Opinion of the Court, per HAight, J. [Vol. 196. (1 R. S. 756, § 4; Armstrong v. Combs, 15 App. Div. 246; Irvin v. Campbell, 121 N. Y. 353; Townsend v. Edwards, 25 Fla. 582; Hill v. Gordon, 45 Fed. Rep. 276; Johnstone v. Sutton, 45 Fed. Rep. 296; Green v. McGrew, 72 N. E. Rep. 1049; Leftwich Case, 100 Va. 164; State v. Harman, 50 S. E. Rep. 828; Graton v. Holliday, 189 Mo. 322.) HAIGHT, J. This action was brought in ejectment to recover possession of certain premises situated in the late town of Flatbush, now borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, known as plot No. 33 upon a map entitled "Map of Linden Terrace Beautiful Villa Plots," located on the Flatbush side of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, Long Island, now on file in the office of the register of the county of Kings, which said map is known as No. 787, the parcel being of the width of seventy-five feet and its depth extending from Linden avenue to Ridgewood street. The trial court has found as facts that the plaintiffs are the record owners of the premises in question; that they obtained title thereto through their mother, Mary J. Halsted, who in the year 1868 became possessed thereof, and rented the same to one James Conners, who went into possession and occupied the lands for farming purposes until her death in 1893, and thereafter continued to occupy the same as the tenant of her children and of these plaintiffs until the year 1897. It further appears from the findings of the trial court that in 1875 the assessors of the town of Flatbush assessed the lands in question as nonresident, valuing the same at $570.00, upon which a tax was extended by the supervisors of $9.94; that the same was not paid, and thereafter the comptroller of the state caused a notice of a sale for that and other parcels to be published in the papers designated for such purposes, to the effect that on the 10th day of November, 1881, such premises would be sold for the non-payment of the taxes; that the last date of publication of notice in one paper occurred on the 21st day of October, 1881, and in the other on the 26th day of October, 1881, and that no notice was published during N. Y. Rep.] Opinion of the Court, per HAIGHT, J. the week intervening between those dates and the 10th day of November following, at which time sale commenced; that the sale so advertised commenced on the 10th day of November, 1881, and continued until the 23rd day of November of that year; and that the lands in question were struck off to the People of the state, to whom the comptroller, on the 30th day of October, 1884, executed a deed in the ordinary form. purporting to convey the said premises to the People of the state, which deed was subsequently recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where the lands were located, without its ever having been acknowledged before an officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of deeds. Subsequently and on the 28th day of May, 1885, a notice of sale was served upon James Conners, the tenant, by leaving it at his place of residence with his wife, and the person so serving it swears that he examined the land and inquired whether there was then any other occupant thereon, and could not ascertain that there was any and believed that there was then no occupant on the said premises. Such notice stated that it was understood that Conners resided upon or occupied the premises on the 23rd day of November, 1883, and also that, "Unless the consideration money, with the addition of 37 per cent and 10 cents for the comptroller's deed shall be paid into the treasury of the state for the benefit of the grantee within six months after evidence of the service cf the notice is filed in the comptroller's office, the conveyance of the comptroller will become absolute, and the occupant or occupants and all others interested in the said land shall be forever barred from all right or title thereto." Thereafter and on the 14th day of February, 1887, the comptroller executed a certificate to the effect that the proofs of the service of the notice upon Conners were filed in his office and that more than six months thereafter had elapsed, and that the money required to redeem the land from such tax sales had not been paid into the treasury. This certificate was then recorded at the same time that the deed of the comptroller to the People of the state was recorded. The defendants claim to have obtained their title through a pat Opinion of the Court, per HAIght, J. [Vol. 196. ent from the state, based upon the title so obtained upon such tax sale, and thereupon the defendants' predecessor in title entered into the possession of the premises in 1897, and induced Conners, the tenant, thereafter to attorn to them and to become their tenant by paying the rent to them. This continued until the 1st day of January, 1906, when the plaintiffs regained possession and constructed a fence upon the premises. But eighteen days thereafter the possession was again taken by the defendants, who have since held the same. The trial court found as conclusions of law that the assessment of the land in question in 1875 as non-resident was of no legal effect and the tax thereafter sought to be levied was void; that the notice of the tax sale for November 10th, 1881, was not published the time required by law immediately preceding the day appointed for the sale; that the notice of sale attempted to be served upon Conners was insufficient for the reason that it did not express the 37 per cent in dollars and cents, and that it did not state the amount that had been paid for the deed; that the attempted service of the notice upon Conners was not legal; that the time given to redeem expired on the 19th day of November, 1885, instead of on the 23rd of that month, as stated in the notice; and that the deed of the comptroller to the People of the state, together with the certificate, notice and proofs of service thereof were not acknowledged before an officer authorized to take an acknowledgment of deeds, and consequently were not entitled to be recorded; that the patent issued by the state and the mesne conveyances from the grantee thereof down to but not including the deed to the defendants, were executed and delivered while the plaintiffs were in possession of the premises; that the possession taken by the defendants was unlawful, and that the plaintiffs should have judgment to recover the same, together with the damages, the amount of which was found, and judgment was ordered accordingly. The defendants' deed is not champertous. At the time it was executed and delivered to him, his grantor was in possession of the premises, and therefore, as to the defendants, N. Y. Rep.] Opinion of the Court, per HAIGHT, J. the plaintiffs were not holding adversely. It is true that they held adversely when the defendants' grantor, Lillian V. Rourke, received her deed, but her deed was only void as to the plaintiffs by reason of their so holding. holding. She could have maintained an action in the name of her grantor to recover the possession of the premises, and upon obtaining possession in such an action, it would inure to her benefit. Instead of doing that, she obtained possession peaceably. The plaintiffs' tenant attorned to her and paid the rent to her, and this continued from the year 1897 until after her conveyance to the defendants in April, 1905, a period of about eight years. In January, 1906, the plaintiffs entered upon the premises and built a fence; but eighteen days thereafter the defendants regained possession and have held the same ever since. It thus appears that for upwards of eight years the plaintiffs rested upon their rights, permitting Rourke to occupy the premises and receive the rents therefor and to finally sell and convey the same to the defendants, whom we must deem to be innocent purchasers for value. We think that under the circumstances the plaintiffs cannot now be permitted to question the validity of the defendants' title upon the ground of champerty. Although Rourke had no right of entry against the plaintiffs, yet if she by lawful means obtained possession, she may avail herself of the title of her grantor, and by uniting that to her own possession, make a valid title. (Farnum v. Peterson, 111 Mass. 148-151; Livingston v. Proseus, 2 Hill, 526; Poor v. Horton, 15 Barb. 485-497; Cleveland v. Flagg, 4 Cushing, 76; Warner v. Bull, 13 Metcalf, 1–4.) The trial court having found that the lands in question were occupied, and that finding having been unanimously affirmed by the Appellate Division we are bound by such determination, and under the Constitution have no power to review the evidence upon which the trial court reached that conclusion. It consequently follows that the assessment in 1875 of the premises as non-resident was erroneous. We shall also assume, for the purposes of this case but without definitely so deciding, that the statute requiring the publication of Opinion of the Court, per HAIGHT, J. [Vol. 196. the notice that the premises will be sold for taxes, contemplates the publication of such notice for the ten weeks immediately preceding the date on which the sale is to commence. Beyond this we are disinclined to adopt the views of the trial court with reference to the existence of other defects in the defendants' title. We think that the notice that the statute required to be served upon the owner or occupant after the premises had been sold for the non-payment of taxes, complies with the requirements of the statute. The notice served described the property and gave the amount of the taxes and costs that had accrued up to that time, being the consideration money paid by the state, then provided that unless said consideration money, with the addition of 37 per cent and 10 cents for the comptroller's deed shall be paid into the treasury of the state, etc., the occupant or other persons should be forever barred from all right or title thereto. The 37 per cent of the consideration money could readily be figured by the person desiring to redeem, and it does not appear to us that it was necessary to have the 37 per cent figured in dollars and cents in the notice. Six months was given in which to make the payment after the notice had been served. The notice also demands 10 cents for the comptroller's deed. It does not in terms state that that amount was paid to the comptroller for executing and delivering the deed. But we think that should be inferred, in view of the fact that the statute requires the payment for the deed. The notice also states that it is understood that James Conners resided upon or occupied the premises on the 23rd day of November, 1883. That is the date upon which it was claimed that two years would elapse after the sale of the premises. As we have seen, the sale commenced on the 10th day of November and closed on the 23rd day of November, 1881. During that period all the sales of non-resident lands in the state were made by the comptroller, and the last day on which such sales were made was the day fixed from which the two years given by the statute to redeem should run. It is claimed in this case that the sale of this particular parcel took place |