Grayson v. Holloway

203 Tenn. 464, 313 S.W.2d 555 (1958)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

The deed at issue was executed by A.J. Holloway and his wife. The granting clause of the deed conveyed the property to G.P. Holloway. The habendum clause stated: 'to have and to hold the same to the said G.P. Holloway and wife Mae Holloway and their heirs and assigns forever.' The heirs of G.P. Holloway (P) filed an action to have the deed construed, claiming that they inherited fee simple title to the land, subject only to Mae Holloway's (D) homestead and dower rights. D counterclaimed, arguing that the deed was a conveyance to her and her husband as tenants by the entireties and that she, therefore, became the owner of the property upon her husband's death. D alleges that she paid cash for the land; that the grantors intended to convey a tenancy by the entireties; and that prior to the execution of the deed, D and her husband had discussed the arrangement by which D and her husband would care for the grantors. P demurred on the ground of laches, and on the ground that D's cross-claim was seeking a reformation of the deed, not construction. The lower court found that the deed conveyed a fee simple to D's husband alone, and sustained P's demurrer on the laches ground, finding that D's cause of action had accrued over ten years before. D appeals.