Frost v. Tracy
Frost v. Tracy
Opinion of the Court
— Plaintiff and defendant were'sureties for a principal on two promissory notes. The holder of the notes obtained judgment against the plaintiff and defendant on one of the notes, and against plaintiff only on the other note. Execution was issued on both judgments, and levied upon one hundred and eighty-three acres of land belonging to this plaintiff. Before the day of sale plaintiff conveyed this land to
Defendant, in compliance with this, did pay off the judgments, and the executions were called in. Plaintiff has instituted this suit to compel defendant, as his co-surety, to pay to him one-half of said judgments, basing his action on the theory that, in effect, he has paid all due on the judgments when, as between him and defendant, he should only pay one-half. Judgment was rendered for defendant below, and plaintiff appeals.
There is no doubt that originally, as between themselves, the plaintiff and defendant were each liable for one-half the judgments, and that, if either paid the whole sum, the other should contribute to him the. one-half thereof. The question then is, did plaintiff, by the transaction detailed above, pay the whole amount of the judgments? There is no oral evidence of the understanding of-the parties or of any agreements between them, aside from what has been set forth. The record of the suits on the notes, judgments, executions and levies thereunder together with the deed, and the [conceded fact that the defendant paid the judgments, is all that appears in the case. From this we are satisfied that plaintiff is entitled to recover. As between these parties, nothing else appearing, we must assume that the consideration in the- deed from plaintiff to defendant represented the value of the land. Therefore, plaintiff has given of his own property to defendant, that which is equal in
But defendant’s position is: First. “That this deed and agreement, of which it is evidence and the only evidence, was a voluntary and final settlement, founded upon consideration between plaintiff and defendant, of all matters between them growing out of their prior relations as co-sureties, and after defendant paid the judgment and costs he had performed the only and final obligation resting on him to plaintiff growing out of this prior relation and this subsequent agreement; and that plaintiff cannot recover therefor in this action or in any other.” Second. “Whether the payment of these judgments and costs by Mr. Tracy was the final and only obligation resting upon him towards plaintiff or not, the new contract and deed was from the time
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.