Tyree v. Lucas, 279 Ky. 625

Summary

The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment concerning competing claims to a tract of land, adverse possession, and the validity of conveyances under Kentucky's champerty statute. The court held that the evidence supported the chancellor's finding that the defendants failed to establish title to the disputed land, while affirming the determination that a deed was champertous as to the portion occupied by one defendant.

Holdings

1. The defendants failed to establish title by deed or adverse possession to the land described in the plaintiffs' petition.
2. The trial court properly treated the plaintiffs' deed as champertous and void as to the house, barn, and enclosures actually occupied by Alex Tyree, while the appellate court did not determine whether that ruling was correct as a matter of evidentiary weight because the plaintiffs did not file a cross-appeal.
3. The defendants were not entitled to have their title quieted or to obtain possession of the entire tract because they failed to prove title to the land described in their counterclaim.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendants established title to the disputed land by deed or adverse possession.
2. Whether the plaintiffs' deeds were champertous and void as to the entire tract or only as to the area actually possessed by Alex Tyree.
3. Whether the trial court's factual findings should be disturbed on appeal because the evidence was conflicting.
4. Whether the defendants were entitled to judgment on their counterclaim quieting title to the entire tract.

Disposition

affirmed