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13 Ind. 317

Froman v. Froman

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided November 15, 1859

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1859-11-15

<p>Equity will not aid in perfecting title under a voluntary deed.</p>

Relies on Hart v. Eyck

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1859-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 10 later decisions — most recently October 1926

10 state decisions

3018591860187018801890190019101920decided

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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Perkins, J.

¶1This was a suit by Jonathan M. Froman against Paul Froman, William G. Froman, Hiram Froman, and Keziah Froman, for partition.

¶2Hiram Froman answered, setting up title in himself to the whole of the land of which partition was asked.

¶3The facts are these: Paul Froman owned a part of the south-east quarter of a certain section of land, on which he, with his wife, Keziah, resided. Some fifteen years ago said Froman and wife made a voluntary deed to one of their sons, Hiram Froman, of the south-west quarter of said section. Subsequently, said Paul made a voluntary deed of the south-east quarter to his wife, Keziah, and his sons Jonathan, William, and Hiram. Of this last-named tract, and upon these last-named conveyances, partition is sought. Hiram sets up his deed to the south-west quarter, alleges that it was made for that quarter by mistake, when the south-east quarter was intended, asks that it be reformed, the title to the south-east quarter decreed to be in him, and the partition denied.

¶4The Court refused to correct his deed, and gave judgment for partition. The Court acted upon the ground that equity would not aid in perfecting title under a voluntary deed, in a case like the present. And such seems to be the law. 2 Story’s Eq. Juris., § 793.

¶5A Court will not decree the specific performance of a *318contract, unless it is founded on a consideration. Ind. Dig. 298.

S. Carter and J. Sullivan, for the appellant (1).S. C. Stevens, for the appellee (2).

¶6In one case, Watts v. Bellas, 1 P. Wil. 60, a voluntary-defective conveyance of land was made good. This case is mentioned by Chancellor Kent, in Gillespie v. Moon, 2 Johns. Ch. 514, without disputing its. authority. But it seems to have been overruled. See note to the case in P. Wil., supra, and Greenl. Overruled Cases.

¶7We do not- find the case cited in any elementary work which we have examined.

¶8As to the right of a reversioner to apply for partition, see Moody v. West, 12 Ind. R. 399.

Per Curiam.

¶9The judgment is affirmed with costs.

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