Anderson v. Burson

157 S.E. 632, 172 Ga. 448, 1931 Ga. LEXIS 116
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedFebruary 28, 1931
DocketNo. 7864
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 157 S.E. 632 (Anderson v. Burson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Burson, 157 S.E. 632, 172 Ga. 448, 1931 Ga. LEXIS 116 (Ga. 1931).

Opinion

Atkinson, J.

This case arose from the levy of a mortgage fi. fa. on a house and lot. W. D. A. Anderson was the plaintiff in fi. fa., and Willis G. Brown was the defendant. G. W. Burson et al. filed a claim to this property, and an equitable amendment in aid of the claim, alleging that the property levied upon was theirs by virtue of a certain contract hereinafter set out. In 1921 the Merchants & Planters Bank of Bowdon failed. W. D. A. Anderson and his wife owned 52 shares of stock in the bank. Willis G. Brown, his brother-in-law, was cashier of the bank and a stockholder and [449]*449director. The superintendent of banks, having taken charge, determined on an assessment of 100 per cent, against the stockholders of the bank. Upon stipulation that the stockholders would pay a voluntary assessment of 50 per cent., the superintendent agreed to permit the bank to reopen, which was done in March, 1922. In the next July it became apparent that the bank could not remain open without new money. W. D. A. Anderson came to Bowdonto investigate the situation. It appeared that the bank must close unless action was taken to relieve the situation. It was sought to merge this bank with the Georgia State Bank, but to do this it was necessary that the indebtedness of Willis G. Brown to the Merchants- & Planters Bank be paid. In order to raise the funds necessary to pay that indebtedness it was agreed by' Burson et al., Willis G. Brown, and W. D. A. Anderson that Burson et al. would advance $11,043.38 to pay off the indebtedness due to the Merchants & Planters Bank by Brown, who was insolvent. Brown had an equity in what was known as the Stephenson farm, consisting of 136 acres, and on which he owed $5,000, which had already been placed in judgment at that time. Brown owned a house and lot in Bowdon (the property levied on and in dispute), on which Anderson held a mortgage of approximately $4,000. The contract constituting the basis of the equitable amendment in aid of the claim was as follows:

<e State of Georgia, County of Carroll. This agreement made and entered into this the nineteenth' day of September, 1922, between G. W. Burson, H. J. Heaves, J. H. Barr, and W. L. Brooks, of Bowdon, Ga., parties of the first part, and Willis G. Brown of Carrollton, Ga., party of the second part, and W. D. A. Anderson of Lexington, Ya., party of the third part, witnesseth as follows: That the parties-of the first part hereby agree:

"1. To pay Merchants and Planters Bank of Bowdon, Ga., principal and interest of $11,043.38 mortgage on or before October 1st, 1922, and to secure transfer and assignment therefor.
“2. To accept payment of interest and curtail of principal at any time.
“3. That all net revenues from parties pledged to be applied first to payment of taxes, insurance, all necessary repairs and maintenance, and then to the payment of interest on the liens on the said properties.
[450]*450“4. To carry the principal and interest on said $11,043.38 mortgage for five years at 7 per cent, per annum, from October 1st, 1922.
“5. That any deficit in net income available for payment of interest charges on any interest payment date be carried over with interest at 7 per cent, per annum.
“6. That said liens so taken over by parties of the first part be subject to and junior to the mortgage or mortgages on the Stephenson farm, not to exceed $6,000.00, obtained by extension of existing mortgage note to the State Mutual Life Insurance Company of Lome, Ga., or by the negotiation of new mortgages from time to time.
“7. Parties of the first part to use their best efforts to place said first mortgage or mortgages on the said property, and to furnish the party of the second part such sums, not to exceed six hundred dollars, as may be needed to meet the charges therefor, and to receive therefor notes of the party of the second part.
“8. That security for loans to party of the second part be: First, existing second mortgage on Stephenson farm, subject to present or future prior liens not exceeding $6,000.00. Second, mortgage on Willis G. Brown’s home place in Bowdon, Ga., to take precedence over existing mortgage note of W. D. A. Anderson on said property.
“9. Party of the second part to execute additional mortgages on Stephenson farm and home place in Bowdon as security for the loans covering accrued interest and other charges, and additional security for the said $11,043.38 mortgage.
“10. The party of the second part is to retain title to and his interest in the properties pledged by him as security for the 'aforesaid loans.
“11. That the said party of the third part hereby agrees to release in favor of the parties of the first part, and in favor of them alone, his prior lien on the lot and improvements in the Town of Bowdon, Ga., said lot fronting ninety feet on Wedowee Street, between the properties of W. A. Stephenson and W. T. Beck, and secured by the mortgage note for $4,000.00 executed by said Willis G. Brown on the 20th day of November, 1920, and recorded in deed book 23, folio 341, in the clerk’s office of the superior court of Carroll County, Georgia, said release of prior claim of the four-thousand-dollar mortgage to be executed only after the extension [451]*451of the existing mortgage, or execution of a first mortgage on the Stephenson farm owned by the said Willis G. Brown, for an amount sufficient to discharge all liens and charges prior to the said second mortgage for $11,043.38; said extension of first mortgage, or new first mortgage, to run for not less than three years from the first day of October, 1922.
“12. The said party of the second part agrees to execute in favor of the party of the third part a mortgage note on the Stephenson farm, further protecting the said loan of four thousand dollars made by the party of the third part to the party of the second part.
“13. It is understood and agreed that the party of the third part is not to relinquish his prior lien to the Willis G. Brown home place until the parties of the first part have executed and have all mortgages, transfers, and extensions duly recorded in the clerk of court’s office.”

After hearing the evidence the court held that there was a substantial compliance with the contract by the claimants, and directed a verdict in their favor. The plaintiff excepted.

The motion to dismiss the writ of error is overruled.

It is apparent that the defendants in error complied substantially with all of the conditions of the contract, omitting paragraph 13. By paragraph 6 it was provided that Burson et al. should obtain an extension of the existing note of the State Mutual Life Insurance Company, secured by mortgage, or by the negotiation of new mortgages from time to time. The State Mutual Life Insurance Company refused to extend the note of Brown, but agreed to accept a mortgage from defendants in error on the same property, and therefore the State Mutual Life Insurance Company foreclosed its mortgage as against Brown, and the Stephenson farm became the property ,of defendants in error, who executed a bond for title to Brown, preserving all of the rights promised to him in the contract.

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Bluebook (online)
157 S.E. 632, 172 Ga. 448, 1931 Ga. LEXIS 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-burson-ga-1931.