Dubuque v. Stich
Dubuque v. Stich
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
In April, 1890, the appellant executed and delivered his mortgage on certain lands and a promissory note for the principal sum of $600, with several coupon interest notes attached, to the Western Farm Mortgage Trust Company. In May, 1891, appellant sold the lands mortgaged to one Anderson for $5,600. Anderson paid $500 down, assumed the existing mortgage of $600 and made and delivered to the appellant three promissory notes for $1,500 each. Anderson secured the payment of these three notes to the appellant by a mortgage upon the same property. On the 11th day of the following August Dubuque borrowed of the respondent Anna M. Stich the sum of $313, giving his note therefor payable in one year, bearing interest at the rate of 2 per cent, per month. To secure the payment of this sum to Mrs. Stich, Dubuque indorsed in writing and delivered to her the three Anderson notes, representing $4,500, and executed and delivered to her a chattel mortgage on
It is contended by the appellant that the respondent became the lawful owner and holder of these notes- and mortgages, subject to a trust in appellant’s favor for all the proceeds thereof in excess of her claims upon the same to the extent of the appellant’s indebtedness to her; that by the acceptance of this trust the respondent was obligated to the utmost good faith towards the appellant in dealing with this collateral and with the use of diligence in the enforcement of' the collection of the same. In the absence of any special contract between the parties in relation to the collaterals, appellant’s contention would probably be-sustained; but it is not importantto discuss the duties-imposed upon the respondent by the law when those-duties were specially prescribed by contract between the respondent and the appellant. They made a law governing their own actions, and under the authority of the chattel mortgage, an instrument which was executed by the appellant and delivered to the respondent, she was empowered to sell these notes in the way in which she did sell them, and -by virtue of the law and the permission of the court she became the purchaser of them. In any event this action could not-be sustained on the part of the appellant except by setting aside the decrees of the former tribunals-which were unappealed from, and which must stand as the law governing the rights of these parties, unless-the courts which granted those decrees were without-jurisdiction either of the person or the subject matter.
It is contended by the appellant that notes are not-subjects of chattel mortgage, and hence that the judgments pleaded by the respondent Anna M. Stich were-
In no event could the appellant recover the amount asked for in this complaint. This is a suit in equity, and according to the appellant’s own theory he is demanding an accounting of his own trustee, and all he could get under any circumstances would be the difference between the amount which he owed his trustee and the actual value of the land at the time it was sold. The respondent, Mrs. Stich, probably bid the full amount of the notes simply because she thought a deficiency judgment would be worthless under the circumstances, and it did not indicate the real value of the land. The court, however, found the value of the land not to exceed $2,000 at the time of the sale. It is true this finding was objected to on the part of the appellant as not being justified by the pleadings,
Again, this is a case in equity, and the respondent in her answer offers to return the property to the appellant upon the payment of the amount in cash which is conceded to be owing to her. This offer, as appellant says, comes too late; but this objection does not appeal to our sense of equity. This is all that the appellant is equitably entitled to'—the return of his land upon the payment of the obligations which are against it. If his contention were sustained the result would be, accepting the findings of the court as to the value of the land, that, by an inadvertence on the part of the respondent in bidding the full amount of her claim for the land when it was not worth one-third that amount, she would have to pay to the appellant for the collection of her debt more than three times the value of the debt, while the appellant by this procedure would be enabled to pay his debts and still re^ ceive in cash much more than the property was really worth.
Upon the whole record we think there is no equity in appellant’s case, and the judgment will therefore be affirmed.
Scott, C. J., and Anders, Reavis and Gordon, JJ., concur.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.