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111 Ala. 601

Griffin v. Hall

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1895

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1895-11-15

Tried before the Hon. J. W. Foster. This was a statutory action of ejectment, originally brought by the appellees, J. L. Hall and L. B. Farley, trustees, against Joseph Logan and A. F. Fillingim, to recover certain property. Tho description of the property sued for as contained in the complaint is copied in the opinion. The defendant Fillingim filed a disclaimer and the defendant Logan demurred to the complaint upon the grounds stated in the opinion.

Relies on King v. Paulk · Motley v. Jones · Troy v. Walter Bros.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1895-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 24 later decisions — most recently December 1944

24 state decisions

110189519001910192019301940decided

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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McCLELLAN, J.

¶1This action is prosecuted by Hall and Farley as trustees to recover certain land described in the complaint as follows : “One lot upon vdiich a brick building is situated, containing two stores, on the east" side of a vacant lot in the town of Brundidge, situated in section 26, township 9, range 22, which said vacant lot extends back one hundred and five feet, and is bounded on the west by G. W. Hunter’s lot.” The complaint was demurred to for that “ the description of the land sued for is insufficient to support a judgment.” This demurrer was overruled. It should have been sustained. The suit is for a lot on which is a brick building, and not merely for so much of the lot as is covered by the building. The sheriff in attempting to execute a writ of possession describing the property as in this complaint might find the brick building with some assurance of certainty ; but we do not see how it Would be possible for him to identify the lot sued for. No dimensions are given. It may contain one acre or ten. It may be fifty or five hundred feet square. It may or may not be conterminus with the “vacant” lot as to one of it lines, but granting it is so coterminus, the other lines bounding it are entirely at large. The des*604cription is neither certain in itself nor does it afford any data by reference to which it can possibly be made certain.

¶2The deed of Foreman to Griffin was void as to these plaintiffs, not having been recorded before they acquired a lien on the land as judgment creditors of the grantor, and they having no knowledge or notice in fact, or otherwise constructively, of it. — King v. Paulk, 85 Ala. 186; Fitzgerald v. Williamson, 85 Ala. 585; Code, §§ 1810, 1811; Troy v. Walter Bros., 87 Ala. 233; Motley v. Jones, 98 Ala. 443.

¶3The judgment must be reversed for the error committed in overruling this demurrer. The cause is remanded.

¶4Reversed and remanded.

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