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§ 874. A judgment in ejectment liad been recovered by defendant for the recovery of certain lands in Tennessee, and the complainants prayed an injunction and a conveyance of defendant's interest to them. An entry of the land had been made in 1783. and in 1787 Isaac Coulson executed a bond to Josinh Payne, conditioned for the conveyance of the land or the payment of £100. The obligor elected to convey the land, but died in 1791, in Virginia, leaving the defendant as his heir. A grant of the land bad been issued in 1787, but no valid conveyance to Payne was made. Payne took possession in 1799 or 1800, and the land had been occupied ever since by him and those claiming under him, the last of whom was complainant. Coulson died in 1791. and Payne tried to obtain conveyances of the interests of bis heirs through the courts of Virginia in 1793 and 1797, and in so doing had been aided by Coulson's widow and brother, the heirs being minors. Payne died in 1800 and had previously sold several parcels of land. At this time there were no equity courts in Tennessee. Held, that, considering the condition of the parties, their remote residence from each other, the state of the country and its tribunals, the complainants had shown more than ordinary diligence, and were not guilty of laches and were entitled to relief. Coupon v. Walton,* 9 Pet, 63.

Federal Decisions: Cases Argued and ... - Google Book Search