Aiken v. Bruen

21 Ind. 137
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1863
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 21 Ind. 137 (Aiken v. Bruen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aiken v. Bruen, 21 Ind. 137 (Ind. 1863).

Opinion

Perkins, J.

On the 16th day of November, 1859, Luther B. [138]*138Brady executed notes to Samuel Brady to the amount of 15.000 dollars, and a mortgage on certain real estate, to secure payment of them. The mortgage was duly recorded on the 17th of November, 1859. Afterwards, said Luther conveyed one-third of the equity of redemption of the mortgaged premises to John M. Aiken; one-third to James J. Bussell, and one-third to W. S. Acldleman. Afterwards, said Samuel Brady assigned to divers persons the 15,000 dollars of notes, secured by the mortgage above mentioned, about 3.000 dollars of which were assigned to Luther B. Bruen. The notes assigned to Bruen became due, and he filed a complaint for foreclosure of the mortgage. lie alleges that the other notes secured by the mortgage are all paid.

He makes defendants to his complaint Luther B. Brady, the maker, and twelve other persons, assignees, severally, of some part of the 15,000 dollars of notes, or grantees of some part of the equity of redemption, or interested in it as security for claims held, &c.

Luther B. Brady, the maker of the notes and mortgage, does not set up a defence; nor does any holder of any part of the 15,000 dollars of Luther B. Brady’s notes. Aiken and Russell, grantees, subject.to the first mortgage, executed to Samuel Brady, and now held by the plaintiff, Bruen, defend; and so do certain other persons, who are interested through Aiken, thus: After he received from Luther B. Brady a conveyance of one-third of the equity of redemption, he mortgaged that third to Samuel Brady, to secure certain notes, now in the hands of assignees, who look to the mortgaged premises as a fund for the payment of those notes.

The defendants, then, may be said to be all second mortgagees, who are interested in defeating the first mortgage, that the second may be let in as a lien upon the entire interest in the property.

In addition to the defence against the plaintiff, common to [139]*139all the defendants, a question is raised between the defendants themselves. It is claimed, by the first and second purchasers of parts of the equity of redemption, as against-" the third, that if there is a foreclosure and sale upon the original mortgage, the sale shall be of the several parts sold to different purchasers separately, in the inversfe order of the times of sale to those purchasers; such is the law. Day v. Patterson, 18 Ind. 114; Williams v. Perry, 20 id. 437; Brown v. Simons, 12 Am. Law Reg. 154.

The principal defence set up by the second mortgagees to the first mortgage was, that it was given without consideration. This defence the Court below held invalid. The law is settled in this State, that a voluntary conveyance is good against a subsequent grantee with notice; and especially is this the case, where the voluntary grantee has conveyed to a bona fide purchaser. In the case at bar, conceding the mortgage to have beezi executed without consideration, it has passed to a bona fide holder; and his equity is surely superior to a subsequent purchaser or mortgagee with notice. There was notice in this case,, as the voluntary mortgage, supposing it to have beezi such, was duly recorded on the day after its execution. Paine v. Doe, 7 Blackf. 485. Suppose one to apply to another to borrow” money, and to say, I will secure you by a second mortgage on a piece of property. I am going to make a voluntary mortgage to a friend for 1,000 dollai’s, which he may sell and raise- money on. I wish to aid him that such, and his will be the first mortgage. Now, the person applied to on such facts, loans his money, and takes the second mortgage. By what equity can he be allowed, afterwards, to come in and defeat the first? He could not, if it was void for usury. Why, then, should he be allowed to in the case at bar? Borum v. Fouts, 15 Ind. 50. It is settled law in Indiana, that a pre-existing debt is a valuable consid[140]*140eration to support a conveyance. Work v. Brayton, 5 Ind. 396.

Tbe form of the demurrer to the answer, upon which the foregoing questions were raised and decided, is objected to in this Court, though no objection of the kind appears to have been taken below. There was no motion to reject the demurrer, nor to require it to be made more definite. Its form was as follows:

“The plaintiff comes and demurs severally to each of the following paragraphs of the answer of Aiken, Russell and Poe, viz: the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th, and for cause says that said paragraphs are severally insufficient to constitute a defence to the action.”

The demurrer must be taken as a separate demurrer to each paragraph; Parker v. Thomas, 19 Ind. 212; Fankboner v. Fankboner, 20 id. 62; but we think it did not substantially conform to the statute. Tenbrook v. Brown, 17 Ind. 410. If the counsel had assigned for cause, that the paragraphs, severally, did not contain facts sufficient to constitute a defence, he would have added but little to his labor in drafting the demurrer, and relieved himself from considerable in answering objections to the demurrer as drawn. But, notwith standing the demurrer was defective in form, it is too late for the appellant to obtain any advantage from that fact, in this case, as it now stands.

The record informs us that the demurrer was submitted to the Court; that the Court sustained it as to 9, and overruled it as to 3 paragraphs of the answer; that leave was granted to the defendants to amend their answer, and that afterward said defendants filed their separate amended answers, on which, it appears, issues were formed and tried, &c.

Now, so far as the Court overruled the demurrer, it did right, both because the demurrer was informal, and the paragraphs of the answer good; and, so far as it sustained the [141]*141demurrer, the defendants were not injured, if the paragraphs of the answer were bad, which they probably were; but in addition to this, it is well settled in this State, that where a party amends, after a demurrer to his pleading has been sustained, he waives error in the action of the Court upon the demurrer. Caldwell v. The Bank of Salem, 20 Ind. 294.

The answer of a part of the defendants to this suit, showed that they had a suit already pending upon the second notes and mortgage; but there was no replication in abatement, no demurrer, nor objection of any kind, on that ground. The objection of a former action pending could not be raised upon a demurrer, assigning for cause want of sufficient facts; and, hence, where the objection was not taken by demurrer, or plea, it could not be first raised upon appeal. Another action pending is, of itself, a separate, distinct cause of demurrer, by statute. It is not an objection going to jurisdiction, or the foundation of the action or defence. Hence, it can not be first raised on appeal.

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Bluebook (online)
21 Ind. 137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aiken-v-bruen-ind-1863.