Case Name: Sarah E. Griffin, App'lt, v. Charles D. Shepard et al., Resp'ts
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1891-01-14
Citations: 35 N.Y. St. Rep. 210
Docket Number: 
Parties: Sarah E. Griffin, App’lt, v. Charles D. Shepard et al., Resp’ts.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York State Reporter
Volume: 35
Pages: 210–214

Head Matter:
Sarah E. Griffin, App’lt, v. Charles D. Shepard et al., Resp’ts.
(Court of Appeals, Second Division,
Filed January 14, 1891.)
Will—Constbuction of—Estate in expectancy.
By the terms of his will, Stephen Griffin, in 1847, devised one-third of his estate to John C. in fee in either of two events, viz.: that John 0. should survive his then wife Deborah or should have a child by her who should live until it attained the age of twenty-one years, but if neither of these events should transpire the then one-third should go to Joseph Griffin, forever. Neither event transpired. In 1851 Joseph and his wife conveyed by quit-claim deed to John 0. their interest in the premises. Joseph died in 1868 devising all his estate to his son Richard. John 0. died childless in 1873, devising his estate to his adopted daughter and to his • wife, to whose estate defendants succeeded. Held, that John 0. had an estate in possession and in fee until the happening of at least one of the events specified in the will of Stephen, and Joseph also had a future expectant estate in the same one-third if said events or contingencies should not happen, and that such interest of Joseph was alienable and was conveyed by his deed to John 0.
Appeal from an order of the general term of the supreme court, second department, reversing the judgment of the trial court, and granting a new trial.
The action is an ejectment brought by the appellant against the respondent Shepard, who claims the premises in question as owner, and the respondent Cornell, who claimed a right of possession as tenant under said Shepard.
This action was tried before the court without a jury, and judgment was given for the plaintiff. On appeal to the general term of the supreme court the judgment was reversed, and a new trial ordered. The plaintiff thereupon appealed to this court.
The action relates to a tract of land, in the town of Scarsdale, in the county of Westchester, which was part of a tract of land owned at the time of his death by Stephen Griffin.
Stephen Griffin died 18th October, 1847, leaving his widow (who died in October, 1860), his sons Joseph and John C. Griffin, and other children. He left a will, which was dated 9th September, 1847, and was proved before the surrogate of Westcnester county 20th December, 1847, whereby he devised his real estate to his said sons Joseph and John C. Griffin in the following lan guage: “ I give, devise and bequeath unto my son Joseph Griffin one-third of all my estate, real and personal, to hold to him, the said Joseph Griffin, his heirs and assigns forever. Provided my son John 0. Griffin shall survive his present wife Deborah L. Griffin, then, in that case, I give, devise and bequeath unto my said son John 0. Griffin the remaining two-thirds of all my estate, real and personal, to hold to him, the said John.C. Griffin, his heirs and assigns forever. Or provided that my said son John 0. Griffin shall have a lawful child by 1ns, the said John C. Griffin's lawful wife, and the said child shall live to the age of twenty-one years, then, in that case, I give, devise and bequeath unto my said son John 0. Griffin the said two-thirds of all my estate, real and personal, to hold to him, the said John 0. Griffin, his heirs and assigns forever.
“ But provided that if my said son John G. Griffin shall die, leaving his present wife Deborah L. Griffin as survivor, then in that case I give, devise and bequeath unto my said son John 0. Griffin one-third only of all my estate, real and personal, to hold to him, the said John C. Griffin, bis heirs and assigns forever, and the remaining one-third of all my estate, real and personal, I give, devise and bequeath unto my aforesaid son, Joseph Griffin, to hold to him, the said Joseph Griffin, his heirs and assigns forever.”
No question has been made that by this will one-third of the real estate (including the premises in question) was vested absolutely in Joseph Griffin and one-third in John 0. Griffin. The only controversy in this action relates to the remaining one-tliird.
The findings of the trial court show that John C. did not have a child who lived to the age of twenty-one years, and that he did not survive his said wife Deborah. And also that after the death of Stephen Griffin said Joseph and his wife executed to John 0., for an expressed consideration of one dollar, a deed dated 6th of February, 1851, which was duly recorded 12th of February, 1851, whereby they did “ remise, release and quit-claim, unto the said party of the second part and to his heirs and assigns forever,” the premises in question, “and also all the estate, right, title, interest, property, possession, claim and demand whatsoever as well in law as in equity of the said parties of the first part, of, in or to the above described premises.”
Afterwards and on 15th of September, 1864, said Joseph executed to said John 0. a deed which was duly recorded 15th of October, 1864, whereby he did, for an expressed consideration of one dollar, “ bargain, sell .and quit-claim unto the said John 0. Griffin, and to his heirs and assigns forever, all my right, title, interest, estate, claim and demand, both at law and in equity, and as well in possession as in expectancy of, in and to all that certain parcel of land situated in the town, county and state aforesaid, being an estate which has heretofore been quit-claimed by me to said John G. Griffin, a part of which was given under my hand and seal the 6th day of February, in the year 1851,” describing the land conveyed including the premises in question.
William Romer, for app’lt; Sidney Ward, for resp’ts.
Affirming 40 Hun, 355.

Opinion:
Potter, J.
No question is made that Joseph Griffin and John 0. Griffin, the sons of Stephen Griffin, each derived title under the will of the latter to one equal undivided third part of the premises described in the complaint. The contention is in relation to the title of the remaining third, and that depends upon the validity and effect to be given to the deed of quit claim from Joseph to John G. Griffin on the 6th day of February, 1851, and the deed confirmatory of that deed from Joseph to John 0. Griffin bearing date September 15th, 1864. If those deeds, one or both, are valid and effectual, the defendants who claim under John C. are' entitled to the premises, but if not valid and effectual the plaintiff claims to be entitled to one undivided third part of said premises, or, in other words, the question in controversy is, which of these parties to this action is entitled to the disputed one undivided third part of the premises; for the plaintiff's contention is to the effect that the deed from Joseph to John G. was void, and that the title to that one undivided third remained in Joseph, to which plaintiff has succeeded.
Joseph Griffin assumed to convey his estate or interest in the premises in question to John 0. Were his deeds effectual for that purpose ?
By the terms of the will Stephen Griffin, the testator, devised -this one-third to John 0. in fee in either of two events, viz.: that John G. should survive his then wife Deborah or should have a child by his wife Deborah who should live until it attained the age of twenty-one years, but if neither of these events should transpire, then this one-third should go to Joseph Griffin, his heirs and assigns forever. Neither event transpired. John 0. did not survive his wife Deborah and did not have by his wife Deborah a child that lived till it was twenty-one years of age. Joseph Griffin died in 1868, and devised all his estate to his son, his only heir, Richard H. W. Griffin. John 0. Griffin died in 1873, leaving no children and devising his estate, subject to a legacy of $2,000, to his adopted daughter, the income of the remainder of his estate to his wife for life, and also to his wife one-half of such remainder in fee, and the defendants have succeeded to the estate so devised. What estate did Joseph Griffin take in the disputed one-third? Under the will of Stephen this one-third went to John 0. until it was determined that his wife Deborah did not survive him or that they should not have a child who should live till it was twenty-one years of age. Deborah did survive John 0., who died in 1873. His death before the death' of Deborah determined one contingency. The other contingency was also determined certainly within the year succeeding the year 1873, and probably several years before that.
The contention upon the part of the plaintiff is that the interest or estate of Joseph was a mere possibility, and so not alienable. The contention of the defendants is that the estate of Joseph was an expectant estate, and so alienable under § 35, chap. 1, tit. 2, part 2, R. S., which provides that " expectant estates are descendible, devisable and alienable in the same manner as estates in possession." Lawrence v. Bayard, 7 Paige, 76; Pond v. Bergh, 10 id., 140; Beardsley v. Hotchkiss, 96 N. Y., 201, 213, 214; Crooke v. County of Kings, 97 id., 421, 449; Ham v. Van Orden, 84 id., 257, 270; Miller v. Emans, 19 id., 384.
The question for solution, therefore, is what was the character of the estate in this one-third devised to Joseph upon the failure of these contingencies to occur ?
The chapter of the Revised Statutes, above referred to, contains the definitions and nomenclature of the various estates in land. " An estate in expectancy is where the right to the possession is postponed to a future period." Section 8, R. S., supra; Ham v. Van Orden, 84 N. Y., 257. Judge Danforth, in his opinion in that case, says: " It does not seem necessary to determine whether an interest at once vested in her, or whether time and the happening of the specified event were of the substance of the gift, and prevented it from vesting until the event happened. In either case she acquired an interest, R. S., 723, art. 1, tit. 2, part 2, chap. 1, § 10, although the right to possession was postponed to a future period and depended upon the contingency of the death of Wessel without children. This did not prevent the creation of the estate, but rendered it liable to be defeated. Art. 1, chap. 1, tit 2, part 2, vol. 1, R. S., 725, § 31. It was an estate in expectancy, § 9, p. 725, id., however, and could not be destroyed by any alienation or other act of Wessel or his trustee, § 32, id., and upon his death without children would become absolute in the plaintiff. It was, therefore, alienable by her to the same extent as if in possession, (§ 35, id.), and whether it be deemed vested or contingent" Moore v. Littel, 41 N. Y., 66; Crooke v. County of Kings, 97 id., 421; Hennessy v. Patterson, 85 id., 91; Nellis v. Nellis, 99 id., 505.
And estates in expectancy are divided into future estates and reversions. Section 10, R. S., supra. A future estate is an estate limited to commence in possession at a future day either without the intervention of a precedent estate or on the determination by lapse of time or otherwise of a precedent estate created at the same time." Crooke v. County of Kings, 97 N. Y., 449.
" Future estates are either vested or contingent They are vested when there is a person in being who would have an immediate right to the possession of the lands upon the ceasing of the intermediate or precedent estate. They are contingent when the person to whom or the event upon which they are limited to take effect remains uncertain." Section 13; 97 N. Y, supra] Beardsley v. Hotchkiss, 96 id., 203-214.
From these .definitions and characteristics of estates it follows that John G. had an estate in possession and in fee until the happening of at least one of the events specified in the will of Stephen, and Joseph also had a future expectant estate in the same one-third if said events or contingencies should not happen and the estates of both of them were created at the same time and under the will of Stephen, their father. Section 10, R. S., supra.
Joseph and John C. together owned an estate in fee and could, at the time of the execution of the deeds from Joseph to John, together have conveyed to a third person a present estate of inheritance, and it seems to us very clear that what each of them might have conveyed to a third person, he might have conveyed to the other and with the same result, viz.: an estate of inheritance. I do not perceive upon what theory the trial court awarded a recovery to the plaintiff of the undivided half of the premises. Assuredly the deed from Joseph to John C. conveyed the one-third which was devised to Joseph in fee. But this consideration is of no moment nor is there any occasion to consider any other question, having reached the result that the disputed one-third was alienable and was conveyed by Joseph Griffin to John 0.
The order should be affirmed and judgment absolute, with costs, should be awarded to defendants.
All concur.