Guerra v. Iglesias
Guerra v. Iglesias
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
It does not appear from the transcript whether defendant Iglesias was summoned or filed any pleading in the suit. It is shown that Fernández, the other defendant, answered the complaint and that after trial the court rendered judgment to the effect that the defendants pay jointly to the plaintiff the sum of $1,300 as principal, $409.50 as -interest to July 23, 1916, and interest thereon at 9 per cent per annum until paid in full. The judgment was also against defendant Iglesias for the other sum sued for with interest thereon. The costs were imposed “on the defendants.”
Defendant Fernández appealed from the judgment to this court and served notice of the appeal on plaintiff Guerra, but not on defendant Iglesias. It does not appear that Igle-sias appealed from the judgment.
On the same day on which the appeal was heard the ap-pellee submitted a motion to the court for dismissal of the appeal.
We will first dispose of the appellee’s motion. It is based on - the ground that inasmuch as defendant Fernán-
This being so, Iglesias should not be considered as a party really interested in the appeal and therefore the'appeal should not be dismissed for failure to serve him with notice.
We will now proceed to consider and decide the questions involved in the appeal. The appellant contends that the trial court violated sections 1752 and 1753 of the Civil Code and that consequently its judgment should be reversed.
Section 1752 provides that an extension granted by the debtor to the creditor, without the consent of the surety, extinguishes the security.
Defendant Fernández alleged in his answer that the creditor, Guerra, granted the debtor, Iglesias, extensions of time for the payment of the debt without the consent of the surety. And at the trial the said defendant introduced in evidence a letter from Guerra to Iglesias as follows: “I am much astonished that you have not come to take up the promissory note which fell due on the first instant, notwithstanding the fact that I gave you an extension of time until the 16th. As I have important obligations to meet, if you do not come to my office within a reasonable time after the receipt of this- letter to take up the said promissory note, I shall be obliged to write to the Dr. demanding payment of him as surety.” The “Dr.” referred to in the letter, which is dated May 21, 1913, is defendant Fernández.
We find in American jurisprudence that although in some cases it has been held that when the sureties are jointly bound with the principal they are not released from liability by an extension of time granted to the principal (see 32 Cyc. 194, note 94), the rule is well settled that if a creditor or obligee, by a valid and binding agreement, without the assent of a surety, gives further time for payment or performance to the principal debtor, the surety will be discharged. 32 Cyc. 191.
In case his contention should be overruled, as it is, the appellee alleges that as the evidence shows that the appellant had knowledge of all that took place, he himself having asked for an extension of the time for payment, which the appellee granted, he cannot invoke in his favor section 1752 of the Civil Code. In fact, while the evidence is silent as to whether- or not appellant Fernández expressly consented to the extension of fifteen days which the appellee granted Iglesias, the principal debtor, referred to in the letter transcribed herein, nevertheless the evidence tends to show that
This being the result of the evidence, we are of the opinion that the trial court was justified in refusing to apply section 1752 of the Civil Code in favor of appellant Fer-nández, since the surety showed plainly that he was willing to comply with the obligation, thereby giving the creditor reason to rely upon the course he was pursuing in not pushing the collection of the debt, and is therefore estopped from raising the question.
Let us now see whether the court committed the other error assigned by the appellant in his brief, namely, the violation of section 1753 of the Revised Civil Code, which is the same as article 1852 of the former code, reading as follows:
“The sureties, even when they are joint, shall be released from their obligation whenever by an act of the creditor they cannot be subrogated to the rights, mortgages, and privileges of the same.”
The appellant contends that by allowing the time between April, 1913, and June, 1916, to elapse without notifying the surety of the non-performance of the obligation by his principal, the creditor permitted the debtor to become insolvent. In the first place, there is no clear proof thfh iglesias is- absolutely insolvent, and, in the second place, if Iglesias finally sold the automobile it is certain that Guerra gave Fernández an opportunity to take possession of-it and in that way he could have reimbursed himself fully of the amount whose payment he had guaranteed, for the automobile was worth more than $3,000 at that time. Moreover, it does not appear from the evidence that Guerra allowed the long period of time mentioned by the appellant to pass without attempting to collect from the surety; but even if he
For the foregoing reasons the judgment as to the part appealed from should be
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.