Eccles v. Durland Trust Co.
Eccles v. Durland Trust Co.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff appeals from an adverse judgment in her suit for an accounting, for rescission of the purchase of a real estate mortgage and for judgment for the amount she invested therein with interest from the date of purchase.
Plaintiff lived at Norfolk. She was widowed in 1912, and soon thereafter began investing her money through
Defendant’s answer was to the effect that plaintiff purchased the mortgage relying upon her own judgment.
The chief cause of the trouble is that the land is not now worth the amount of the mortgage lien against it. If it were, there probably would be no controversy. There is a conflict of evidence as to what the land was worth on October 10, 1921, when the mortgage was made, or on January 25, 1922, when it was sold to plaintiff.
William L. Bates, real estate, Kimball, testified by dep
The following persons testified by deposition, on behalf of defendant, as to the value of the half section in 1922: Gus Rieseberg, farmer, $20 an acre; E. G. Meredith, farmer and county commissioner, the plow land $30 an acre, the grazing land $10 an acre; Frank A. Travis, farmer, $10 an acre.
Leonard L. Wilson, with seven years in the college of agriculture, county agent for Kimball county for nearly four years, made a thorough examination of the land and produced a map, made by him, which was introduced in evidence. He testified that there are 84 acres of plowed land and about 62 acres more that is tillable, making a total of 146 acres. It is mostly Sidney loam, the most prevalent soil in Kimball county. It is a soil that has considerable fertility and depth. The 84 acres are good potato land and would compare favorably with any potato land in the county. The land not tillable is pasture land: The tillable land would make fair wheat land, but is of the type that potatoes, corn and beans would grow on more readily than wheat.
Glen Hunt, a graduate of the college of agriculture, and formerly county agent of Kimball county, owning and operating about 1,500 acres of land, buying and shipping
Much has been said about the rough character of the land. We quote from the testimony of Leonard L. Wilson: “Through the west third of the half section there is a draw that runs generally north and south, draining from the south to the north; along the edges of this draw there are considerable areas of grass land mounting up to the higher table land on either side; at the break of the table land there are some outcroppings of lime rock, and as you mount up on the table land you find areas of flat land, some of which are plowed, some that are tillable; this I have designated on the map,”
Mrs. Eccles testified that she took her money out of a bank and turned it over to the trust company. That Mr. Nicola, the president of the trust company, told her this mortgage was “a very good investment, in fact the best he had.” The evidence shows she withdrew the money from her bank and took it to the trust company on January 20, 1922, and did not get her papers until January 25, 1922, because the mortgage had been put up as collateral elsewhere and had to be sent for. Mr. Nicola testified, and was corroborated by Mr. Lederer, that he went to California January 14, 1922, and did not return until late in the spring. Mr. Lederer, the treasurer of the company, testified that plaintiff’s dealings were with him. He testified that Mrs. Eccles selected the Belgum loan from a list of loans on hand. He showed her the list. It contained some $2,000 loans and some loans of larger amounts in bonds of $1,000 each. The company had $100,000 capital and had a surplus. Practically all was then invested in loans. He told Mrs. Eccles the company considered it a good loan. In rebuttal Mrs. Eccles answered in the negative to the following question: “Never talked with them about investing or recommending to you how your funds should be
Assuming that Mr. Nicola, or Mr. Lederer, as the case may be, told her the loan was considered by the trust company a good loan, or words to that effect, we think the case made out falls short of being actionable. No “fiduciary relation” between the trust company and plaintiff has been shown to exist in the sense that plaintiff would have us declare and apply that term. Plaintiff had her money in a bank drawing 5 per cent. She went to the bank in August, 1921, to withdraw it because she wanted a better return. The bank persuaded her to leave it at 6 per cent. She left it until December, when she “heard the bank was shaky,” gave notice and on January 20, 1922, bought the present mortgage. The loan was considered good as loans with so high a rate of interest went, and that was what she wanted. The company had loaned money in Kimball county for years. Interest was paid promptly for some time. That county had a real estate setback in 1922 and was just recovering when the depression of 1929 arrived.
As to the testimony taken by deposition, the trial court and this court had equal opportunity. As to the other testimony, the trial court observed the witnesses, which we cannot do. The burden was upon plaintiff to make out a case. Taking into consideration all the evidence upon this trial de novo and the finding of the trial court against her, we are of the opinion that the judgment of the trial court should be affirmed.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Martha Eccles v. Durland Trust Company
- Status
- Published