tered when diseased, or a Baker, Brewer, Diftiller, or other perfon, who felleth meat or drink. CHAP. XXIV. An Act concerning Partitions and Joint Rights and Obligations.+ LBE E it enacted by the General Affembly, That all joint tenants, or tenants in Joint tenants, and te common, who now are, or hereafter shall be, of any eftates of inheritance nants in common, may in their own rights, or in the right of their wives, and all joint tenants, or be compelled to make tenants in common, who now hold or hereafter shall hold, jointly, or in com- partition. mon, for term of life or years, with others who have, or shall have eftates of inheritance, or freehold in any lands, tenements, or hereditaments, may be compelled to make partition between them, of fuch lands, tenements, and hereditaments, as they now hold, or hereafter shall hold, as joint tenants, or tenants in common, by writs de partitione facienda, the forms whereof shall be devifed in the General Court, and adapted to the cafes aforefaid: But no fuch partitions between joint tenants, or tenants in common, who hold or shall hold eftates for term of life or years, with others holding equal or greater eftates, shall be prejudicial to any entitled to the reverfions or remainders, after the death of the tenants for life, or after the expiration of the years. II. IF partition be not made between joint tenants, whether they be fuch as might have been compelled to make partition, or not, or of whatever kind the eftates or thing holden or poffeffed be, the parts of thofe who die firft, shall not accrue to the furvivors, but shall defcend, or pafs by devife, and shall be fubject to debts, charges, curtefy, or dower, or tranmiffible to executors or adminiftrators, and be confidered to every other intent and purpose, in the fame manner as if fuch deceased joint tenants had been tenants in common. The part of a joint te nant dying first, not to accrue to the furvivor. III. THE Reprefentatives of one jointly bound with another for the pay- Reprefentatives of one ment of a debt, or for performance or forbearance of any act, or for any other jointly bound, chargea thing, and dying in the life-time of the latter, may be charged by virtue of ble as in joint and fevefuch obligation, in the fame manner as fuch Reprefentatives might have been ral obligations. charged if the obligors had been bound feverally, as well as jointly. IV. PARTITION may be demanded by one and the fame writ, of all Allotment of parcels in the feveral parcels of land or other real eftate to which the parties have title, partitions. and execution thereupon done by the Sheriff and Jury, as heretofore, or by fpecial Commiffioners to be appointed by the Court, with affent of the parties, by allotment to each party of part in each parcel, or of parts in one or more parcels, or of one or more individual parcels, with or without the addition of a part or parts of other parcels, as shall be moft for the intereft of the parties in general. V. NO plea in abatement shall be received in any fuit for partition, nor shall it abate by the death of any tenant. VI. AFTER a writ of partition returned, affidavit being made by fome credible perfon, that due notice of the writ had been given to the tenant or tenants to the action, and that a copy thereof had been left with him, her, or them, if he, she, or they could be found, or if not, that fuch notice had been given to, and a copy left with the wife, fon, or daughter, being of the age of twenty one years, or upwards, and at the ufual place of abode of fuch as could not be found, or the perfon in actual poffeffion, not being the demandant of the lands whereof partition is demanded, twenty days or more before the day of return, if the tenant or tenants shall not caufe an appearance to be entered, at the time by law appointed, or within one month thereafter, the demandant having filed his or her declaration, the Court may proceed to examine his, or her title, and the quantity demanded, and shall give judgment by default, for fo much as he or she shall appear to them to have a right to, and award a writ to make partition, which being executed, after eight days notice given to the perfons mentioned before, judgment final fhall thereupon be given, which ↑ The commencement of this act, was on the 1st of July, 1787. See acts of 1780, ch. 115. I 1786, ch. 60. No plea in abatement to be received in fuits for partitions. writs of partition. When and how under Sheriff's may execute judgments in partitions. Tenants to hold of shall be as binding as if it had been given after an appearance and upon a trial, unless any tenant within one year after the first judgment, or being an infant, a married woman, of unfound mind, or out of Virginia, within one year after attainment of full age, death of the hufband, recovery of understanding, or return to the Country, refpectively, by motion to the Court, either admitting the demandant's right and purpart, shall shew inequality in the partition, in which cafe the Court may award a new partition to be made, and that in prefence of all the parties, if they choose to attend it, and the fecond partition shall be as binding as if the tenant had appeared and pleaded in the firit inftance, or elfe shall shew fufficient matter in bar of the partition, or that the demandant hath not title to fo much as he or she hath recovered, in which cafe the Court may fufpend or fet afide the judgment, and admit the tenant to appear and plead, and the caufe shall proceed as if no judgment had been given; and if upon the trial thereof, the Court shall give the fame judgment as the firft, it shall stand confirmed, and the perfon or perfons, in whofe behalf the motion was made, shall be awarded to pay cofts. VII. THE Under-Sheriff, when the High-Sheriff cannot conveniently attend, may in prefence of two Juftices of the Peace, proceed to the execution of a Judgment in partition, by inquifition in due form of law, and the HighSheriff shall make the fame return as if he had acted in person. VIII. THEY who are tenants of the meffuages, lands, tenements, and helandlords, to whom they reditaments, or any part thereof, before they were divided, shall hold the fame may be allotted. of the landlords, to whom they shall be allotted by the partition, in severalty, under the fame conditions, rents, covenants, and refervations, and the landlords shall warrant the feveral parts unto the tenants, as they were bound to do by leafes or grants, refpectively: And any demandant who was tenant, in actual poffeffion, to the tenant to the action, for his purpart of the meffuages, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, divided by virtue of a writ of partition, or any part thereof, shall hold it for the fame term, and under the fame conditions and covenants when it shall be allotted in severalty. Plaintiff to a plea of recovery, may reply that it was had by covin. Penalty for compound ing or difcontinuing actions for certain penal ties. CHAP. XXV. An Act providing that Actions popular profecuted by Collufion, fhall be no Bar to thofe which be pursued with good Faith. [Paffed the 28th of November, 1786.+] E it enacted by the General Affembly, That if any perfon hereafter fue with good faith any action popular, and any Defendant in the fame action, plead any manner of recovery by action popular, in bar of the faid action, or that he before that time barred any Plaintiff in any fuch action popular, then the Plaintiff in the action taken with good faith, may aver that the faid recovery, in the faid action popular, was had by covin, or else may aver that the faid Plaintiff was barred in the faid action popular by covin: Then if after, the faid collufion or covin fo averred be lawfully found, the Plaintiff in that action fued with good faith, shall have recovery according to the nature of the action, and execution upon the fame, in like wife and effect as though no fuch afore had been had. Provided always, That no Plaintiff be in any wife received to aver any covin, in any action popular, where the point of the fame action, or else the covin or collufion shall have been once tried, or lawfully found with the Plaintiff, or against him by trial of twelve men, and not otherwife. II IF the Profecutor of an action or information, for the recovery of any penalty not wholly appropriated to the ufe of fuch Proprietor, shall compound with the offender, or direct fuch fuit or information to be difcontinued, unless it be by leave of the Court where in the faid fuit or information shall be depending, fuch Profecutor shall be liable for fo much of the penalty to the Commonwealth, or any other, as they would have been entitled to, if the Defendant had been convicted. † 1786, ch. 63. |