If the commissioners appointed to make partition report that the premises, or any portion thereof, are so situated that a partition cannot be made without great prejudice to the owners, the court may, if satisfied that the report is just and correct, order a sale of the premises, whether prayed for or not in the petition, or asked by the defendant.
Code 1858, § 3299; Shan., § 5048; Code 1932, § 9203; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 23-2133.
Textbooks. Gibson's Suits in Chancery (7th ed., Inman), § 488.