Bank of Alabama v. M'Dade

4 Port. 252
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedJanuary 15, 1837
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 4 Port. 252 (Bank of Alabama v. M'Dade) 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
Bank of Alabama v. M'Dade, 4 Port. 252 (Ala. 1837).

Opinion

COLLIER, J.

— In these cases, a writ of fieri fas das was issued from the County Court of Tuskaloo-sa, to the sheriff' of Montgomery county, in favor of the plaintiff in error, against the goods and chattels, &c., of William D. Bynum and Alexander McDade, which was levied on some slaves in the possession of Alexander McDade; to which the defendants respectively interposed their several claims,- and tried the right in the Circuit Court of Montgomery, as our statute directs.

On the trial, the defendant McDade, gave in evidence, a deed, executed, the second day of May, [265]*265eighteen hundred and thirty-three, by which Alex-der McDade, acknowledged that Jeremiah Cloud, William McDade, senior, James McDade, senior, and Thomas J. Faison, had become the sureties of the said Bynum and himself, for the payment of a large sum of money, and that Bynum and himself were indebted to Henry and Charles S. Lucas, in a large sum of money, expressing, particularly, the. extent of the suretyship of the said partios, as well as the debt owing to the Messrs. Lucas. And thereby nominated,, constituted and a ¡/pointed Alexander Carter, and the said James McDade, senior, with full power to sell the negroes in question, together with others, and other personal property, in such “manner and form as seem to them best, for the interest and benefit” of the parties intended to be provided for.

It was further proved, in the case against McDade, that a sale at auction was made in September, eighteen hundred and thirty-three, of the property designated in the deed, and remaining in the posse.ssion of Alexander McDade: it was levied on, in November following.

In each of the cases, we find a bill of exceptions, taken upon the trial. In the case against James McDade, it appears, that the plaintiff’s counsel objected to the competency of a witness, introduced by the defendant; that his objection was overruled, and the witness examined. To the charges and refusal to charge by the Court, theplaintiff’s counsel except, and to nothing more. Had the plaintiff desired to take advantage on error, of the admission of the wit- ! e¡.«, he opinion of the Court should have been excepted to : the record showing nothing farther than [266]*266that his competency being questioned, the objection was overruled by the Court. The plaintiff’s counsel must be understood to lidve acquiesced in the decision. There was no intimation given of an intention to except. Had such intention been declared, the defendant might have discharged the witness, and thus have disembarrassed his defence; but there being no such annunciation made, it would be unjust to the defendant, to give to the plaintiff an advantage here, of that which was not saved below.

In this case, the Court was requested to charge the jury, “ that a mere liability to be damaged as a security, would not, as against creditors, be held in law, a sufficient consideration to sustain an absolute sale." Without giving a direct answer to this request, the Court charged the jury, that if the defendant had become-the surety of Bynum & McDade, before the deed was executed, and has, since his purchase of the slaves in question, discharged their lia-, bilities, for which he was a surety, and in doing so, has paid a fair equivalent for the slaves, his purchase is sustained by an adequate consideration : and further, if the negroes were left with Alexander McDade, to aid in gathering his crop, that a ■bona fide possession-was not, under such circumstances, fraudulent, per se.

The bill of exceptions discloses no evidence to shew the pertinency of the instruction asked of the Court. In fact, the idea that there was such proof, is negatived by the deed, constituting Carter & Mc-Dade trustees to sell property in relief of the sureties, and to pay debts.

In regard to the first charge of the Court, it is [267]*267clear that there is no error. If the defendant was the surety of Bynum & McDade,at the time the deed was - executed, and has since discharged the liabilities he had guaranteed, to an amount equal to the price of the slaves purchased by him, the consideration for his purchase was certainly adequate.— i Without pretending to determine, whether, where ‘"there is an absolute sale of slaves, unaccompanied by possession, the transaction may be freed from the imputation of fraud, by shewing that they were left with the vendor, to enable him to gather a growing crop, we are of opinion, that the publicity of the sale, dispensed with the immediate delivery of possession, and operated as a notice to the world, of a change of property — Kidd vs Rawlinson

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Bluebook (online)
4 Port. 252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-alabama-v-mdade-ala-1837.