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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 709', '§ 3191', '§ 548', '§ 709', '§ 12', '§ 709', '§ 1048', '§ 1', '§ 36']

STANLEY V. SCHWALBY, 162 U. S. 255 (1896) - US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ON-LINE
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STANLEY V. SCHWALBY, 162 U. S. 255 (1896)
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In an action of trespass to try title under the statutes of Texas, brought by one claiming title in an undivided third part of a parcel of land, and possession of the whole, against officers of the United States occupying the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
An action to recover the title and possession of land against officers of the United States setting up title in the United States, and defended by the District Attorney of the United States, was dismissed by the highest court of the state as against the United States, but judgment was rendered against the officers upon the ground that they could not avail themselves of the statute of limitations. This Court, on writ of error, reversed that judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings. The highest court of the state thereupon held that the United States were a party to chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
(but not at that time made part of the record) filed an amended answer in which they pleaded not guilty, and set up, among other defenses, that the title to the land was in the United States, and the individual defendants had and claimed no title therein, but were lawfully in possession thereof as officers and agents of the United States, and specially pleaded that the City of San Antonio, in 1875, purchased the land and on June 16, 1875, conveyed it to the United States with no notice of the plaintiffs' claim, and the United States were innocent purchasers for valuable consideration, and that from June 16, 1875, to the bringing of this action, the United States had been in the actual, peaceable, and adverse possession of the land, continuously enjoying and improving it, no taxes being due thereon -- under deed duly recorded chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
On September 13, 1858, he executed to Amanda J. Dignowity, his wife, a general power of attorney to sell and convey his real estate, and by virtue thereof she on May 9, 1860, executed a warranty deed to Duncan B. McMillan of this parcel, reciting the payment by him of a consideration of $100. This deed was acknowledged on the same day before William H. Cleveland, notary public, but was not recorded until September chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The District Court of Bexar County sustained the plaintiff's exceptions to the pleas of the statutes of limitations and ordered those pleas to be struck out, overruled the other exceptions of the plaintiffs, and gave judgment for the plaintiffs and the intervener against the individual defendants and the United States for two-thirds of the title to the land, and for possession jointly with the defendants of the whole, and for costs, and allowed to the United States the value of their improvements. On March 24, 1890, the United States and the other defendants appealed to the Supreme Court of the State of Texas, which on March 4, 1892, ordered the judgment to be set aside and the action dismissed as against the United States, and affirmed the judgment as against the individual defendants. Stanley v. Schwalby, 85 Tex. 348. Upon a writ of error sued out by the United States and the other defendants, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Texas was reversed by this Court at October term, 1892, and the case remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with its opinion, reported 147 U. S. 147 U.S. 50. The supreme court of the state thereupon vacated its own judgment, reversed the judgment of the district court, and remanded chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Leave being granted, the United States, by the district attorney, "by direction of the Attorney General, as heretofore exhibited to the court," together with the individual defendants, filed two pleas in bar: (1) that this was an action, nominally against the individual defendants, "but in fact against the United States of America, a sovereign corporation not liable to suit in this Court, or any other, in the absence of an act of Congress;" (2) that the action was against the property of the United States, and, in connection with each of these pleas, alleged that the individual defendants were officers in the military service of the United States, in possession as such of this land, under and by direction of the President of the United America, the commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States, and not of their own volition, will, or wish, and that neither of them ever pretended to hold or have possession, or right of possession, or title, or color of title, of the land as individuals, and that this suit was but a palpable device to maintain an action at law against the United States and their chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Upon a writ of error sued out by the United States, and an assignement of errors by the defendants, and upon cross assignments of errors by the plaintiffs and by the intervener, the case was taken to the court of civil appeals for the Fourth supreme Judicial District of the State of Texas, which affirmed the judgment, except as to the allowance for improvements, and thereupon, "proceeding to render such judgment as should have been rendered by the court below," adjudged that the plaintiffs recover of the individual defendants one undivided third part of the land [describing it], and the sum of $126.66 for the use and chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This action was brought in a district court of the State of Texas by Mary A. Schwalby and her husband against General Stanley and other officers of the army to try the title to a parcel of land, part of the military reservation of the United States at San Antonio. The plaintiffs claimed title in one-third of the land, and possession of the whole, and Joseph Spence, Jr., intervening, also claimed title in one-third. The district attorney, professing to act in behalf of the United States under instructions from the Attorney General, joined with the defendants in an answer setting up these chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The case having been remanded accordingly to the supreme court of the state, and by that court to the district court, an amended answer, setting up substantially the same defenses as before was filed by the individual defendants and by the district attorney, purporting to act in behalf of the United States under the instructions of the Attorney General. Those instructions (then first filed in the case) appear to have been given by the Attorney General at the request of the Secretary of War, and to have been only "to appear and defend the interests of the United States involved" in this suit. The chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
A petition for a writ of error to the court of civil appeals having been presented to the supreme court of the state and denied, the present writ of error from this Court was properly addressed to the court of civil appeals, in which the record remained. Rev.Stat. § 709; Gregory v. McVeigh, 23 Wall. 294; Polleys v. Black River Co., 113 U. S. 81; Fisher v. Perkins, 122 U. S. 522.
It is a fundamental principle of public law, affirmed by a chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
long series of decisions of this Court and clearly recognized in its former opinion in this case, that no suit can be maintained against the United States, or against their property in any court without express authority of Congress. 147 U. S. 147 U.S. 512. See also Belknap v. Schild, 161 U. S. 10. The United States, by various acts of Congress, have consented to be sued in their own courts in certain classes of cases, but they have never consented to be sued in the courts of a state in any case. Neither the Secretary of War nor the Attorney General nor any subordinate of either has been authorized to waive the exemption of the United States from judicial process or to submit the United States or their property to the jurisdiction of the court in a suit brought against their officers. 78 U. S. 202; Carr v. United States, 98 U. S. 433, 98 U. S. 438; United States v. Lee, 106 U. S. 196, 106 U. S. 205. The original instructions from the Attorney General to the district attorney, having now been filed and made part of the record, are shown to have been, as they were at the former stage of this case supposed by the Supreme Court of Texas and by this Court to be, no more than "to appear and defend the interest of the United States involved" in this suit -- that is to say, by appearing and taking part in the defense of the officers and, if deemed advisable, by bringing the rights of the United States more distinctly to the notice of the court by formal suggestion in their name. 85 Tex. 354, 147 U. S. 147 U.S. 513. As the present CHIEF JUSTICE then remarked, repeating the words of Chief Justice Marshall in the leading case of 11 U. S. 147, "There seems to be a necessity for admitting that the fact might be disclosed to the court by the suggestion of the attorney for the United States." The answer actually filed by the district attorney, if treated as undertaking to make the United States a party defendant in the cause and liable to have judgment rendered against them, was in excess of the instructions of the Attorney General and of any power vested by law in him or in the district attorney, and could not constitute a voluntary submission by the United States to the jurisdiction of the court. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
The judgments of the courts of the State of Texas appear to have been largely based on United States v. Lee, above cited. In that case, an action of ejectment was brought in the circuit court of the United States against officers occupying, in behalf of the United States, lands used for a military station and for a national cemetery. The Attorney General filed a suggestion of these facts and insisted that the court had no jurisdiction. The plaintiffs produced sufficient evidence of their title and possession, and the United States proved no valid title. This Court held that the officers were trespassers, and liable to the action, and therefore affirmed the judgment below, which, as appears by the record of that case, was simply a judgment that the plaintiffs recover against the individual defendants the possession of the lands described, and costs. And this Court distinctly recognized that if the title of the United States were good, it would be a justification of the defendants, that the United States could not be sued directly by original process as a defendant except by virtue of an express act of Congress, and that the United States would not be bound or concluded by the judgment against their officers. 106 U.S. 106 U. S. 199, 106 U. S. 206, 106 U. S. 222.
The judgment for costs against the United States was clearly erroneous in any aspect of the case. 7 U. S. 91-92; 15 U. S. 550; 33 U. S. 163; 46 U. S. 51.
The principal grounds upon which the Solicitor General chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
contends that this conclusion was unwarranted by the facts of the case are as follows: Dignowity, under whom all parties claimed title, had the title and the consequent right of possession of the land at the time of his supposed deed to McMillan in 1860. The possession is to be presumed to have continued in him, and in those claiming under the subsequent deed of his widow to the City of San Antonio in May, 1875, and the city's deed to the United States in June, 1875. There was no evidence that McMillan or anyone claiming under him was ever in actual possession of the land. If the title and the right of possession were ever in McMillan, they descended to his daughter Mary and her co-heirs upon his death in 1865. She was then under the disability of infancy, having been born September 11, 1848. On September 11, 1869, she became of age, and the statutes of limitations began to run against her, and could not, by a general rule of law recognized alike by this Court and by the Supreme Court of Texas, be again suspended by the new disability created by her subsequent marriage to Schwalby on January 18, 1871. McDonald v. Hovey, 110 U. S. 619; White v. Latimer, 12 Tex. 61. See also McMasters v. Mills, 30 Tex. 591; Jackson v. Houston, 84 Tex. 622.
But the statutes of limitations of Texas do not appear to run against a suit to recover real estate except in favor of one in "adverse possession," which is defined to be "an actual and visible appropriation of land, commenced and continued under a claim of right inconsistent with and hostile to the claim of another." Paschal's Digests, arts. 4621-4624; Rev.Stat. §§ 3191-3199. There was no affirmative evidence showing that such adverse possession of the United States, or of their predecessors in title, the City of San Antonio and Dignowity, began before 1882, at which time Mrs. Schwalby was under the disability of coverture, or who, if anyone, before that time was in actual possession of the land, although Mrs. Dignowity testified that she paid the taxes upon it from 1860 until she conveyed it to the city in May, 1875. The conclusion that the plaintiffs' claim was not barred may therefore have rested upon a possible inference of fact, rather than upon a determination of law. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
This evidence is far from satisfactory as proof of an actual delivery of the deed. But considering that the deed to McMillan may possibly have come from him into the hands of his son and thence into those of Spence, and that some presumption of delivery may arise from the plaintiffs' possession of the deed, we are not prepared to say that the evidence was insufficient as matter of law to warrant the conclusion that the deed was in fact delivered. See 31 U. S. 137; 39 U. S. 327.
The more serious question is whether there was any evidence that the United States took the deed from the City of San Antonio in June, 1875, with notice of a previous conveyance chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
By the statutes of Texas, lands cannot be conveyed from one to another, except by instrument in writing, and unrecorded conveyances of lands are void as against subsequent purchasers for valuable consideration without notice, but are valid as between the parties and their heirs and as to all subsequent purchasers with notice thereof or without valuable consideration. Paschal's Digest, arts. 997, 4988; Rev.Stat. §§ 548, 549, 4332. These provisions have not been regarded chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
A purchaser of land for valuable consideration may doubtless be affected by knowledge which an attorney, solicitor, or conveyancer employed by him in the purchase acquires or has while so employed, because it is the duty of the agent to communicate such knowledge to his principal and there is a presumption that he will perform that duty. 78 U. S. 367; Rolland v. Hart, L.R. 6 Ch. 678, 682; Bank v. Barry, L.R. 7 H.L. 135; Kauffman v. Robey, 60 Tex. 308. But, in order to charge a purchaser with notice of a prior unrecorded conveyance, he or his agent must either have knowledge of the conveyance or at least of such circumstances as would, by the exercise of ordinary diligence and judgment, lead to that knowledge, and vague rumor or suspicion is not a sufficient foundation upon which to charge a purchaser with knowledge of a title in a third person. Wilson v. Wall, 6 Wall. 83; Flagg v. Mann, 2 Sumner 486, 551; Montefiore v. Browne, 7 H.L.Cas. 241, 262, 269; Bailey v. Barnes (1894), 1 Ch. 25; Wethered v. Boon, 17 Tex. 143. Notice of a sale does not imply knowledge of an outstanding and unrecorded conveyance. Mills v. Smith, 8 Wall. 27; Holmes v. Stout, 10 N.J.Eq. 419; Lamb v. Pierce,@ 113 Mass. 72.
A valuable consideration may be other than the actual payment of money, and may consist of acts to be done after the conveyance. Prewit v. Wilson, 103 U. S. 22; Hitz v. Metropolitan Bank, 111 U. S. 722, 111 U. S. 727; 4 Kent Com. 463; Dart on Vendors (6th ed.) 1018, 1019. The advantage inuring to the City of San Antonio from the establishment of the military headquarters there was clearly a valuable consideration for the deed of the city to the United States.
A purchaser of land for value and without notice of a prior deed holds and can convey an indefeasible title, and therefore the title either of one who without notice purchases from one who purchased with notice or of a purchaser with notice from a purchaser without notice is good. Harrison chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
v. Forth, before Lord Somers, Pre.Ch. 51; 35 U. S. 209; Flynt v. Arnold, 2 Met. 619, 623; 4 Kent Comm. 179. While it is held in Texas that a purchaser who takes a quitclaim deed of his grantor's interest only is affected with notice of all defects in the title, yet mere knowledge that the deed is in that form cannot affect the title of one claiming under a subsequent deed of warranty from the grantee. United States v. California Land Co., 148 U. S. 31, 148 U. S. 46-47; Moore v. Curry, 36 Tex. 668; Graham v. Hawkins,@ 38 Tex. 628. Still less could oral notice to the mayor of McMillan's claim, not shown to have been communicated to the United States or their attorney, affect their title under the subsequent deed of warranty from the city.
The evidence appears to us wholly insufficient, in fact and in law, to support the conclusion that the attorney had any notice of the previous deed to McMillan, or any knowledge of such circumstances tending to prove the existence of such a deed that he should have considered or treated them as of any weight, or have reported them to the authorities at Washington. The inevitable conclusion as matter of law is that the United States acquired a good and valid title as innocent purchasers for valuable consideration and without notice of a previous conveyance to McMillan. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
147 U.S. 145 U. S. 519; Rev.Stat. § 709.
In United States v. Thompson, 93 U. S. 586, 93 U. S. 588, Chief Justice Waite said:
We do not undertake to review the conclusions of the state court as to the effect of Mrs. Schwalby's disability under the statutes of limitations, or as to the delivery of the deed to McMillan, both perhaps depending, as has been seen, upon question of fact. Dower v. Richards, 151 U. S. 658; Israel v. Arthur, 152 U. S. 355; In re Buchanan, 158 U. S. 31, 158 U. S. 36.
But so far as the judgment of the state court against the validity of an authority set up by the defendants under the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
United States necessarily involves the decision of a question of law, it must be reviewed by this Court whether that question depends upon the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States or upon the local law or upon principles of general jurisprudence. For instance, if a marshal of the United States takes personal property upon attachment on mesne process issued by a court of the United States, and is sued in an action of trespass in a state court by one claiming title in the property, and sets up his authority under the United States, and judgment is rendered against him in the highest court of the state, he may bring the case by writ of error to this Court, and as his justification depends upon the question whether the title to the property was in the defendant in attachment or in the plaintiff in the action of trespass, this Court, upon the writ of error, has the power to decide that question so far as it is one of law, even if it depends upon local law or upon general principles. 70 U. S. 331; Dushane v. Beall,@ 161 U. S. 513.
The qualification "if the cause shall have been once remanded before" restricted only the power to proceed to a final decision and award execution in this Court, and did not restrict the power of this Court to reverse or affirm the judgment of the state court, as justice might require. Accordingly, in the leading case upon the subject of the appellate jurisdiction of this Court from the courts of a state, this Court, upon the first writ of error to the Court of Appeals of Virginia, not only reversed the judgment of that court, but affirmed the judgment of the inferior court of the state, which had been reversed by the Court of Appeals, and issued its mandate to the Court of Appeals accordingly; and, upon that court's declining to obey the mandate, this Court, upon a second writ of error, rendered judgment in the same terms as before. 11 U. S. 628; 14 U. S. 323, 14 U. S. 362.
In Maguire v. Tyler, this Court, at December term, 1869, adjudged that a decree in equity of the Supreme Court of Missouri be reversed, and the case remanded with directions to enter a decree affirming the decree of an inferior court of the state, but, upon motion of counsel, modified its judgment so as to remand the cause of further proceedings in conformity to the opinion of this Court, and declared this to "be more chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
in accordance with the usual practice of the court in such cases." 75 U. S. 8 Wall. 650, 75 U. S. 658, 75 U. S. 662. The Supreme Court of Missouri, after receiving the mandate of this Court, entered a decree dismissing the suit because there was an adequate remedy at law, and thereupon this Court, at December term, 1872, upon a second writ of error, entered judgment here reversing that decree, with costs, and ordering a writ of possession to issue from this Court, and speaking by Mr. Justice Clifford, after referring to the difference between the provisions of the acts of 1789 and 1867, said:
84 U. S. 17 Wall. 253, 84 U. S. 289-290, 84 U. S. 293. The precedent referred to was Martin v. Hunter, above cited.
The repeal of this provision may not have revived that provision of the act of 1789 which had been superseded by the act of 1867. Rev.Stat. § 12. But it did not affect the general power, conferred by § 709 of the Revised Statutes, as by all former acts, by which the judgment of the state court may be "reexamined and reversed or affirmed" by this chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Under the statutes and practice of the State of Texas, the appellate court, upon a statement of the case certified by the judge, may, as the supreme court and the court of civil appeals did in this case, and as this Court does upon a finding of facts by the circuit court of the United States in cases tried by the court upon a jury being duly waived, render such judgment as should have been rendered by the court below. Texas Rev.Stat. Tex. § 1048; Stat. April 13, 1892, c. 14, § 1; Stat. April 13, 1892, c. 15, § 36; McIntosh v. Greenwood, 15 Tex. 116; Creager v. Douglass, 77 Tex. 484; Fort Scott v. Hickman, 112 U. S. 150, 112 U. S. 165; Rolling Mill v. Rhodes, 121 U. S. 255, 121 U. S. 264.
The Supreme Court of Texas, after the first trial, held that the United States were not a party to the action, and dismissed it as to the United States, but held that the United States were not innocent purchasers for value, and denied to the United States and their officers the benefit of the statutes of limitations, and therefore gave judgment for the plaintiffs against those officers. This Court, upon the first writ of error, reversed that judgment, and, assuming the statutes of limitations to afford a conclusive defense, refrained from considering the case upon its merits and remanded it for further proceedings in the courts of the state. The case was then submitted to the inferior court of the State of Texas, and to the court of civil appeals, upon the same facts as before, and the court of civil appeals held that the United States were a party to the action, thereby in effect overruling the former judgment of the supreme court of the state, and decided, upon evidence wholly insufficient in law, that the chanroblesvirtualawlibrary