Slingluff v. Dugan

Pearce, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an appeal from an order of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City setting aside a sale of certain lots made by trustees. The property offered comprised forty-two acres of land, through which, avenues and streets were laid out, and which was sub-divided into lots as shown on the plat exhibited at the sale. The advertisement described the property as “unimproved building land” situated in the Belt annexed to the city, and stated that “each lot fronts on avenues and streets sixty-six feet wide, now condemned and opened, or laid out on the plats, to meet, when opened, the requirements of the City survey as now on file in the office of the Commissioners for Opening Streets.” After describing each lot by metes and bounds, the advertisement further stated that the Baltimore County tax rate at the time of the annexation was sixty cents on the hundred dollars, and this will continue until the property is compactly built with more than six houses to the block.

Not only must the rate remain sixty cents on the one hundred dollars, but the assessment cannot be raised from what it was at the date at the annexation. This property has all city conveniences, such as water, gas, rapid transit railways, mail deliveries, churches, schools, &c. City water mains run right through it, and the cars of the United Railways and Electric Company traverse it from end to end, and a five cent fare to the heart of the city is provided.” The exceptant, Hammond J. Dugan, purchased lots 24 and 25 as shown on the subjoined copy of that part of the plot where said lots were located. ⁵²⁰ After the sale was reported, Hammond J. Dugan excepted to'its ratification. • First, on the ground that the advertisement was misleading in stating that the lots have city conveniences. Second, in stating that the assessment could not be increased—and third because the size, dimensions and location of the lots were improperly described and set out in the advertisement. ⁵²¹ The sale was not made on the premises, but at the salesrooms of the New Real Estate Exchange in the City of Baltimore.

The exceptant testified that he attended the sale by request of the auctioneer to bid upon certain lots for members of the Slingluff family, and without any purpose of purchasing for himself, but that having a copy of the advertisement and a plat of the property, and seeing that lots just south of Lot 24 had sold for $400 or $500 more per acre than was offered for Lot 24, he thought Lots 24 and 25 would be cheap at the price offered, and so believing he bought them ; that he had never seen the property at that time, but knew the general value of land in that vicinity; that after the sale he learned that the advertisement was not correct in stating that the assessment could not be raised until six houses were built on each block, and also discovered that there were neither water nor gas mains laid on any street on which Lots 24 and 25 abutted, and that upon making a survey of these lots he found that the depth of Lot 24 on 4th street was only 46 feet 6 inches instead of 55 feet as advertised, and that the front of Lot 25 on 4th street was only 34 feet 6 inches instead of 45 feet as advertised ; that this deficiency in the dimensions of these lots made a material difference in their value as building lots because Lot 24 could only be improved by buildings fronting on Windsor avenue and fifty-five feet was the least depth which would allow such houses as were adapted for that location, so that there would necessarily be a loss of fifty-two feet on the east end of Lot 24, where there would have been three houses of 17 feet front, if there had been 55 feet in depth as advertised ; and that Lot 25 could only be improved by buildings fronting on 4th street because of its shape, and there could only be two houses where there would have been three, if there had been the advertised depth. He also testified that the streets and avenues were only partially opened and some- were not opened at all, and that water and gas mains would not be laid on these streets until they were put on grade. It appears from the plat, that Slingluff avenue-was colored on the plat, throughout its whole length over this ⁵²² property as was 9th street south of Windsor avenue and 8th street south of Clifton avenue, and as was Clifton avenue between 8th and 9th streets, and Walbrook avenue between 9th street and Slingluff avenue, but that all the other streets on the plat were uncolored. On cross-examination Mr. Dugan was asked if the auctioneer did not announce at the sale that only the colored streets had been opened and the others merely laid out to be opened, and replied that he did not remember his doing so, but admitted that he did not ask what significance the coloring of these streets had.

He also admitted that he did not, in purchasing, take into consideration the belief that water and gas mains were laid on the streets on which these lots abutted and that he could not say he was influenced to purchase by such belief, but did say that he thought the property was ripe for development, in other words that possibly the streets were not on grade, but the conditions were such that they could be put “on grade and you could go right ahead and improve, and that he certainly would not have bought the property if he had known he could have been assessed for the opening of any of the streets or avenues. He was sustained as to the materiality of the deficiency in the dimensions of the two lots by the testimony of Richard Sewell, John T. Graham and Frank W. Trimble,