Bank of Montgomery v. Calhoun

146 So. 51
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 6, 1933
DocketNo. 4469.
StatusPublished

This text of 146 So. 51 (Bank of Montgomery v. Calhoun) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank of Montgomery v. Calhoun, 146 So. 51 (La. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

MILLS, J.

This is a foreclosure suit, via ordinaria, on a note for $1,000, dated June 17, 1918, due ten months after date, signed by defendant, and secured by mortgage on certain property in Grant parish, La. Judgment is also asked on an $80 interest note.

To this action defendant filed exceptions to the citation, an exception that we can construe only as one of vagueness; to the correctness of the copy of the petition served upon him; of no cause of action; all of which were overruled. He then pleaded the prescription of one, three, five, and ten years in bar of plaintiff’s action, which also was overruled. He finally answered in the form of a general denial.

C. Daun Calhoun intervened, alleging that he is the son of defendant C. W. Calhoun, and his wife, Odelia McManus Calhoun; that Odclia Calhoun died intestate in 1926; that the property covered by plaintiff’s mortgage belonged to the community of his father and mother; that the $1,000 note sued on is prescribed by the prescription of three, five, and ten years; that he has a one-seventh interest in a judgment for $1,800 in favor of himself and the six other children of his mother, and against his father, for paraphernal funds expended for the benefit of the community, which judgment was signed May 5, 1932, and grants a legal mortgage on all the real property of C. W. Calhoun, from January 5, 1921; that after the death of his wife, C. W. Calhoun had no right to make, renew, or acknowledge any debt, or to waive prescription to the prejudice of her heirs. Intervener does not pray for any recognition as an heir, nor that the.lien granted the heirs in the judgment against his father be declared superior to that of plaintiff. He contents himself by asking that plaintiff’s demands be rejected.

To this, plaintiff bank interposed an exception of no cause of action, which was overruled. As plaintiff does not appeal, we are not required to review this ruling.

Plaintiff answered the intervention, denying that prescription had run against the mortgage note; denying that intervener has any interest as heir until succession and community debts are paid, or any other interest to be protected which would justify the intervention. There was judgment dismissing the intervention.

On the merits, there was judgment for plaintiff as prayed for. Both defendant and intervener appealed.

Exception to the Citation.

Taking up the exceptions and pleas in their order, we will first consider the exception to the citation. It is drawn in the English language. The objection that in the title and number of the case and the number of the judicial district the. figures used are of Arabic origin, and therefore not in English, is not serious. Neither is the objection that the word “cited” is used instead of “summoned.” We find all of the objections to the citation of a similar character, and so lacking in merit that it is sufficient to say that the requirements of article 179 of the Code of Practice are complied with, and that the exception was properly overruled.

Exception of Vagueness.

Defendant’s next exception is one apparently of vagueness, as it complains that the petition does not contain a clear concise statement of the object of the demand. The eight itemized objections might properly be the basis for a motion for a bill of particulars or a prayer for oyer. They are not pertinent to an exception of vagueness. The exception as written is expressly aimed at the object of the demand; not its subject. As the prayer of the petition is for a money judgment with recognition of mortgage and lien, its object is clearly and concisely stated. The lower court did not err in overruling this exception.

Objection to Copy of Petition.

The next of defendant’s exceptions is directed at the copy of the petition served on defendant. The copy filed in evidence, though *53 admitted to be that served on defendant, is so disfigured and obscured by underscorings, notations, interlineations, and additions in longhand, shorthand, in pencil, and in ink, that we do not feel called upon to say more than that it appears, minus these additions, to be a correct copy of the petition. It is duly attested as such by the clerk. The in-dorsement of filing on the original petition is not a part of it, and need not appear on the copy.

Exception of no Cause of Action.

Defendant’s next exception is one of no cause or right of action. An examination of defendant’s brief indicates that, to support this exception, he relies upon the claim that the petition states conclusions of law only, and not facts.

The petition alleges the indebtedness and the amount thereof; the execution of the two notes sued upon; that they are due and unpaid; amicable demand; and the execution of the mortgage, its terms, and its attachment as a part of the petition. We find the mortgage is attached as alleged. The notes are not attached. A prayer for oyer would have secured their production. The prayer of the petition is appropriate. We find sufficient facts alleged to show both a right and cause of action, and to justify the judgment of the lower court overruling this exception.

Plea of Prescription.

Defendant then pleads prescription of one, three, five, and ten years to plaintiff’s action, and in bar of same. We know of no prescription or peremption to an action on a note. The note itself, or mortgage securing it, may be prescribed, and, if pleaded, may constitute a defense that will prevent recovery. The plea here is aimed neither at the note nor at the mortgage, but at the action itself, and in bar thereof. The plea of prescription was correctly overruled.

Finally defendant filed an answer ih the form of a general denial.

On the Merits.

L. D. Wardlow, president of plaintiff hank, who, as notary, passed the mortgage and par-aphed the $1,000 note in 1018, identified the signatures to both notes, and testified that the credits shown on the back are coi'rect; were signed by O. W. Calhoun for the purposes expressed in the presence of witness. Other credits shown were paid and credited on the note by Wardlow with the full consent and knowledge of Calhoun.

The note, by indorsement on its back, shows interest payments in 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, and 1931; also the following acknowledgments:

“The- within note is just and due and I make this endorsement for the purpose of renewing same this December 1, 3925.
“[Signed] O. W. Calhoun.”
“I owe the Bank of Montgomery, La., the within note for the full face value of One Thousand Dollars and same is just and unpaid and I make this endorsement this October 31, 1921, for the purpose of renewing same.
“[Signed] C. W. Calhoun.”
“The within attached note is just, due and unpaid and I make this endorsement for the purpose of renewing same. This Dec. 4, 1931.
“[Signed] C. W. Calhoun.”

Defendant contends that the notes cannot be considered by us because they bear no filing mark. The transcript shows they were actually offered and filed in evidence, marked plaintiff’s A and B. The notes are so marked.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
146 So. 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-montgomery-v-calhoun-lactapp-1933.