Hatcher's administrator v. Hatcher's executors

A. purchases a tract of land and gives bonds with B. as his surety for the purchase money, but never takes a conveyance, nor pays the money. The vendor does not lose his lien upon the land, by having taken personal security. in such case, the surety may go into a court of equity to subject the ¡audio the payment of the debt, before he has been compelled to pay it himself.

Appeal from the superior court of chancery for the Richmond district. John Curd and David Royster, executors of Thomas Hatcher deceased, filed their bill in the court of chancery, against John Guerrant junr. surviving executor of John Johnson deceased, Philip Johnson and others children and heirs of the said John Johnson, Thomas Miller and; John Brown administrators of Gideon Hatcher deceased, Gideon Hatcher and others, children and grand-children of the said Gideon Ilafcher deceased. The bill sets forth, that a certain John Johnson, about fifteen or twenty years ago, was seised and possessed of a tract of land in the county of Goochland: that he died and directed by his will all Ms lands to be sold and the money to be divided amongst his children and appointed John Guerrant junr. and William Webster his executors : that the said executors so d the land, in pursuance of the directions of the testator, and Gideon Hatcher became the purchaser, and gave a bond for the purchase money, with Thomas Hatcher as Ms surety : that no conveyance was ever made by the vendors of the said land ; so that a lien is still retained by the representatives of the said Johnson, and the purchase money was never paid by Gideon Hatcher in his lifetime, nor by his representatives since his decease : that the estate of Gideon Hatcher is totally inadequate to the payment of the purchase money aforesaid 5 and they fear that ^ie es^e °f their testator will be compelled to satisfy the without the.interposition of the court of chancery. They therefore pray, that the land may be directed to be sold for the payment of the purchase money. John Guerrant junr. as surviving executor of John Johnson deceased, filed his answer, stating, that he did, in conjunction with his co-executor, make sale at public auction of one of the tracts of land mentioned in his testator’s will: that Gideon Hatcher became a purchaser of a part of the said tract, and gave Thomas Hatcher as his surety, in six several bonds, payable in six equal annual instalments : that Gideon Hatcher, in his lifetime, paid off a part thereof, for which he has full credit with the respondent j leaving a balance due of £ , and no part of which has been since paid by his representatives : that he believes, no conveyance has been made to the said Gideon Hatcher in his lifetime, or to his representatives since his decease: that he coincides in opinion with the plaintiff that the said lands ought to be sold, and the money, arising thereform, applied to the discharge of the balance due upon the said bonds : that he is therefore willing that a decree should be rendered for the sale of the said land, &c. The administrators of Gideon Hatcher filed a general demurrer, together with an answer, to the bill, in which they alledged, that Thoinas and Gideon Hatcher were brothers, of whom Thomas was the elder, and had much the larger portion of his father’s estate: that after the sale above mentioned, Gideon Hatcher moved on the premises and lived there until the time of his death which, took place about the year 1807 : that the appearance of Gideon Hatcher’s being the proprietor of the said land, gave him a credit with the world : that in 1804, the said Gideon Hatcher became sheriff of the county, and by the default of his deputies in paying the revenue, a judgment was had against him by the commonwealth, in the sum of , and an execution was issued against the said land, which was taken by the coroner of the county, and sold $ but the sale was set aside for irregularity : that other ex-editions were issued, and the land several times advertised for sale, but at length, after various impediments, ° the sale of the said laud was forbidden, although» as the respondents believe, the executors of Johnson expressly disclaimed any lien on the land, until about the time that the sale was forbid : that in consequence of these transactions, the commonwealth, and the sureties of Gideon Hatcher as sheriff', are parties in interest in this case, and should be made parties to this suit: that the respondents believe, that they have fully administered all the personal assets of the said Gideon Hatcher, which ever came to hand, &c. Decrees nisi were duly executed upon the defendants who had not answered. Some years after this suit, actions at law were brought on five of the bonds above-mentioned, and judgments recovered against the oxccutors of Thomas Hatcher deceased. The chancellor made an interlocutory decree, that an account should be taken, before a commissioner of the court, of the administration of Gideon Hatcher’s estate. The commissioner reported, that the assets in the hands of the administrators, amounted to SB 268 97 cents, and that there are unsatisfied judgments to a much larger amount, against the said estate. Whereupon, the chancellor decreed, that unless the defendants claiming under Gideon Hatcher, shall, within six months from the date of the decree, pay to the plaintiffs g 1930 25 cents, with interest &c., the said defendants claiming under the said Gideon Hatcher, shall be forever barred of their equity of redemption in the said land ; and the marshal of the court is directed to make sale thereof for ready money, &c. From this decree, an appeal was taken to this court.