McGowan v. Best
McGowan v. Best
Opinion of the Court
October 5, 1914, Mamie J. Waters conveyed to Evan Evans one-half acre of land in
This suit was brought to quiet title to the premises in dispute.
It will be observed that the note given to Mamie J. Waters by Evan Evans became due November 17, 1914, and by force of Ohio decisions, as between them, she became invested with the title to the real estate. Bradfield et al. v. Hale et al., 67 Ohio St., 316.
The question in this case is, Since the deed by Mrs. Waters to Reed was not accompanied by an assignment of the note and mortgage what was the effect of that conveyance ? The authorities are divided on the question, some holding that a conveyance by a mortgagee out of possession, without an assignment of the mortgage indebtedness, conveys no title (Vermeule v. Vermeule, 113 Me., 81, 93 Atl. Rep., 40); while others hold that a deed by a mortgagée out of possession conveys not only the legal title but is in equity an assignment of the mortgage debt (Sadler et al. v. Jefferson et al., 143 Ala., 669, 39 So. Rep., 380). We are persuaded that a deed of general warrantj^by a mortgagee not in possession, after condition broken, carries with it the ownership of the mortgage indebtedness, even if there is no actual assignment or transfer to the grantee of the note and mortgage. The grantor in such deed is estopped by its recitals to claim any interest in the mortgaged premises, and
The suit in foreclosure was a nullity so far as the rights of the plaintiff were concerned, as he was not a party. But the important question is, What became of the equity of redemption of Evan Evans? He was a party, and on the face of the record in the foreclosure suit his equity of redemption was extinguished. If we are correct in holding that the deed to Reed conveyed to him all the interest of Mamie J. Waters in the mortgage indebtedness, then there was no foreclosure, no sale, and no change of title, because the plaintiff, as the grantee of Reed, still held the title as between him and Evans. So, if by the proceedings to foreclose, there was no change of title, then it must follow that there was no extinguishment of the interest of Evan Evans. His interest was the amount remaining after the satisfaction of the mortgage indebtedness. After the pretended sale in foreclosure that amount could not be calculated, because the mortgage indebtedness, which was a lien pn the premises, had not been pleaded or adjudi
The mortgagor, Evan Evans, having conveyed his interest to the defendant by deed the plaintiff and defendant stand in the same relation to each other as the original mortgagee and mortgagor, and the defendant, having paid into court the full amount of the mortgage indebtedness, is entitled to be adjudged the owner of the property.
The decree will be in his favor.
Decree accordingly.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.