Brown v. Homan

Decided July 1, 1871

Nebraska Supreme Court · decided 1871-07-01

This was a bill in chancery, filed in the District Court for Douglas county, to recover the title to an undivided half of a lot in the city of Omaha. It appeared that a controversy sprang up, at an early day in the history of the city, between Brown and- General Samuel B. Curtis, in respect of a large number of lots therein ; the lot in controversy in this said suit being one of them.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1871-07-01

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently November 1965

5 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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¶1The court,

by Lockwood, J.,

¶2held that the relation of tenants in common existed between Brown and Allen, under the agreement and the deed of the former to the latter; that it was not material what the nature of the controversy between Brown and Curtis was, as Allen was estopped to deny Brown’s right, and that he took the mayor’s deed, to the extent of one-half of the lot, in trust for Brown. This was upon the principle that one tenant in common before partition cannot purchase in an outstanding title, or incumbrance, on the joint estate, for his exclusive benefit and use it against his co-tenant. The purchase enures to the common benefit, and the purchaser is entitled to contribution. Homan has not shown himself to be a bona fide purchaser, and'therefore is in no better situation than Allen.

¶3Decree affirmed.