut the grantee, joined in a deed conveying to- Wilheimina K. Schmidt 16.6 acres in lieu of the- 10 acres given tp-'he-r by the deed, and which she -accepted in lien thereof, so that that grant fully satisfied the provisions made for her in the -deed -and she had no- further interest in th-e remaining property. The remaining lot®, containing 16.6 acres-, were then conveyed by several deeds- respectively to Henry, Basilicus, Emma, and Mary. By these deeds- the entire tract was. conveyed in fee to- .the several -children of Adolp-h and Louisa Schmidt (excepting Alexander) who took remainders- under the deed! of trust, -excepting the 1-ot of 4% acres, which i-s the sub ject matter* of this proceeding.

Manifestly, unless the life tenant and remaindermen had united in some disposition of that lot, the title to it remained in them -as tenants in common, and that is the theory for which the appellees contend in this case. In 1902, Louisa Schmidt as an individual conveyed that 4y2 acre lot. te Emma J. O. Boyle, trustee, from whom by various mesne conveyances the -claim of the appellant in this case is derived, -and it asserts that the- appellee® are esto-p-ped' by certain recitals in the partition deeds from claiming any interest in that lot, -and these two- contentions present the is-srae in this case. Under the deed from Louisa Schmidt to Emm-a J. C. Boyle, trustee-, the grantee held the property in trust for her own use until -her daughter Irena should attain the age of eighteen, and then for the use -of her daughter until she should become twenty-one years old and then to: her in fee. Irene -siibsequently married Julian Studds o-f Del Ray, Virginia, -and o-n May 29th, 1911, -she united in a deed conveying such interest as -she had in the 4% acres to- one Samuel L. ⁶¹⁷ Hopkins, who appears to have been, acting as agent for tibe Laurel Four County Fair Association, which needed it to cany out a plan for increasing tikei size of its track.

Ho.p-kins promptly conveyed) the property to the race track company, of which the appellant 'here is the successor, and it has also .acquired .and holds the interest of Emma J. O. Boyle in the whole property. There is some conflict, in the evidence ,as to whether the race track company or its privies had actual notice at the time it acquired the 4% acre property, or befare it improved it, that any of the appellee® claimed an interest in it, but there is some testimony that it did have such notice. It i® -agtreed in the easiei that the fair value of the racing franchises, real eistate and improvements, and other property-owned by the appellant, is $750,000 and that its race track crosses a part of the land in question. On September 1st, 1922, B-asilieus H. Schmidt and others, claiming an interest in the 4% acres under the deed of trust to Louisa Schmidt, brought an action in ejectment in the Circuit 'Court for Anne Arundel County against the appellant for the possession of that tract of land.

That case in due course was tried before the court sitting .a® a jury, and at the conclusion of the trial a judgment wia® .entered for Basilieus H. Schmidt, Mary L. Jess and Henry Schmidt for three-fourths undivided moiety of the property described in the decía,nation, for one dollar .damage®', and easts, and from that judgment the present appeal was taken. The defendant offered twenty-two prayer®. The court granted five and rejected seventeen of these prayers, and granted a special instruction of itsi own. Without discussing them in detail, it is sufficient to say that, if the appellees were entitled to recover at all, the granted prayer's correctly stated tihe law and submitted the case (fully and fairly to the court sitting as a jury.

The real and controlling. question in the case is presented by the action of the trial court in refusing certain prayers of the defeudant, which rested on one of these propositions, that by accepting the partition ⁶¹⁸ deeds the several grantees named in them disclaimed any interest in the 4% aere residuum, and were thereby barred from recovering any such interest in this action, or that the recitals in those deeds characterized the possession by Louisa Schmidt ¡the trastee as adverse. Since the correctness of those rulings and indeed the case itself turns upon the construction given the several deeds of partition, we will now examine and compare so much of the language contained in them .as is material to this inquiry. A recital in the dead from Louisa Slehmidt, trustee, and her husband, for 18 acres', to Gustave contains this language: “And whereas the said Gustave Schmidt, her son, has paid his one-seventh párt, the sum of one hundred and thirty-three dollars ($133.00), and the said Louisa Schmidt desires to convey said 18 acres hereinafter particularly described to said Gustave Schmidt clear of her life estate and all claims and incumbrances whatsoever, the mortgage therein mentioned • having been paid and released, the judgment paid and satisfied and the other debt which was due said Louisa Schmidt having also been paid as to said Gustave Schmidt’s share.” The recital in .the deed conveying 16.6 acres to- Emma T. Si.' G. Boyle contains this' language: “Whereas * * * certain real estate was conveyed to the said Louisa Schmidt in trust and among other trusts that she might at any time convey to any one or more of his children his, her or their share of said real estate upon payment by any one or more of them of his, her or their share or part of certain indebtedness in said deed named. And whereas.

Emma T. S. 0. Boyle, her daughter, has paid her one-seventh part or share of said indebtedness, being the sum of one hundred and thirty-three dollars, a.nd the said Louisa is desirous to convey to her the part or portion of the real estate aforesaid to which the said Emma is entitled free and clear of her life estate therein. And whereas the said Emma T. S. C. Boyle is willing to accept the part or portion of said real estate herein ⁶¹⁹ described and intended to be hereby conveyed to her as her full share or portion of said real estate, and whereas it is the intention of the other children of the said Louisa Schmidt herein named and the wives of the sons to join herein with their father, the said Adolph Schmidt, to convey to the said Emma T. S. 0. Boyle the hereinafter described, portion or part of said real estate as her part or share thereof free, clear and discharged of any or all claims by or from any or either of them.” And the recital® in- the deeds to Basiiliena, Mary, and Henry are identical in form wiith that last mentioned.

The recital in the deed to Wilhelmina, who received 6.6 acres more than that mentioned as her part in the deed of trust to Louisa, after reciting that she had paid her proportion of the indebtedness, continues as follows: “And the said Louisa is desirous to convey to her the portion or part of the real estate aforesaid which is herein mentioned and described as her said Wilhelmina’s part thereof free and clear of her said Louisa’s life estate therein. And whereas by the deed aforesaid there was apportioned to the said Wilhelmina 3L Schmidt only the amount or number of ten acres of said real estate. ' And whereas the said grantors herein are desirous that the said Wilhelmina should share equally with the other children in the division of the real estate aforesaid; and whereas the said Wilhelmina K. Schmidt is willing to accept the part or portion, of the said "real estate herein described and intended to he conveyed to her as her full share or portion of said real estate.” Upon comparing! these deeds, -all of which collectively were designed to' effect a single ipilaca or purpose, it is found that, in the dead conveying (the 18 .acres to Augustus or Gustave, the property conveyed is described a® the