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156 Mich. 423

Brady v. Sloman

Michigan Supreme Court

Decided April 24, 1909

Michigan Supreme Court · decided 1909-04-24

Bill by Francis J. Brady, Jr., against Samuel A. Sloman to set aside a levy and sale upon execution. From a decree for complainant, defendant appeals. Complainant in this suit seeks to set aside a sheriff’s levy and sale upon execution; the defendant being the purchaser at the sale. In 1889 complainant’s father, Francis J. Brady, Sr., was the owner in fee of the land. His sole creditor was one Prosper J. Raymond, to whom he owed $525.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“A grantee in possession of land has a title against all the world, whether his deed is recorded or not.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including In Re Toms

Relies on Corey v. Smalley

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1909-04-24

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently July 1995

1 federal appellate · 1 state decisions

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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, J.

¶1{after stating the facts). Actual posses*425sion and occupancy of land constitute a notice to every subsequent purchaser and incumbrancer of the rights and title of such occupants. The record title stood in Baymond. Baymond parted with that title by deed to Brady, Jr. Brady, Jr., had for years exercised complete ownership over the property. The occupancy by tenants was as valid as occupancy by himself. Had the execution creditors made an inquiry of the parties in possession, they would have learned at once that Baymond had no interest whatever in the land, and that Brady, Jr., was their landlord. A grantee in possession of land has a title against all the world, whether his deed is recorded or not. Neither the execution .creditors nor the purchaser, Sloman, could obtain any better title by levy and sale than they could have obtained by purchase from Baymond. Had Baymond deeded to defendant this land, the occupancy of Brady, Jr., through his tenants, would have defeated his title. Sloman & Co. were put upon inquiry by this actual occupancy, and had they made such inquiry they could have proceeded with their levy upon the homestead, which was worth much more than the homestead exemption. This case is ruled by Corey v. Smalley, 106 Mich. 257, and authorities there cited.

¶2The decree is affirmed, with costs.

Blair, C. J., and Montgomery, MoAlvay, and Brooke, JJ., concurred.
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