Arnett v. Willoughby

67 So. 426, 190 Ala. 530, 1914 Ala. LEXIS 713
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedDecember 17, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 67 So. 426 (Arnett v. Willoughby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arnett v. Willoughby, 67 So. 426, 190 Ala. 530, 1914 Ala. LEXIS 713 (Ala. 1914).

Opinion

de GRAFFENRIED, J.

The facts upon which the complainant rested his right to relief in this case were stated by him in his bill of complaint as amended, as follows:

[532]*532First. That Lizzie S. Arnett, the wife of H. B. Ar-nett, was indebted to John P. Willoughby in the sum of $7,383.62, which was evidenced by 17 promissory notes, each bearing date July 1, 1910, each for the sum of $400 and drawing interest at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum, and payable at the Birmingham Trust & Savings Bank, Birmingham, Ala., on or before January 1, 1911, July 1, 1911, January 1, 1912, and July 1, 1912, and the others payable on or before six months after July 1, 1912, up to January 1, 1919, and also one note for $383.62. When this last note matures does not clearly appear from the bill.

Second. That on July 5, 1910, in order to secure the above indebtedness, the said Lizzie S'. Arnett and her husband, H. B. Arnett, executed and delivered to the said Willoughby a mortgage on certain real estate of said Lizzie S. Arnett which is described in the bill.

Third. That in July, 1911, the second, in the series ■of notes secured by said mortgage, became due, and that the complainant, at the request of the mortgagors and under an agreement with them that complainant should succeed to the lien of said mortgage for his reimbursement, paid to the said John P. Willoughby, or to some one for him, the amount then due on said note, to wit, $428, and that the said note, indorsed in blank by the said Wilioughby, was assigned by delivery to complainant or to some one for him, and that the said mortgagors gave to complainant their note, due one year after date, for said sum, with the said mortgage notes attached thereto as collateral security.

Fourth. That on January 1, 1912, the third note in said series of notes .secured by said mortgage became •due, and that complainant, at the request of said mortgagors and under an agreement with them that he ■should succeed to the lien of said mortgage for his re[533]*533imbursement, paid to Pauline P. Willoughby the amount then due on said note, to wit, $442, and that the said note was assigned by delivery to complainant or to some one for him, and that the mortgagors gave to complainant their note, due six months after date, for said sum, Avith said mortgage note attached as security therefor; that John P. Willoughby, prior to this time, had died; and that Pauline P. Willoughby, his widow, had become the sole owner of the mortgage and of the mortgage indebtedness secured thereby.

Fifth. That on the 1st day of July, 1913, the sixth note in the series of notes secured by said mortgage became due, and that on November 17, 1913, there remained unpaid on said note $200; that S. E. Thompson, at the request of the mortgagors, paid to the said Pauline P. Willoughby the said sum of $200; that the said note Avas assigned to him, or to some one for him, by the said Pauline P. Willoughby by delivery; that said mortgagors executed and delivered to said S. -E. Thompson their two notes for $100 each, with said mortgage note as collateral security therefor, and that before the filing of this bill complainant paid to the said S. E. Thompson the amount due on said note, under an agreement Avith the mortgagors that complainant should succeed to the lien of the mortgage for his reimbursement, and that said Thompson assigned by delivery to complainant, or to some other person for him, the said notes so given to him by said mortgagors Avith said mortgage note as collateral security; that none of the indebtedness evidenced by the notes above referred to as being the property of the complainant has ever been paid.

Sixth. That, subsquent to the execution and delivery of the above-described mortgage, the said Lizzie S. Arnett and her husband, H. B. Arnett, executed and [534]*534delivered to one Kyser, to wit, on July 13, 1910, a mortgage to secure an alleged indebtedness of $1,000; that Kyser transferred and delivered the said mortgage and the alleged indebtedness secured thereby to the Jefferson County Savings Bank; that said Jefferson County Savings Bank has sold the property under the power of sale contained in said second mortgage; that at the sale the said Jefferson County Savings Bank became the-purchaser of the property, and has assumed possession of the same.

Seventh. Complainant alleges in his bill that the mortgage which Kyser transferred to the Jefferson County Savings Bank was fully paid before the property was sold under the mortgage; and the bill alleges that said mortgage was given by Lizzie S. Arnett to secure an indebtedness of her husband, and not to secure her own debt, and that the Jefferson County Savings Bank well knew these facts when it acquired said mortgage from Kyser.

Eighth. Complainant claims that he is entitled to have the amount due him on account of the Willoughby mortgage notes above referred to, including a reasonable attorney’s fee for collecting the same, as well as the amount still due to Pauline P. Willoughby from said mortgagors, Lizzie S. Arnett and H. B. Arnett, ascertained; and said mortgage foreclosed. Complainant also claims that he is entitled to be first paid, out of the proceeds of said sale, the amount which it is ascertained is due him on account of the above transactions.

Complainant further prays that the Kyser mortgage and note, and the sale had thereunder, be declared null and void.

(1) 1. “The scope and purpose of a bill for the foreclosure of a mortgage on lands is to cut off the equity [535]*535of redemption of the mortgagor, to obtain a decree for tbe sale of the estate created and passing by tbe.mortgage, and tbe application of tbe proceeds of sale to tbe payment of tbe mortgage debt. Sucb being tbe scope and purpose of tbe bill, tbe general rule in a court of equity applies that all persons whose interests are to be affected or concluded by tbe decree must be made parties.” — Wells v. Amer. Freehold Land Mortgage Co., 109 Ala. 430, 20 South. 136.

Under tbe allegations of this bill, all of tbe parties to tbe bill except Kyser are proper parties to tbe bill. Kyser, so tbe bill as amended alleges, has no interest to be affected by tbe bill, and in so far as be is concerned tbe bill is without equity.- — Doe ex dem. Duval’s Heirs v. McLoskey, 1 Ala. 708.

(2) 2. “A transfer by delivery merely of a promissory note secured by a mortgage, if based upon a valuable consideration, operates as an equitable assignment to tbe transferee of tbe mortgage by which tbe debt is secured.” — Doe ex dem. Duval’s Heirs v. McLoskey, 1 Ala. 708; First National Bank of Gadsden v. Sproull, 105 Ala. 275, 16 South. 879; Prout v. Hoge, 57 Ala. 31; Williams v. Cox, 78 Ala. 327; O’Neal v. Seixas, 85 Ala. 80, 4 South. 745.

(3) 3. “Where one who-, though having no previous interest and being under no obligation, pays off a mortgage or advances money for its payment at tbe instance of tbe mortgagor, and for bis benefit, sucb person is in no true sense a stranger and volunteer, but is, under tbe doctrine of equitable assignment, entitled to be subrogated to tbe lien of said mortgage for reimbursement of tbe amount paid thereon.”- — Motes v. Robertson et al., 133 Ala. 630, 32 South. 225; Allen, Adm’r, v. Caylor, 120 Ala. 251, 24 South. 512, 74 Am. St. Rep. 31.

[536]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
67 So. 426, 190 Ala. 530, 1914 Ala. LEXIS 713, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arnett-v-willoughby-ala-1914.