Sewell v. Morgan & Co.
Sewell v. Morgan & Co.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
The complainant alleges that one John L. Dearmon, on the 30th of May, 1865, made a deed of trust, by which he conveyed to one A. M. Savage, a dwelling house and lot in the town of Smithville, together with some negro slaves, various other articles of personal property, and a tract of land, known as the “Round Bottom tract,” a tract of 227 acres in the same county, a tract containing 84 acres, together with several other town lots in said town. This deed of trust was made to secure a number of debts specified therein, amounting, in all, to between five and six thousand dollars, perhaps. Among these debts, are several owing to defendants, Morgan & Co., and Eakin & Co.
The deed of trust gives Dearmon, the maker of it, and debtor, twelve months to pay the debts in, from its date, and provides that if they are paid, then “the above obligation to be null and void, and the legal title to the property to be and revert to me,” that is, Dearmon. It
The' bill of Sewell, the complainant, claims that in, perhaps, August, 1860, he purchased of said Dearmon the dwelling house and lot mentioned in said deed of trust, the said Dearmon acting under the power reserved to him by the provisions of said deed, and that Dearmon informed him that there was no further incumbrance on said land, and that he took a deed, in pursuance of the title bond given him, on paying the purchase money, 12th of January, 1863, and that he had been in possession ever since. He also claims that the money paid for tins
It seems from the answer of Morgan & Co. and Eakin' & Co., that in 1856 or 1857, the said Dearmon, in the language of the answer, “pressing his reserved rights, selected this town lot, and the 227 acre tract of land, to be sold to pay respondent’s debts, which sale was made by Savage, the trustee, under the direction of Dearmon; and that they, by their agent, bid their debts on the land and town lot, which they had to agree to before said Dearmon and the trustee would agree to sell.” The answer then states, that before the trustee made title under this sale he died, and Morgan & Co. and Eakin & Co. filed their bill to obtain a title under said purchase, and to have possession of the same decreed to them. The precise time when this bill was filed does not appear, but we infer from the answer that it was.in 1858.
"When the bill was filed, Dearmon' filed his cross bill, alleging, as the answer states, that the debts were paid, and the sale only intended as a mortgage, to secure these particular debts.
How this litigation progressed, or on what issues, does not precisely appear, as the bills and answer are not in the record. We see, however, that at the September Term, 1860, of the Court, a decree was made in the cause, in which it is declared, after reciting the fact of the conveyance of the property by the deed of trust, and the death of Savage, the trustee, that it appeared “that there is a
At the March Term, 1861, there appears a decree, reciting the fact that there had been an appeal from the above decree to the Supreme Court; also stating the facts of the said decree as to recovery of the debts referred to, and that the Supreme Court had affirmed said decree, and the Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court had been ordered to execute it, by attaching and selling the land and negroes, together with the town lots mentioned in the deed of trust; not setting out or describing said land or town lots by any more specific description.
It appears from the decree that the Clerk had, in pursuance of the order of the Supreme Court, attached and taken into his possession the three negroes mentioned, “belonging to said Dearmon,” and had advertised, and was about to sell these negroes. By consent of the parties, through their counsel, it was ordered that the sale be stayed fo.r six months, upon Learmon giving securities in open court for the stay of the decree for six months,
On the 16th day of October, the six months having expired on the third Monday in September, an execution was issued, the negroes not having been delivered, and was levied on the three negroes mentioned in said decree, by the Coroner, as appears by • his return, and attempted to be levied on one tract of laffld, said to contain 100 acres, and a town lot, known as Lot No. 9. This levy, so far as the land, and perhaps the town lot, is concerned, is clearly void, for want of identification of the property levied on.
On the facts above recited, however, the questions are raised which are to be decided.
It is insisted by Morgan & Co. and Eakin & Co., that the levy on the negro is void, because the legal title was conveyed to Savage, the trustee, and consequently did' not operate to extinguish the debt under the general rule of law, that the levy on personal property sufficient to pay the debt is a satisfaction. Admitting the principle assumed to be correct, we can not hold it applicable to the facts of this case, as it appeal’s in 'this record. So far as we can gather from the record, in the suit of Morgan &
It is clear that the Coroner had levied the execution on personal property sufficient to satisfy the execution, and that this was a satisfaction of the debt: Evans v. Barnes, 2 Swan, 292.
So far as we can see, there was nothing to prevent a sale of the property except the neglect of his duty by the Coroner. Upon the levy he became liable to the parties plaintiffs in the execution for the debt, the same being extinguished by the levy, as against the original debtor. Morgan & Co. and Eakin & Co. must look to the Coroner, on his official bond, for their debt: 2 Swan, 293.
This view of the case renders it unnecessary to examine the other questions discussed, and it disposes of the whole case made by the pleadings.
The Chancellor having taken this view of the case, we affirm his decree, and direct that the defendants, Morgan & Co. and Eakin & Co., pay the costs of this court, as well as the court below.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.