Teal v. Spangler
Teal v. Spangler
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the court by
In this action, the appellee sued the appellants, Teal and Puterbangh, upon a promissory note executed by them to the order of the appellee, and payable at the office of the Greenfield Banking Company. In his complaint, the appellee alleged that the note was given by Teal and Puterbaugh for work and labor
The appellant, Sinker, Davis & Co., a corporation of that name under the laws of this State, was made a defendant to the action, for the reason that it claimed to hold a mortgage and mechanic’s lien upon the premises described in the complaint, which were junior to the appellee’s claim.
The separate demurrer of said Sinker, Davis & Co. to the •complaint, for the alleged insufficiency of the facts therein to constitute a cause of action, was overruled by the court, and its exception was saved to this ruling; and it then answered by a general denial of the complaint. The appellants, Teal and Fu-terbaugh, having been personally served with process, and failing to appear, were duly defaulted.
A trial of the cause by the court resulted in a finding for the appellee, for the amount due on the note in suit, and that the «ame was secured by a mechanic’s lien, as alleged in his complaint; and over the motion of said Sinker, Davis & Co. for a new trial and in arrest of judgment, and, its exceptions saved, judgment was rendered for the appellee upon and in accordance with the finding of the court.
The appellants, Teal and Puterbaugh, have jointly assigned the following errors:
1. The complaint did not state sufficient facts to constitute a cause of action.
2. The complaint did not state facts sufficient to entitle them to the relief demand; and
3. On the whole record the appellee was not entitled to a foreclosure of his alleged mechanic’s lien, nor to a judgment and decree for the sale of the specific property therein described.
It is certain, we think, that neither one of these supposed
The appellants, Teal and Puterbaugh, are in no condition to complain of either the form or substance of the judgment below, or of any part of it, in this court. They neither objected nor excepted, in the trial court, to the judgment as rendered; and we need hardly say that such an objection, made for the first time here, will present no question for our decision. Smith v. Dodds, 35 Ind., 452; Lewis v. Edwards, 44 Ind., 333; Smith v. Taiman, 71 Ind.,
The appellant, Sinker, Davis & Go., complains in this court of the alleged error of the circuit court in overruling its demurrer to appellee’s complaint. In discussing this error, the appellants’ counsel say: “The complaint and copy of the note, which is marked exhibit ‘A,’ and made a part of said complaint, show that the original indebtedness had been paid. The note is governed by the law merchant. This, unless there was an agreement to the contrary, which does not appear by the allegations of the complaint, operated as a payment of the original indebtness; and when the original indebtedness was paid, there could, of course, be no lien.” In support of their position and argument, counsel cite the ease of Hill v. Sloan, 59 Ind., 181. In that case it Was decided that where a builder executes to the material
In the more recent case of Smith v. Bettger, 68 Ind., 254, the law on the subject under consideration was again declared by this court, Biddle, J., delivering the opinion, as follows: “That taking a bill of exchange, or a promissory note governed by the law merchant, by the creditor from his debtor, for an existing debt, is a payment of the debt, unless it is otherwise agreed by the parties, and the onus of proving such agreement would lie upon the creditor.” Substantially the same doctrine was enunciated in Maxwell v. Day, 45 Ind., 509, and it must now be regarded, we think, as the settled law of this State.
We do notunderstand that the appellee’s counsel controvert the law, as we have stated it; but they insist that “the allegation, the note was given, evidencing the amount of the indebtedness,, rebuts the presumption of payment that would otherwise arise from the character of the note.” The allegation referred to was made by the appellee alone, long after the execution of the noté in suit, and, to our minds, it does not even tend to show that it was agreed by and between the makers and payee of the note, at the time of its execution, that it should not operate as a payment of the original indebtedness. Nor do we think that such an agreement can be reasonably inferred from the fact that the note was made payable one day after date, or from the further
We are of the opinion, therefore, that the facts stated in the appellee’s complaint were not sufficient on the demurrer thereto of the appellant, Sinker, Davis & Go., to constitute a cause of action; and that the court erred in overruling its demurrer to the complaint. The judgment against the appellants, Teal and Puterbaugh, is affirmed at their costs. The judgment against the appellant, Sinker, Davis & Co., is reversed at the appellee’s costs, and the cause is remanded with instructions to sustain the demurrer to the complaint, and for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Alfred E. Teal v. Samuel S. Spangler
- Status
- Published