Smith v. Martin

Pattison, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. On the 25th day of June, 1928, the appellants, Ilarriette Thurston Smith and Williamson P. Smith, her husband, of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, leased unto the appellee, William IT. Martin, of Leesburg, Virginia, a vacant lot or parcel of land, at Scotland Beach, in St. Mary’s County, fronting upon the Chesapeake Bay a distance of about sixty feet and running back therefrom a distance of about one hundred feet, for a term of years, commencing on the first day of January, 1923, and ending with the 30th day of December, 1938, with the right of renewal for an additional term of ten years, at the yearly rental of seventy-five dollars, payable on the first day of June in each and every year. The property leased, which was a part of a tract of land containing- eighty acres owned by Mrs. Smith, is described ⁴⁶⁴ in the lease as “all the * * * tract or parcel of real estate, being part of what is known as St. Michael’s Manor, * * * also part of * * * the Richardson Place, to wit, that portion of a grove of pine woods bounded on the south by the northern line of the state road (leading from Leonardtown to Scotland Beach) and on the east by the Chesapeake Bay.” Then follows a more specific description of the property leased, in which the metes and bounds thereof are given.

And immediately after such description is the following clause: “Together with all rights, privileges, ways, water rights on said beach and bay, and all appurtenances thereunto belonging, with right of ingress and egress as to any part of said grove not included within the above boundaries for any purpose whatsoever.” By the terms of the lease the lessee was given the right to sublet the leased premises to any one, other than a person of the colored race or one “undesirable as to habits or occupation.” He was also given the right, at the expiration of the term of his lease, or any renewal thereof, to “remove all buildings or. other improvements placed upon the land,” with “the right of ingress and egress for that purpose.” Under the lease, the lessee was to have immediate possession of the premises “with the right to erect a cottage or other buildings on the said premises, and a sanitary toilet at a point in the grove beyond the boundaries of the above premises, provided the same is made reasonably private and secluded. Also to sink a well on said leased premises.” And the burden was imposed upon the lessee to protect the trees on the leased land from damage. The lessors agreed “not to lease any part of the residue of said grove for any purpose other than the erection thereon of residential cottages” and “not to lease (any part thereof) to apy person of the negro race,” with the proviso that, “if this covenant is broken,” the lessee “shall recover damages therefor, which damages in any event shall be not less than the stipulated annual rent of seventy-five dollars, which amount shall cease to be due and payable, but the period of said lease shall hot be affected.” ⁴⁶⁵ The lease, when executed, was recorded in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, and the lessee thereafter built upon the leased lot a cottage at a cost to him of about eighteen hundred dollars, and paid in advance the stipulated rent for each of the years 1923, 1924, 1925 and 1926. In the fall of 1925 Mrs. Smith negotiated with Edward W. Mollohan for the sale to him of her eighty acres of land, and on the Ith day of December, 3925, an agreement of sale was executed by Mollohan as trustee and Mrs. Smith, in which the latter agreed to sell to the former, for the sum of ten thousand dollars, said land, “together with any and all improvements thereon, which improvements consist of a small dwelling located on a lot now leased to one W. H. Martin, which lot is of the size of about sixty feet by one hundred feet, more or less, and is located near the corner of the property of * * * Ridgell on the bay front, which lot is under lease between the undersigned owner and the said Martin, which lease has about seven years to run, and it is understood that this purchase includes all rights in said property, and ownership to said property, subject to the terms of said lease only.” Upon an examination of the lease on record in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, it was found by Mollohan that the term for which the property was leased to Martin did not expire at the end of about seven years, as stated in the contract of sale with Mrs. Smith, but that the term of the lease extended to the 30th day of December, 1938, with the right to the lessee to renew the lease for an additional term of ten years.

At the same time Mollohan learned of the provisions in the lease conferring certain rights upon the lessee in respect to the lands of the appellants not included in those leased to him, which, as claimed by Mollohan, created a lien or cloud upon the title to the whole or entire tract of eighty acres, and, because of the facts so learned by him, he refused to comply with the terms of the contract of sale made by him with Mrs. Smith. On April 2nd, 1926, Mr. and Mrs. Smith tiled their bill ⁴⁶⁶ in this case, asking that the lease to William H. Martin from them, dated June 25th, 1923, be annulled and set aside on the ground that it was procured by the fraud and misrepresentations of the defendant and his agents. A demurrer filed to this bill was sustained and; on the 15th day of Hovember, 1926, an amended bill was filed asking for the same relief upon the ground that the plaintiffs “were induced by the defendant and wife and * * * Percy Yeatman to sign and acknowledge the paper writing * * * purporting to be a lease,” which, as stated by plaintiffs, was “fraudulent, vague and uncertain and without a proper consideration and it constitutes a cloud upon the title of the said Harriette Thurs-ton Smith to at least eighty acres of land, and that the said William H. Martin is an attorney at law, and obtained the aforesaid pretended agreement from your complainants while one of them was suffering from a nervous break-down, by fraud, collusion and undue influence. Further, that the said pretended agreement, unless set aside and annulled bv a court of equity, will prevent your orators from carrying out the contract of sale above mentioned or from otherwise disposing of the said property to any other purchaser except at a grossly inadequate price.” This bill was answered by the defendant Martin and evidence was taken upon the issues created by the bill and answer, and upon such evidence the learned chancellor below dismissed the bill.

It is from that decree of the court that the 'appeal in this case has been taken. The facts of this case, in substance, are that Mrs. Smith was the owner of one hundred and fifteen acres of uncleared or wooded land lying near Scotland Beach, in St. Mary’s County, thirty-five acres of which were on the south side and eighty acres on the north side of the state road leading from Leonardtown to' Scotland Beach. It is the land lying on the-north side of that road and bordering on the Chesapeake Bay that is involved in these proceedings. About one-half acre' of this land, lying immediately north of said state road and bordering upon the Chesapeake Bay, had been cleared of its undergrowth, while the undergrowth on that part of the ⁴⁶⁷ eighty aeres lying to the no'rth of it -and .separated from it by a road leading from the state road to the bay bad not been cut down and removed, and, as stated by one of the witnesses, it was a dense and “impenetrable thicket.” It was the one-half acre upon which the undergrowth had been cut and removed that was known by those in the neighborhood as “the grove.” Persons visiting Scotland Beach in automobiles would camp in this grove, for which a charge was made by Mrs. Smith and collected by Percy Yeatman, a friend and near neighbor of Mrs. Smith’s, who was employed at Scotland Beach, and much of his time was expended working in and about the hotel.

Mr. Martin, who, as Ave have said, lived at Leesburg, Virginia, in June, 1923, with bis wife and two children visited Scotland Beach. They were pleased with it as a summer resort, and he determined to buy a lot there, if he could, and erect a cottage thereota. He saw Mr. Ridgell, the proprietor of the hotel, and inquired of him whether he knew of any lots fronting on the hay that could be purchased. Ridgell said he knew of none.

Martin had observed “the grove,” and be asked Ridgell if he could not buy a lot there, and was told by him that the owner, Mrs. Smith, would not sell, but suggested that she might lease him a lot, and Ridgell advised Martin to see Mr. Yeatman, who, he said, was a near neighbor of Mrs. Smith, and have him find out whether she would sell or lease. Yeatman, when seen by Martin, said lie did not think Mrs. Smith would sell, but be “thotaght she wanted to lease her hay front property.” Martin then asked him to see Mrs. Smith and find out from her whether or not she would lease or sell him a lot. Yeatman saw Mrs. Smith and, on the 22nd day of June, reported to Martin that Mrs. Smith would not sell, but would lease him a lot, and suggested that he go see her. On the next day, June 23rd, Martin, with liis wife and Mr. Yeatman, went to Mrs. Smith’s home, about one and a half miles from the beach, where he was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. Smith, in speaking of their visit ota this occasion, said ⁴⁶⁸ she had been told on the day before by Yeatman that there was a man at Scotland Beach, Mr. Martin, who wanted to lease a place for a shack or cottage in the grove. She asked him what kind of a man Mr. Martin was, and he said, “He is a Virginian and a gentleman and a man I think you would like to do business with.” Martin told her that he wanted to lease a lot in the grove near the bay and asked for a ten-year lease. She objected and suggested a five-year lease and be said that he might not be able to get a cottage put up in that time, in which statement she said she agreed with him. She wanted one hundred dollars a year rent, but he was not willing to give more than seventy-five dollars, and so she agreed to lease to him the lot at an annual rental of seventy-five dollars, to be paid June 1st of every year.

She was then asked, “What if any discussion took place as to any other terms or conditions of the lease?” She said, “None,” and when asked, “What, if anything, did Mr. Yeatman say about the proposed lease?” she replied, “He said nothing at that time.” .They were at her house only about one-half hour and she never saw Mr. Martin again until the following September. As stated by Mrs. Smith, the lease was brought to her on Wednesday, the 27th day of June, by Mr. Yeatman. He came at her lunch hour. She was asked what Yeatman said about the lease, and she said “He did not say anything.

He just simply handed me the lease. Q. What did you do? A. I looked at it and regret very much that I did not read it carefully. I simply casually glanced at it, glanced over it, and missed seeing a very important part of it in regard to the duration of the lease.

I had leased to Mr. Martin for ten years and only ten. Q. What did you say to Mr. Yeatman when you looked at this lease? A. I did not discover that there was anything wrong with that part of it at all, but when- Mr. Martin was with us he said that any buildings he would erect on the place would be ours after the lease expired. In glancing over this paper I saw that that was not as he had said, that he had the right to remove these buildings.

I said to Mr. Yeatman, ‘This is strange. I ⁴⁶⁹ understood Mr. Martin to say that the buildings would be ours.’ Mr. Yeatman’s remark was, ‘Well, don’t worry over that, for at the end of ten years they will surely all be in the bay.’ Q. Why? A. Because they were all put very near to the water’s edge. Q. What if anything, did Mr. Yeatman tell you with respect to the location of the land which Mr. Martin wanted to lease ?

A. He said he wanted it near a clump of trees, and very near the water, a place that we had never thought of allowing anybody to get, for sentimental reasons. It was a place that we thought a great deal of, that particular spot, but he said that Mr. Martin would want it as close to the water as possible. * * * Q. What if any examination did you make of the lease to- determine how long the property was to be leased to Mr. Martin? A. I did not examine it at all, but Mr. Martin in his verbal agreement with mo said nothing about releasing, and in this lease there was mention of releasing, but I thought that was optional, and thought that, if at the end of the ten years I did not want Mr. Martin, all I had to do was to say so. Q. .Did you make an examination of the lease to- determine for how many years it was to run ?

A. Indeed I did not. I thought, of course, Mr. Martin had embodied in the lease his verbal agreement with me for ten years, and I did not notice at all that he had changed it. Q. What if anything did Mr. Yeatman say in respect to his recommending that you sign or do not sign the lease? A. He thought it was all right for me to sign.

Q. How do you know he thought so ? A. I said, ‘I wonder if this is all right ?’ and he said, ‘ I think so.’ Q. What if anything did Mr. Yeatman say about Mr. Martin having asked him to bring the lease to you? A. He only said Mr. Martin had asked him to bring the lease. lie did not say anything more than that. Q. What did you do with the lease after you had signed it ?

A. After I signed it, Mr. Yeatman took it to return it to Mr. Martin.” Mrs. Smith further stated that, in the afternoon of that day, Yeatman, with Mrs-. Martin, came to her home and she, with her husband, Mr. Smith, went with them ⁴⁷⁰ to Airedale, about three aud one-half miles away and, there acknowledged the lease before Hugh Smith, a notary public, a relative of her husband, and, though the lease was dated June 25th, 1923, it was not, as a matter of fact, executed and acknowledged until Wednesday, June 27th. Mr. Martin testified that, after being told by Teatman, on the 22nd day of June, that Mrs. Smith would not sell, but would lease a lot to him at an annual rental of seventy-five dollars, but not for fifty dollars, the amount that Martin had said he would pay as rent therefor, he drew up a tentative lease for a lot for a term of years ending on December 30th, 1933, with a right to buy the same at any time during the existence of the lease for the sum of five hundred dollars. This he did, as he said, not knowing how “fixed Mrs. Smith was about her intention not to sell.” If he could, he much preferred to buy.

On the next day, he, with Teatman, his wife, and two children, went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it being the first time that he had seen either of them. There was nothing in Mr. Smith’s appearance or action to indicate to him that he was ill or suffering from nervous breakdown, nor did he know that