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136 Ala. 584

Bethea v. Bethea

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided November 15, 1902

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1902-11-15

Heai-d before the Hon. A. D. Sayre. Kate Bethea and others filed a bill in equity for a sale for partition of certain property in the city of Montgomery. At the sale the property wasi purchased by one of the defendants to the bill, Henry Bethea, for $9,500.

Relies on Graffam v. Burgess · Glennon v. Mittenight · Parker v. Bluffton Car Wheel Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1902-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 7 later decisions — most recently August 1976

7 state decisions

3019021910192019301940195019601970decided

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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DOWDELL, J.

¶1We approve the reasoning and concur in the conclusions of the learned judge, who tried this case. We are satisfied to adopt as the opinion of this court the opinion accompanying the decree and cor>ied into the transcript, and which is as follows: “The sale is shown to have been fairly made after unusual advertisement and in the presence of a large crowd, and some of Avhom were men of ample means, and seven or eight of whom took part in the bidding. The propery was offered in lots and then as a whole. As a whole it brought $9,500. Persons who desired to buy would pay no more. In the fact of such a showing the opinion of real estate dealers cannot be taken for much. The minors interested in the property ask for a confirmation Adult parties oppose confirmation on two grounds (mere opinion as to value having been eliminated! • 1. An advance offer of $500; 2. A mistake in' the description of the property. The advance offer is not enough. If sales were to be set aside, on such considerations, confidence in them would be diminished, bidders would be discouraged, and amounts realized diminished. Graffam v. Burgess, 117 U. S. 180; Parker v. Bluffton, 108 Ala. 140; Glennon v. Mitteniqht, 86 Ala. 455. The property Avas sold acording to the description furnished by the muniments of title. The parties complaining of the. sale, *587being sai juris, stood by. They made no suggestion of a fact known to them until the sale had been elaborately advertised and made. And a portion of the testimony tends to show that at the sale one of the parties asking to have it set aside made a statement that the part not covered by the description would pass by the sale then made. This party denies that he made any such statement and his denial is accepted as true. But there can be no doubt that such statement was made by other persons interested in the sale. There was no demurrer to such statement, and it must be presumed that it was acted on by persons in attendance as possible bidders. This leaves the complaining parties in the attitude of speculating on the possible results of a mistake which was known to them. This cannot be allowed. The purchaser is satisfied with his title, and the court must be.”

¶2The decree will be affirmed.

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