A Doctor Traded His Drugstore for a ‘Level Bottom’ That Wasn’t
Dr. Van Dyke sued R. K. Latimer, claiming a Green River land swap was built on false promises about acreage worth far less than the store.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The latest suit in the superior court is one brought by Dr. Van Dyke against R. K. Latimer and wife to set aside a sale and transfer of property on the ground of fraud. The complaint alleges that on April 12, 1892, the defendants owned twenty-four acres in King County, subject to a $400 mortgage; that the plaintiff at that time owned a drug store valued at $2,000, located at 10 Columbia Street. Latimer falsely represented to the plaintiff that his land was level bottom, lying in front on the shores of Green River, and worth $2,400, and induced Van Dyke to trade his drug store for it. The trade was made the next day, Latimer taking possession of the drug store.
The land, as alleged in the complaint, is not bottom land nor level ground, and is not worth to exceed $500, which is fully covered by the mortgage. Discovering the fraud, the doctor says he requested Latimer to retransfer him the drug store and take back his land, but Latimer refused. For these reasons he asks that the transfer of the drug store be set aside, and Latimer is enjoined from selling it pending the result of this suit.
“Latimer falsely represented to the plaintiff that his land was level bottom, lying in front on the shores of Green River, and worth $2,400.”
Land speculation and dubious “bottom land” claims were part of Seattle’s boom-time economy; today’s real-estate disclosures and fraud suits echo the same risk. The case also shows how a small-business owner could be wiped out by a handshake trade.
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