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24 Ga. 338

Bowen v. Slaughter

Supreme Court of Georgia

Decided January 15, 1858

Supreme Court of Georgia · decided 1858-01-15

In Equity, from Marion County. Decision by Judge Worrill, September Term, 1857. Alfred Bowen, in the year 1825, being a resident of Stokes district in the county of Morgan, and entitled, under the Acts of 1825 and 1826, for the distribution of the land acquired of the Creek Nation of Indians, to two chances or draws in the land lottery of 1827, gave in his name to the receivers of names in Stokes district.

Decided 1858-01-15

Benning, J.

¶1My the Court. delivering the opinion.

¶2Wa-s ¡the Court right in sustaining the demurrer and dismissing the bill ?

¶3The case presented by the bill, is one of latent ambiguity. The grant, upon its face, shows nothing ambiguous. It is to Alfred Brown, and there is nothing on its face to show, that ho such person as Alfred Brown ever existed. When, however, enquiry outside of the grant, comes to be made for this Alfred Brown, no such person is to be found. This outside enquiry shows the grant, which had appeared unambiguous, to be ambiguous. The case becomes one of latent ambiguity.

¶4Aud aliunde evidence is admissable for the purpose of clearing up a latent ambiguity. One of Bacon?s maxims is : Jl.mbiguitas verborum latens verificatione suppletur; nam quod ex facto oritur ambiguum, verificatione facti tollitur. I, Oreen. Ev. 297; Doe d. Henderson vs. Hackney, (Jitlanía, Jhvg. IS57.)

¶5And this, if not more than this, is “ declared” to be the Saw by an Act of the last Legislature.

¶6The complainants then, may, at law, show, if they can, by parol evidence, what they allege to be true in their bill. And if they can do this at law, they have no right to come into equity.

¶7We think that the Court was right in dismissing the bill.

¶8Judgment affirmed.

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