Staton v. Godard

1 Citing case

  1. Patterson v. McCormick

    177 N.C. 448 (N.C. 1919)   Cited 23 times
    In Patterson v. McCormick, 177 N.C. 448, in reference to the common-law principle that a limitation contingent upon death was held to be void for remoteness, it is said that if the deed or will designated an intermediate period the courts held that "dying without issue was referable to this intermediate period"; also that the act of 1827 (C. S., 1737) changed the principle making the limitation void for remoteness, and abrogated the rule of construction which applied it to an intermediate period.

    ch it has come before the Court for construction it has uniformly been held that "Dying without heirs or issue," upon which a limitation over takes effect, is referable to the death of the first taker of the fee without issue living at the time of his death, and not to the death of any other person or to any intermediate period. Rice v. Satterwhite, 25 N.C. 69, and note; Clapp v. Fogleman, 21 N.C. 467; Tillman v. Sinclair, 23 N.C. 183; Moore v. Barrow, 24 N.C. 436; Brown v. Brown, 25 N.C. 134; Garland v. Watt, 26 N.C. 288; Brantley v. Whitaker, 27 N.C. 225; Jones v. Oliver, 38 N.C. 370; Weeks v. Weeks, 40 N.C. 111; Sanderlin v. Deford, 47 N.C. 77; Gibson v. Gibson, 49 N.C. 426; Holton v. McAlister, 51 N.C. 12; Miller v. Churchill, 78 N.C. 373; Hathaway v. Harris, 84 N.C. 96; King v. Utley, 85 N.C. 60; Smith v. Brisson, 90 N.C. 285; Buchanan v. Buchanan, 99 N.C. 308; Kornegay v. Morris, 122 N.C. 202 (reheard 124 N.C. 424); Sain v. Baker, 128 N.C. 256; Sessoms v. Sessoms, 144 N.C. 121; Staton v. Godard, 148 N.C. 434; Perrett v. Bird, 152 N.C. 220; Rees v. Williams, 165 N.C. 201; Burden v. Lipsitz, 166 N.C. 523; O'Neal v. Borders, 170 N.C. 483; Kirkman v. Smith, 175 N.C. 579. The earlier cases in which there were intervening life estates, notwithstanding which it was held that the limitation over did not take effect until the first taker of the fee died without leaving issue surviving him, are Ferrand v. Jones, 37 N.C. 633 (decided in 1843); Spruill v. Moore, 40 N.C. 284 (1845); Sadler v. Wilson, 40 N.C. 296 (1845); Douthett v. Bodenhamer, 57 N.C. 444 (1859).