Porter v. Packers National Bank
Porter v. Packers National Bank
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, a nonresident of the state-, sold real estate in Douglas county through' a real estate agent of South Omaha. She executed a warranty deed to the purchaser, and sent it to the defendant bank to be delivered .upon the consummation of the deal. The bank rendered her a statement remitting the proceeds of the sale after deducting, among other things, $121.32 taxes alleged to have been due upon the land sold and to have been deducted from the purchase price. The plaintiff brought this action to recover from the bank the said $121.32, alleging that the bank was not authorized to make such deduction. The case was first tried upon a demurrer- to the petition, and upon appeal to this court a judgment for the defendant was reversed.
It is conceded that these taxes were a valid lien upon the land, and that the plaintiff covenanted in her deed that the title conveyed should be free and clear of such incumbrances. The transaction on this plaintiff’s part was conducted wholly by correspondence, and it would seem that the agent, Murphy, was acting principally for the purchaser, but made strong representations to the plaintiff inducing her to make the sale at the price finally agreed upon, and it appears to be contended that these taxes were for special improvements so recently made that this plaintiff was not aware of such improvements, which should have been considered as adding value to the land, and that the plaintiff would not have sold the land at the price named if aware that she would be required to pay for these improvements; and that the transaction amounts to a perpetration of a fraud upon the plaintiff, and resulted in obtaining the plaintiff’s property for a less price than she would have been willing to have taken for it. The question is not whether the agent has wronged the plaintiff and caused her to sell the property for less than its value and less than she would have taken for it if the truth had been explained to her. The question is whether the bank has wronged the plaintiff, and, if such fraud existed on the part of others, whether the bank participated in or knew of any such wrongdoing. When the plaintiff sent the deed to the bank, she sent specific instructions that it was to be delivered to the agent Murphy “upon payment of $1,650, less $25 commission and a reasonable charge for bringing the abstract covering this property down to date.” The specified commission and the cost of the abstract were deducted by the bank, and ho complaint is made of this, and the plaintiff insists that under these instructions the bank had no authority to allow for liens upon the land.
It follows that the bank is not liable in this case, and the judgment of the district court is
Reversed.
070rehearing
■ The following opinion on motion for rehearing was filed July 8, 1918. Former'judgment of reversal set aside, and judgment of district court affirmed.
This case upon this appeal was first argued before the court commission, and an opinion written by the court upon the facts reported by the commission, ante, p. 255. The plaintiff upon motion for rehearing com
It is contended in the brief that some of the statements of facts in the opinion are not supported by the evidence in the record. It is conceded that, at the close of the negotiations, the agent Murphy stated the understanding- of the parties in his letter quoted in the former opinion, in which he said that the plaintiff should send the deed to the hank, with instructions to turn over t]je papers, “upon receipt of $1,650, less $25 commission, the expense of extending abstract up to date and taxes, if any, against the property.” Pursuant to this statement of the matter the plaintiff sent a warranty deed to the bank to be delivered under their agreement, in which she guaranteed against all taxes. When the agent called upon the bank, proposed to make the payment, and demanded the deed, the bank found that there were discrepancies in the correspondence and misunderstandings between the parties. It is conceded by all parties that the taxes were just and were a valid lien upon the land. The natural thing for the bank to do, if disinterested, would be to receive the tenders made by the purchaser of the land upon condition that the deed should not be delivered until, the plaintiff, after being informed of the amount deducted for the taxes, should consent to such a consummation of the transaction. The bank thereupon held the deed, but did not inform the plaintiff fully of the situation. The bank held the deed for at least ten days, but failed to inform the plaintiff of that fact, and, on the other hand, by sending the tax receipt to plaintiff and stating that it was- hoped that the plaintiff would be satisfied, and in other ways, the bank led the plaintiff to understand that the transaction was closed. The taxes in question were mostly for improvements that are presumed to enhance the value ’ of the property
Our former judgment is set aside, and the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Judgment accordingly.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Louisa A. Porter v. Packers National Bank
- Status
- Published