Young v. Hail
Young v. Hail
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
On the 11th of August, 1865, the defendant Joshua Hail conveyed to W. H. Botts the tract of land on which he then lived, in trust, to secure, first, a debt ■due to Robert Y. Wright as of the 10th of November, 1862, for $1,332.47; next, a debt due to Mathew Brenington, on which W. D. Hughes was surety, ■due May 20, 1859, for $1,150, and then all of his •other debts and liabilities pro rata. The grantor, after undertaking to explain why he prefers the Wright debt, continues thus: “Now, if I shall, on •or' before the first day of January, 1870, pay off to
The grantor, Joshua Hail, was, at the time of executing this deed,- indebted to insolvency, and owned no other property, so far as appears, than the land conveyed. He had several thousand dollars due him in the State of Mississippi, from which he had large expectations never realized. He remained in possession of the land until the fall of 1866, when he removed to Texas. Previously, however, on the 14th of August, 1866, he leased the land for the years 1867, 1868 and 1869, to John A. Durham, for two hundred and fifty dollars a year, taking notes for the rent, and these notes he assigned to third persons in, the payment of debts.
On the 3d of October, 1866, William Young filed his original bill in this cause, as a creditor of Joshua Hail for a large amount of money, against Hail, Botts the trustee, and the two principal beneficiaries in the trust, stating the foregoing facts and attacking the deed as fraudulent in law and fact. R. V. Wright
The evidence introduced leaves no doubt that the-two preferred claims were just and honest debts, and that the preference given them was without any improper motives. The proof is equally clear that the trust conveyance was made at the instance of R. V. Wright, through his brother as his agent, and that Hail insisted upon the time stipulated for in the deed, and that the point was yielded to him in order to obtain the security. “I was directed,” says the agent in his testimony, “to make the best terms that I could to secure my brother’s debt, and I did make the best terms I could in order to secure the same, and in consenting to give the time stipulated in the deed, I had no other object than that of securing the debt, and I could not get any shorter time than that stipulated in the deed from Mr. Hail.” “He,” (Ilail) the Avitness elsewhere says, “was to live on said land till the deed of trust Avas out, then, if the debt was not paid, the land was to be sold to pay the debt.” Hail himself says there Avas no agreement about avIio should occupy the land. “ I regarded it that I had a right to live upon the lmd and rent it to whom
The trust conveyance having been made for the •benefit of all the grantor’s creditors, although with preferences which a creditor has a right to make, no question can arise in regard to the proportion between the property conveyed and the debts secured. The grantor, in effect, conveyed all of his property for the. benefit of all of his creditors. The whole case turns ■upon the stipulation for the time from the 11th of August, 1865, to the 1st of January, 1870, before the deed could be executed by a sale.
If the conveyance had been to secure a single ■creditor, the time of foreclosure would be a circumstance to be considered in connection with other facts in ascertaining the intent of the parties, and may be an immaterial circumstance in such" a case: Bennett v. Union Bank, 5 Hum., 612; Roane v. Bank of Nashville, 1 Head, 526; Stewart v. Cockrell, 2 Lea, 369. But • this conveyance is a general assignment for the benefit of all the grantor’s creditors, in which he undertakes to stipulate with them for the use of his property for four years and six ■ months, and to ■delay them for that length of time in the collection ■of their debts; for, if the deed is good, no creditor •can subject the property to the satisfaction of his debt within that time. It necessarily hinders and delays all the creditors in the collection of their debts •out of the corpus of the property for that period. The probable “law’s delay” is all that can fairly be .stipulated for, and the time in this case was unrea
The chancellor’s decree is affirmed, and the appellants will pay the costs of this court.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William Young v. Joshua Hail
- Status
- Published