Union Investment Co. v. McDonough
Union Investment Co. v. McDonough
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This appeal brings before the court for review a judgment in favor of the defendants in an ejectment suit, tried before Judge Silzer without a jury. The premises involved in the litigation consist of a bedroom and bathroom, together with a portion of a cellar, parcel of a large building located in the city of Plainfield, and known as the city market.
The facts material to the determination of this appeal are not in dispute, and are as follows: On February 1st, 1887, one Dan S. Roberts was the owner of the city market. On that day he and his wife executed a mortgage for $20,000 to the Prudential Insurance Company of America, the mortgage covering the whole of the property, including the locus in quo.
On January 1st, 1891, Roberts made a lease of the bedroom, bathroom and cellar for a term of ninety-nine years to one John McVey.
On January ,20th, 1898, Roberts and his wife made a conveyance to Lemuel Woolston and James Buckel of a certain portion of the city market property, not, however, any part of the premises leased to McVey.
On May 14th, 1900, Roberts conveyed to Julia Peck the city market property, except so much thereof as had already been aliened by him. This conveyance was made “subject to the rights acquired in said premises by a certain indenture made by Roberts on January 1st, 1894, to John McVey;”' this indenture being the ninety-nine-year lease already referred to.
In March, 1903, the Prudential company assigned their mortgage to one Hazeltine, and some months afterward Hazeltine instituted foreclosure proceedings upon it. The foreclosure went to final decree, execution was issued thereon, and
The present plaintiff holds by mesne conveyances the title acquired by the purchaser at the sheriff’s sale. The defend•ants are the assignees of the lease made to McVey; and the question presented to us for determination 'is whether the McVey lease was extinguished by the foreclosure sale.
That the leasehold interest of McVey was subject to the Prudential mortgage is not controverted. It is also conceded that it was the right of the holder of the mortgage to have the leasehold interest sold, if that course was necessary in order to raise the moneys required for the satisfaction of the mortgage. The dispute between the parties turns upon the question whether or not such sale was, in fact, made. Upon examination of the final decree in the foreclosure suit we find that it was ordered, adjudged and decreed, that the mortgaged premises, or so much thereof as might he necessary for the purpose, should be sold, to raise, pay and satisfy the amount due to the complainant, and that for the purpose of raising and paying such sum a writ of fi. fa. should issue to the sheriff of Union county, commanding him to make sale of the mortgaged premises in parcels, and in the inverse order of their alienation by Roberts, and that the sale should be in this order: first, the parcel sold and conveyed by Eoberts to Julia Peck, and if this parcel did not realize sufficient to pay the complainant’s mortgage, then, secondly, the parcel sold by Eoberts to Woolston and Buckel. No reference is made in this part of the decree to the leasehold interest of McVey. The execution follows the decree, and, like it, contains no reference to the leasehold. At the sheriff’s sale the first parcel produced not only enough to satisfy the mortgage in full, with interest, costs, &c., but a surplus of considerable amount, which was paid into court.
The contention on the part of tire plaintiff is that because of the omission in the decree and execution of any reference to McVey’s leasehold interest, and because of the further fact that the description in the execution of the parcel to be first sold (that is, the property sold to Mrs. Peck) is by metes
That the view which we have expressed was that which was entertained by the Chancellor himself is made manifest by the fact that in disposing of the surplus money which had been paid into court he adjudged that tire whole of it should be turned over to Mrs. Peck, a result which could not have been reached by him had he considered that the money produced by the sheriff’s sale was the result of the sale of the joint interests of Mrs. Peck and Mr. McVey.
The judgment under review will be affirmed.
'For affirmance — The ' Chancellor, Chief Justice, Swayze, Trenchard, Pabicer, Minturn, Kalisch, Black, Heppeni-ieimer, Williams, Taylor, Gardner, JJ. 12.
For reversal—Bergen, White, Ackerson, JJ. 3.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNION INVESTMENT COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY v. PETER J. McDONOUGH
- Status
- Published