Auker v. Perry
Auker v. Perry
Opinion of the Court
In this action Stephen E. Auker, appellee, hereinafter called plaintiff, by way of a petition in usual form, sought to foreclose a mortgage on certain lands in Wayne county. The mortgagors, Edward Perry and Edward J. Auker, appellees herein, were made defendants, as wrere Richard Ritze and Carl L. Ritze, appellants herein, and hereinafter referred to as the Ritzes, vendees of such mortgagors; such Ritzes in the contract of purchase, as well as in the deed of conveyance to them, having assumed and agreed to pay the mortgage. After the issues were duly joined, trial was had, and decree rendered finding the amount due plaintiff
. Upon examination of the record we conclude as follows: That the plaintiff was the owner of the lands in question; that he had sold the same to one Clark for $78,000, and Clark had paid thereon in cash $4,000, but upon his failure to comply with such contract, the same was canceled, and the. land was purchased by Perry and Auker for $74,000, .they thus receiving the benefit of the $4,000 payment by Clark; that Perry and Auker paid plaintiff $24,000 in cash, and gave him back a mortgage on the land for $50,000, such mortgage and the note it secured being the ones here in question; that the mortgage was duly recorded in the office of the county clerk of Wayne county; that at the time of entering into the contract the Ritzes were told of such sale of the land to Clark, and the cancelation of Clark’s contract of purchase, the purchase by Perry and Auker, and their payment therefor as above indicated; that the Ritzes entered into possession of the land under this contract and made some valuable improvements thereon of a permanent nature; that in February, 1921, Perry and Auker furnished the Ritzes with an abstract of title to the land which showed the only mortgage on the tract was one for $50,000, together with the book and page where and when recorded, which abstract was examined by their attorney and returned with certain objections thereto, but without objection of any kind to such mortgage or note; that, on refusal of the Ritzes to comply with the contract of purchase, an action for specific performance was instituted against them by Perry and Auker, trial had, and a decree of performance on the part of the Ritzes was entered; that in such case the Ritzes did not specifically interpose the defense of fraud; that to reverse such judgment, appeal was had to this court, and the decree of the trial court was affirmed, which case is reported in Perry v. Ritze, 110 Neb. 286; that on entry of the mandate in the trial court on June 28, 1923, the balance of the purchase price was paid
Thus we conclude that in the conversation leading up to this contract, and the signing and execution thereof, there were no fraudulent statements made by Perry and Auker as to the matters in controversy herein; if fraud there was, it was solely by reason of the fact that no mention was made by Perry and Auker at the time of the acceleration clauses in such note and mortgage, except as indicated by the written contract in question.
Our consideration is thus directed to the contract, as evidenced by these different instruments. The provisions of the sale and purchase agreement, so far as material, are as follows: “The party of the second part (the Ritzes) agrees to pay the sum of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) payable as follows: Cash in hand eleven thousand ($11,000) dollars, receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged. Balance $50,000 by assuming a mortgage of that amount with interest thereon from Márch 1, 1921, this mortgage being due March 1, 1930, and optional. $14,000 on March 1, 1921,
The acceleration clause in the note is as follows: “Should any of said principal or interest not be paid when due, it shall bear interest at the rate of ten per cent, per annum from the time same becomes due until paid, and upon any failure to pay any of said interest within five days after due, the holder may elect to consider the whole note due and it may be collected at once.”
The acceleration clause in the mortgage provides: “That a failure to pay any of said money, either principal or interest, when the same becomes due or a failure to comply with any of the foregoing agreements shall cause the whole sum of money herein secured to become due and collectable at once at the option of the mortgagee.”
The provisions contained in the deed executed and delivered to the Ritzes by Perry and Auker in pursuance of the aforementioned contract, material for our considera
Thus we approach the question of the legal effect of the contract entered into. We held in Crawford v. Houser, ante, p. 62: “A stipulation in a mortgage, authorizing the mortgagee to accelerate the maturity of the mortgage debt, if interest thereon is not paid when due, or if the taxes on the mortgaged premises are not paid at or before the time they became delinquent, is not forbidden by the statute, nor contrary to public policy, and may be enforced.”
In Moorehead v. Hungerford, 110 Neb. 315, we said: “The coupon bonds, or principal notes, which are secured by the mortgage, provide that, ‘upon any failure to pay any of said interest within five days after due, the holder may elect to consider the whole debt due and it may be collected at once.’ The notes and the mortgage, taken together, constitute a valid and enforceable contract. Defendants as purchasers having assumed and agreed to pay the mortgage indebtedness as a part of the purchase price were bound by the terms of the instruments which constitute the contract. The mortgage having been recorded, defendants were chargeable with notice of its provisions.”
It is elementary that “A party whose cause of action is founded upon a written contract is limited as to his rights by the terms of such contract, and a recovery contrary thereto cannot be sustained.” Patterson v. Murphy, 41 Neb. 818.
As we have seen, in this case such contract is that of purchase which the parties reduced to writing and signed, the note, the coupons, and the mortgage securing the same, and the clause in the deed whereby the Ritzes assumed and
“The acceptance by the grantee of a deed poll containing a covenant that the land conveyed is free from incumbrances except a mortgage previously made by the grantor, ‘which the grantee assumes and agrees to hold the grantor harmless from,’ constitutes a contract by the grantee, not merely to indemnify the grantor, but to pay the mortgage debt” (and that according to the contract’s legal terms). Locke v. Homer, 131 Mass. 93.
As succinctly stated in the course of the opinion in Baldwin v. Munger, 200 Ia. 32: “A mortgage imports a pecuniary obligation, and the assumption of a mortgage debt is clearly pecuniary. If a note secured by the mortgage gives the mortgagee the right to ‘reasonable attorney’s fees,’ it is obligatory upon the promisor to pay same. This is a pecuniary obligation, and is within the indebtedness contemplated by an assumption contract of the purchaser of the land. It becomes a part of the mortgage debt assumed by the grantee. Johnson v. Harder, 45 Ia. 677. The assumption of a mortgage according to its terms includes a covenant to maintain insurance for the benefit of the mortgagee. This also is pecuniary in character. Johnson v. Northern Minnesota Land & Investment Co., 168 Ia. 340. A stipulation in a note for the acceleration of the due date of the mortgage is binding upon a person who assumes and agrees to pay the mortgage, on the theory that the agreement to
Our holding in Miller v. Ruzicka, 111 Neb. 815, is cited by the Ritzes as being in conflict with the views herein expressed. As we conclude, the facts in that case, as well as in the other cases by them cited, are so dissimilar to the facts herein as to render the law announced in each thereof inapplicable to the facts disclosed by this record.
Hence, it is concluded that as the transaction under con-sideración was without fraud on the part of Perry and Auker, and as the record fails to show a cross-appeal on the part of the plaintiff as to the trial court’s allowance of 5 per cent, interest instead of 10 per cent, on the $50,000 debt after the same was declared due and payable, the decree entered by the trial court is .a correct application of the law to the facts; and as the transaction is without fraud, and the cross-petition of the Ritzes is without equity, it is unnecessary to consider other alleged errors presented.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Stephen E. Auker v. Edward Perry, appellees: Richard Ritze
- Status
- Published