Chandler v. Chandler

The plaintiff prays for a decree quieting his title to certain lands, and that defendant has no claim or title thereto. Defendant relies upon an instrument hereinafter recited, which was executed and delivered by plaintiff in consideration of two thousand dollars paid him by defendant. It is perfectly obvious that plaintiff cannot come into a Court of Equity and ask for a decree debarring defendant from asserting any claim under the instrument, without restoring the money.

But defendant has set forth the nature of his claim, and is entitled to have his rights adjudicated. The decision of this case, therefore, must turn upon the construction of the instrument following:

It may be assumed that the deed is inoperative as a common-law conveyance of the legal title, because an attempt to create or '.onvey a freehold to commence in futuro. (Hawes v. Stebbins, 49 Cal. 369 .) If it be also assumed that the English Statute of Uses was part of our law prior to the Codes, the deed could not operate as a covenant to stand seized to uses, because the only consideration for such covenant was blood or marriage. (2 Bl. Com. 338.) Whether the statute 27 Henry viii, chap. 10, *271 is a portion of…