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86 Mich. 389

Putnam v. Russell

Michigan Supreme Court

Decided July 3, 1891

Michigan Supreme Court · decided 1891-07-03

<p>Quitclaim deed — Failure of title — Parol evidence.</p> <p>A quitclaim deed conveys only the grantor’s interest,1 and the grantee cannot change its terms by proof of a contemporaneous verbal agreement by which the grantor was to refund a proportionate share of the purchase price in case of the failure of the title to ten acres of the land then in dispute, and which afterwards failed.</p>

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Affirmed · Decided 1891-07-03

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently April 1945

4 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.

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McGrath, J.

¶1Henry J. Carlough conveyed to plaintiff, by quitclaim deed, 30 acres of land, the title to 10' acres of which failed.

¶2Carlough died, and plaintiff presented a claim against his estate for $06, the proportion paid for this 10 acres. The proofs clearly showed that at the time of the conveyance it was well understood by both grantor and grantee that Oarlough's title to this 10 acres was in dispute, and it was agreed between the parties that if the title to this 10 acres should fail the amount paid therefor should be refunded to plaintiff. The circuit court, upon appeal thereto, admitted all the testimony, and afterwards, instructed a verdict for the defendant.

¶3If such an arrangement as is set forth here existed,, the plaintiff should have insisted upon a warranty deed.. The quitclaim conveyed the grantor's interest only, and the plaintiff should not be permitted to introduce a contract resting in parol, varying the terms of the written instrument, and making it in effect a warranty deed.

¶4A contract resting in parol, and inconsistent with the-written- instrument, cannot be said to be an independent contract within the authorities, and cannot be sustained.

¶5The judgment below is affirmed,, with costs to defendant.

Chahplin, O. J., Morse and Long, J J., concurred. Grant, J., did not sit!
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