Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

120 Mich. 419

Thorkildsen v. Carpenter

Michigan Supreme Court

Decided June 19, 1899

Michigan Supreme Court · decided 1899-06-19

Bill by Thomas Thorkildsen against George W. Carpenter. and Stephen H. Clink for a refunding of moneys paid in part consideration for a deed, and for the cancellation of a note and mortgage given for the balance. From a decree dismissing the bill on demurrer, complainant appeals. Defendant Carpenter was the owner of a tax title upon certain lands, the original title to which was in a corporation known as the Lake Harbor Company of Muskegon.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““ ‘Courts cannot read covenants into deeds. This would be in direct contravention of the statute.’”

quoted by 1 later decision, including De Grasse v. Verona Mining Co.

Relies on Clark v. Sigourney · Peters v. Cartier · Inhabitants of Barkhamsted v. Case

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1899-06-19

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently March 1940

5 state decisions

20189919001910192019301940decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

Grant, C. J.

¶1(after stating the facts). Complainant insists that he is entitled to relief upon any one of four grounds: (1) Want of consideration; (2) false representations; (3) mutual mistake; (4) nonexistence of the subject-matter.

¶2Good faith on the part of the defendants is conceded. It is also conceded that all parties acted in good faith, and believed the tax title was good. This is evidently a case of speculation. There was no fraud. Complainant chose to rely upon a quitclaim deed, by which he took only the title which defendant Carpenter had. Peters v. Cartier, *42180 Mich. 124 (20 Am. St. Rep. 508); Beakley v. Robert, ante, 209. Complainant purchased at his own risk. Courts cannot read covenants into deeds. This would be in direct contravention of the statute., 2 How. Stat. § 5655. Complainant chose to buy upon the faith of the validity of the tax title without any examination. It was a voluntary payment, not induced by any fraud. Under his own allegation, Mr. Clink gave him only an opinion as to the soundness of the title. Where one took a quitclaim deed, and was evicted by an older and better title, held, that he could not recover the price paid. Soper v. Stevens, 14 Me. 133. Where both parties acted under the belief that the quitclaim deed conveyed a valid title, and the title wholly failed, held, that the grantee could not recover back, “for the parties to deeds know that a warranty is required to hold the seller to warrant the title, and they regulate their contracts accordingly.” Earle v. De Witt, 6 Allen, 520, cited and approved in Tucker v. White, 125 Mass. 346. Chancellor Kent held: “The vendor [of land] selling in good faith is not responsible for the goodness of his title beyond the extent of his covenants.” Gouverneur v. Elmendorf, 5 Johns. Ch. 79. See, also, Stoddard v. Prescott, 58 Mich. 542; Inhabitants of Barkhamsted v. Case, 5 Conn. 528 (13 Am. Dec. 92); Clark v. Sigourney, 17 Conn. 511.

¶3Decree affirmed, with costs.

The other Justices concurred.
/120/mich/419 · .json · Public domain