BRUCE G. LEIGHTON AND ETHEL M. LEIGHTON, HIS WIFE, MIKE ZARRELLA AND LENA ZARRELLA, HIS WIFE, AND EDWARD F. ROMIG, APPELLANTS,
v.
WALTER O. JOHNS ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 2d DCA | 1959-11-25
No. 871
ALLEN, C. J., and SHANNON, J., concur.
116 So. 2d 436 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1959) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

Plaintiffs appealed from a dismissal of their complaint seeking a declaratory decree to establish the boundary of the Hanson Grant and confirm they, not the Johns defendants, held title to disputed land in Martin County, Florida. The trial court dismissed on two grounds: insufficient evidence to establish the exact boundary position, and the Johns' acquisition of title through adverse possession. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal, finding both grounds were supported by substantial evidence.


Holding

The court affirmed the trial court's dismissal on both grounds. The appellate court agreed that the evidence was insufficient to establish the exact boundary position, as the record contained conflicting surveys, plats, and testimony. Additionally, the court found that the defendants Walter O. Johns and Beulah Johns had validly acquired title through adverse possession under color of title, supported by substantial competent evidence of fencing, leasing, continuous open possession for more than seven years, and tax payment.


Key Quotes

“Under the Court's findings of fact, set out in its decree, which findings are supported by substantial competent evidence contained in the record, this determination appears to be correct.”

Establishes the appellate standard of review—the trial court's findings of fact supported by substantial evidence will be upheld on appeal.

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Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiffs sought a declaratory decree establishing the western boundary of the Hanson Grant in Martin County, Florida, and declaring that defendants …

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Opinion of the Court
SMITH, CULVER, Associate Judge.

SMITH, CULVER, Associate Judge.

This appeal was taken from a final decree entered below, on Plaintiffs’ suit for declaratory decree. Plaintiffs are Appellants here and the Defendants, Walter O. Johns and Beulah Johns, his wife, are the Appellees. The parties will be referred to as they stood in the Court below. By their Complaint, Plaintiffs sought relief against numerous parties. Prior to the entry of the final decree, however, all matters pertaining to all Defendants against whom affirmative relief was sought, except the Defendants, Walter O. Johns and Beulah Johns, his wife, had been settled by written stipulation.

In substance, the relief sought by Plaintiffs was a decree declaring that the Defendants had no right, title or interest to the property in question, and declaring the exact position of the west boundary of that certain tract of land in Martin County, Florida, known as the Hanson Grant. In addition to admitting or denying the various allegations of Plaintiffs’ Complaint, the Defendants, Walter O. Johns and wife assert that they have acquired title to certain lands through adverse possession under color of title. The trial Court made extensive findings of fact from the evidence produced. No useful purpose would be served by setting out that evidence in this opinion. The Chancellor’s Decree dismissed the Complaint on two grounds, the first being that, the evidence was not sufficient and of the character required for the Court to set at rest forever the exact position of the west boundary of the Hanson Grant. We agree with this conclusion on his part. The record contains conflicting surveys, plats, and testimony so that taken as a whole the lower Court’s action is amply supported. In addition, to determine this boundary would be to adjudicate the rights of other Defendants who have already settled their disputes with the Plaintiffs.

The second ground for dismissal of the Complaint, by the lower Court, was its finding that the Defendant, Walter O. Johns, had acquired title to the disputed *437lands by adverse possession. Under the Court’s findings of fact, set out in its decree, which findings are supported by substantial competent evidence contained in the record, this determination appears to be correct. Briefly stated, such a finding is established by evidence of fencing; of leasing portions to plaintiffs’ predecessor in title, which portions were used for grazing; by use and possession, continuously and openly, claiming them as his own, for more than seven years prior to the institution of this action, and by paying the taxes thereon.

No reversible error having been made to appear, the decree appealed from is hereby affirmed.

ALLEN, C. J., and SHANNON, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Leighton v. Johns, 122 So. 2d 405 (Fla. 1960)
    …Certiorari denied without opinion. 116 So. 2d 436.…
  • …the burden of proof upon the one claiming the existence of a boundary line to establish its exact location. See Craig v. Russell, 141 Fla. 105, 192 So. 457, 458 (1939); Gibson v. Wright, 179 So. 2d 245, 248 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1965); Leighton v. Johns, 116 So. 2d 436 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1959). Cf. Shaw v. Williams, 50 So. 2d 125, 126 (Fla.1951) (en banc). A claimant does not carry his burden, moreover, when his proof consists of inaccurate or inconclusive exhibits and testimony. See Craig v. Russell, supra; Leighto…

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