Bailey v. Ewing

105 Idaho 636 (1983)

Facts

A personal representative of a decedent conducted an auction of the estate. At that auction, certain property that was owned was divided and was to be sold at auction. Prior to and at the auction, it was indicated that no one was sure of the actual boundary between the two lots. Ewing (D) purchased his lot that day, and Bailey (P) who was at the auction purchased his a week later. Lot five was deeded to D, and lot six and the strip of land in dispute was deeded to P. Bailey eventually discovered where the true line was after taking a survey. P sued D over a disputed strip of land to quiet title. D countered with a complaint to reform the deeds. The trial court found that D had made a unilateral mistake as to the location of the boundary and was not entitled to relief. The trial court found for P and D appealed.