Foster v. Dey
Foster v. Dey
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
James R. Dey and James C. Dey were trustees under a deed made by Richard Dey, dated October 1st, 1845. A mortgage for $7000, made by William H. and Edward W. McClave, was assigned to one Gilbert, and by Gilbert to these trustees. James C. died December 13th, 1865, leaving James R. the sole surviving trustee. As such, he assigned this McClave mortgage in January, 1868, to the appellant, James T. Foster. A bill was filed to compel an account from James R. Dey, the trustee, and also to compel Foster to deliver up the said mortgage for the benefit of the
Foster appeals from the decree against himself. The decree against Foster was made upon the ground that the assignment of this mortgage to him by Dey was fraudulent, and that he was a party to the fraud.
The authority of the trustee, under the deed of trust, was general and comprehensive. He could sell or lease lands; he could pay off encumbrances; he could make improvements ; he could invest moneys on bond and mortgage, and could pay legacies, &c. That James R. Dey had authority to sell this mortgage is clear; indeed, it is admitted in complainant’s bill. Jt is clear that he misapplied the moneys received from the sale. He placed the money into two houses, erected on his own land. This was a disposition of the money entirely foreign to the object of the trust. It was a palpable misappropriation of the funds. But that fact does not in itself invalidate Foster’s title. The law did not in this dase impose upon him the obligation to see to the application of the purchase money. Perry on Trusts, § 795. Foster’s title can only be defeated by evidence showing that, at the time of the assignment, he knew that the trustee contemplated a breach of trust, and intended to misapply the money, or was, by the very transaction, applying it to his own private purposes. Field v. Schieffelin, 7 Johns. Ch. 150.
The bill is framed upon the idea that the trustee was, by the very transaction, applying the mortgage to his private purpose. The allegation is that Dey, the -trustee, was personally indebted to Foster in the sum of $15,000, and that for the payment of that sum, the trustee assigned, with other securities^ this mortgage. There is nowhere in the bill an allegation that money was received at the time, and in consideration of the assignment, that such money was misapplied, and that Foster had fraudulent knowledge of the intended misappropriation. The only issue raised is, did the trustee assign the mortgage for the payment of an antecedent personal debt owing
The bulk of the evidence taken, the argument, the opinion of the Chancellor, are concerned in establishing or discussing questions of fact entirely beyond the scope of matters pleaded. As a matter of principle, this evidence could be rejected as irrelevant.
The good sense of pleading and the language of the books both require that every material allegation should be put in issue by the pleadings, so that the parties may be duly apprised of the essential inquiry, and may be enabled to collect testimony and form interrogatories in order to meet the question. Without the observance of this rule, the use of pleadings becomes lost, and parties may be taken at the hearing by surprise. Moores v. Moores, 1 C. E. Green 278; Burnham v. Dalling, 3 C. E. Green 134, and cases cited.
How the aspect of the cause would have shifted had the issue decided been raised, can only be conjectured, and it is unfair to conclude parties by adjudicating upon an issue first made by the evidence, and not technically within the limits of inquiry. As, however, no objection was made to the testimony as irrelevant in this particular, and as I am forced to the conclusion that the complainant below stands in no better position upon the case made by the evidence, I will consider the cause as here presented.
The facts which below induced the Chancellor to a conclusion that Foster had a fraudulent knowledge of the intended misappropriation of the funds received from this assignment, -were these: First. That, according to the statements of Dey and Poster, the-latter was indebted to the former in the sum
Again, the interest was collected subsequently to the assignment, by checks drawn in the name of Mr. Dey, as they had been drawn previously. Mr. Woodruff was a^ clerk
Again, that Foster did not inquire into the value of the mortgaged premises, cannot affect the present question. He certainly paid the amount of the mortgage, less the discount. The effect of any doubt about the security would be to account for a low or inadequate consideration paid for the mortgage. Beyond that it has no force.
Lastly, the rate of discount is relied upon to show, not a doubt of the freehold security, but that the discount was so great that it should have warned Foster that Dey was necessitous, and that he had pressing need for money at the time of' the assignment; that the fact of such necessity should have raised in Foster’s mind a conviction that the purpose of the sale was illegitimate and fraudulent. If the consideration received for this mortgage was strikingly below the market value of such securities, it would certainly be a strong circumstance to warn a purchaser of the improbability of a trustee making such a ruinous sacrifice for the purposes of the trust estate. But was the rate of discount in this instance excessive ? The mortgage was a six per cent, security. It did not mature until 1870 and ’71, one-half in October of each year.
My conclusion upon the whole case is, that the evidence is insufficient to show that “ at the time of the assignment he knew that the trustee contemplated a breach of trust, and intended to misapply the money.”
The decree made against the said Foster should be reversed.
For reversal — Beasley, C. J., Clement, Depue, Dixon, Dodd, Green, Lathrop, Reed, Scudder, Wales. 10.
For affirmance — Dalrimple, Knapp, Yan Syckel, Woodhull. 4.
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