Sayre v. Westcott
Sayre v. Westcott
Opinion of the Court
— Moses Brothers purchased certain real estate in the city of Montgomery at the price of ten thousand dollars, upon the agreement and understanding that thirty-nine hundred and fifty dollars of the stipulated price should be paid by a credit of that amount upon an indebtedness then
The recognition of this claim would involve the enforcement of a contract which the averments of the bill show was never made. The stipulation as to the mode in which thirty-nine hundred and fifty dollars of the purchase price was to be satisfied, was a material feature of the contract of purchase. The bill does not show that Moses Brothers agreed to pay ten thousand dollars in money for the property. They only agreed to pay in money the difference between that sum and the amount of the stipulated credit. It may very well be that the sale could not have been made except upon the condition of allowing the purchasers to use their claim in paying part of the agreed price. The opportunity of realizing on the claim may have been the principal inducement which influenced them to make the trade. The fact that, as a result of a mistake of the parties, a part of the consideration for the sale and conveyance turned out to be no consideration at all, can not be allowed to have the effect of binding the parties to a contract different from the one they entered into. There can not be a lien for purchase-money which was never due or payable under the contract of purchase. The implied lien of a vendor of real estate is an incident of a débt for unpaid purchase-money. Though the lien survives, and maj^ be enforced afi er an action on the debt is barred, yet the existence of the lien presupposes a debt to be secured thereby. — 2 Warvelle on Vendors, 706. Where a sale is valid, though the vendee is not sui juris so as to be personally bound for the payment of the purchase-money, there is a lien in favor of the vendor, but it is only to secure the payment of the purchase-
Reversed and remanded.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.