ROBINSON POINT LUMBER COMPANY, A CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
E. F. JOHNSON, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's refusal to reform a deed, holding that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove a mutual mistake regarding the reservation of timber rights. The court emphasized the high standard of proof required for reformation.
No, the evidence was not sufficient to warrant reformation. The court found the evidence to be conflicting and not 'full and satisfactory' as required for equitable reformation.
“A court of equity will reform a written instrument when by mistake it does not contain the true agreement of the parties, only when the evidence of the mistake is ‘ full and satisfactory.”
Establishes the standard of proof required for deed reformation.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe complainant (appellant) sought to reform a deed to reserve timber rights, alleging a mistake in the original agreement. The lower court refused th…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Reformation Of Deed cases and more on FLexlaw
Whitfield, C. J.
The court refused to reform a deed conveying land so as to make it reserve to the grantor the timber on the land, and the complainant appealed. It is argued here that the evidence is sufficient for a reformation.
A court of equity will reform a written instrument when by mistake it does not contain the true agreement of the parties, only when the evidence of the mistake is ‘ full and satisfactory. The writing should be regarded as the sole expositor of the intent of the parties until the contrary is established beyond reasonably controversy; and reformation will not be decreed when the evidence is loose, contradictory or equivocal, there being no fiduciary relation or overreaching between the parties dealing with each other upon a substantially equal footing. See Jackson v. Magbee, 21 Fla. 622; Franklin v. Jones Adm’r., 22 Fla. 526; Jacobs v. Parodi, 50 Fla. 541, 39 South. Rep. 833; Griffin v. Societe Anonyme La. Floridienne, 53 Fla. 801, 44 South. Rep. 342; Horne v. J. C. Turner Cypress Lumber Co., 55 Fla. 690, 45 South. Rep. 1016; Crosby v. Andrews, 61 Fla. 554, 55 South. Rep. 57.
The evidence is conflicting on the material point in the case and the chancellor found for the defendant. As the evidence is not of such a nature as to disclose a clear error in the decree, it is affirmed.
Taylor, Shackleford, Cockrell and Hocker, J. J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Cap. City Bank v. Hilson, 64 Fla. 206 (Fla. 1912)…of a contract. Sec Horne v. J. C. Turner Cypress Lumber Co., 55 Fla. 690, 45 South. Rep. 1016, and Jacobs v. Parodi, 50 Fla. 541, 39 South. Rep. 833, and the prior decisions of this court cited therein. Also see Robinson Point Lumber Co. v Johnson, 63 Fla. 562, 58 South. Rep. 841. We would also refer to the authorities bearing upon this point cited by the writer hereof in his dissenting opinion in Crosby v. Andrews, 61 Fla. 554, text 578, et. seq., 55 South. Rep. 57, text 64 et. seq. It is unnecessary for…
-
Rosenthal v. First Nat'l Fire Ins. Co. of the United States, 74 Fla. 371 (Fla. 1917)…80. In a suit for the reformation of a written instrument, when the evidence is conflicting and the finding of the chancellor thereon does not clearly appear to be erroneous, it will not be disturbed on appeal. Robinson Point Lumber Co. v. Johnson, 63 Fla. 562, 58 South. Rep. 841. Where the chancellor upon a consideration of the evi [*382] dence denies reformation, Ms ruling will not be disturbed unless it is clearly erroneous, particularly where the evidence is conflicting in material particulars- and t…
-
Edney v. Stinson, 90 Fla. 335 (Fla. 1925)…v. Smith, 74 Fla. 324, 76 South. Rep. 897; Simpson v. First National Bank, 74 Fla. 539, 77 South. Rep. 204; Baggett v. Otis, 65 Fla. 447, 62 South. Rep. 362; Millinor v. Thornhill, 63 Fla. 531, 58 South. Rep. 34; Robinson Point Lbr. Co. v. Johnson, 63 Fla. 562, 58 South. Rep. 841; West v. Daniels, 57 Fla. 548, 49 South. Rep. 154; City of Jacksonville v. Huff, 39 Fla. 8. There is sufficient competent evidence in the record to support the decree, so it must, under the rule announced, be affirmed. Affirmed…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Jacobs v. Parodi, 50 Fla. 541 (Fla. 1905)
- Horne v. The J. C. Turner Cypress Lumber Co., 55 Fla. 690 (Fla. 1908)
- Griffin v. Societe Anonyme la Floridienne, 53 Fla. 801 (Fla. 1907)
- Crosby v. Andrews, 61 Fla. 554 (Fla. 1911)
- Jackson v. Magbee, 21 Fla. 622 (Fla. 1885)
- Franklin v. Loton M. Jones, 22 Fla. 526 (Fla. 1886)