Boatmen's Bank v. Fritzlen

221 F. 154, 137 C.C.A. 54, 1915 U.S. App. LEXIS 1299
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedMarch 1, 1915
DocketNos. 3550, 3588
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 221 F. 154 (Boatmen's Bank v. Fritzlen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boatmen's Bank v. Fritzlen, 221 F. 154, 137 C.C.A. 54, 1915 U.S. App. LEXIS 1299 (8th Cir. 1915).

Opinion

POPF, District Judge.

These cases constitute a companion appeal to those submitted in cases Nos. 3548 and 3549 between the same parties this day derided upon a writ of error from a judgment in the action at law between the Boatmen’s Bank and Fritzlen. 221 Fed. 145,-C. C. A. —..

The present cause is upon a note given by Fritzlen to the plaintiff bank on November 30, 1901, for the sum of $32,920.15, and for the foreclosure of a mortgage on defendant’s real estate given to secure this note. The court by its decree found that the original indebtedness upon this note was $31,923.09, and upon this basis proceeded to adjust the accounts between the parties, resulting in a decree for the bank of ,$13,095.71, and a foreclosure upon tlie real estate to satisfy this amount. By supplemental pleadings, and upon stipulation of the parties that there should in the present cause be an accounting between [156]*156the parties upon all branches of their transactions, there was introduced into the present case the testimony and the result reachéd in the case at law above referred to, to wit, the findings of the jury in favor of the bank for $4,712 on the bank’s second cause of action in the suit at law, and the findings of the jury in favor of Fritzlen in the sum of $13,160' ttpon Fritzlen’s counterclaim. The trial judge, acting upon his independent consideration of the facts, and without reference to the verdict of the jury, but upon the samé evidence, found that the amounts awarded respectively to the plaintiff and defendant in the action at law were correct, and that these should be considered as items in favor of the respective parties in dealing with the present foreclosure suit. It was shown upon the trial that upon the original note of $32,920.15, made November 30, 1901-, there had been a number of payments resulting from the sale of cattle covered by the mortgage given by Fritzlen to secure this indebtedness; that chattel mortgage having been made contemporaneously with a mortgage securing the same indebtedness placed upon certain real estate. These credits were as follows: Credits given on November IS, 1902, for the sum of $5,281.50, being proceeds of cattle sold by Fritzlen himself. The remaining four items of credit were as follows: November 17, 1903, $6,372.02; November 21, 1903, $7,813.85; November 23, 1903, $1,821; November 30, 1903, $2,985. These last four items were derived from the sale by the bank of the mortgaged cattle and of personal property covered by the chattel mortgage above referred to. This personalty had come into possession of the bank from the United States marshal, by whom it had been seized upon a replevin action brought by the bank in October, 1903.

There are several questions arising upon the present appeal. The bank is dissatisfied with the accounting, claiming, first, that the trial court erroneously allowed the item of $13,160 as damages sustained by the defendant on account of some 500 cattle which the court below found had died of starvation for lack of feed, which it is alleged the bank had'refused to furnish. This is the same matter dealt with in the case at law, in which it has been held that this allowance was not justified by the facts. The same view of course must prevail here. That claim will be rejected, and in this respect the decree is found to be erroneous.

The bank also contends that the trial judge erroneously declined to allow the defendant upwards of $10,000 attorney’s fees and expenses claimed to have been expended by the bank in prosecuting the litigation. The bank further contends that there was error in the treatment of the $4,712.10, the sum allowed to it for advances for the maintenance of the live stock. This claim was protected by the provisions 'of the chattel mortgage, but not by the real estate mortgage. It was the contention of the bank in the court below that the credits made in November, 1903, above referred to, upon the note, resulting from the sale of the personal property and cattle, should be used in satisfaction of this $4,712.10, and only the balance thereof applied to the .main indebtedness, thus leaving a greater burden upon the real estate than would otherwise exist. The court declined to take this view, and that question is here for consideration.

[157]*157On behalf of Fritzlen there are the following complaints against the decree: First, because the court erred in its ruling upon his defense that the bank was not authorized, because of a failure to qualify for business in Kansas, to bring the present suit; second, because of the ruling of the court on his defense of illegality in the contract sued on; ihird, because the trial court refused to allow the credit of $13,160 for damages for the death of the cattle as of the date of the accrual of the loss, or in other words refused to allow interest upon these damages from the date of the loss; fourth, because the trial court allowed the bank a credit ol $4,712.10 for advances for maintaining the live stock when this cause of action was barred by the statute of limitations. The two matters last mentioned have been disposed of in the case at law adversely to Fritzlen, and will not be here further considered. The remaining questions will be taken up in succession.

[1] Recurring to the contention of the bank that the trial judge was in error in refusing to allow the bank attorney’s fees and expenses in prosecuting the litigation, we have presented to us the provision of the. real estate mortgage by which that instrument is declared to protect, not only the particular sum sued for, but “all costs and expenses of enforcing the same as provided by law.” The claim here made is th;it under this provision there should be some $12,000 allowed plaintiff because of the expenses of the extended litigation for the enforcement of die payment of this note. Passing for the time the fact that the great burden of this expense seems to have accrued in the action at law above referred to, rather than in die present proceeding in equity, does the provision oí the mortgage just quoted carry in it any obligation for attorneys’ lees? This mortgage and note were made in the state of Kansas, to be there performed. Their provisions must therefore be construed in the light of the legislation of that state upon the subject of expenses of litigation and attorneys’ fees. There is a statute of Kansas declaring invalid any provision in a mortgage designed to secure the payment of attorney’s fees.

This statute in terms precludes a contract for attorney’s fees, and it was doubtless in deference to this fact that the note herein sued on contains no such provision. It is sought, however, by the general provision of the mortgage as to expenses, to accomplish that which plaintiff could not have attained by a direct contract. In other words, it is sought to secure by indirection that which the law of the state of Kansas prohibits as a matter of direct agreement. The mortgage, however, must be construed in the light of the Kansas law, and, thus construed, wc are of the opinion that its language was not intended by the parties to provide for expenses of litigation outside of the ordinary taxable court costs. Nor are we impressed with the contention that principles of equity dictated the allowance of this amount. No doubt the defendant has been to considerable expense in the conduct of this tedious litigation at law and in equity, but this does not justify an allowance to it, contrary to law, of the expenses of litigation, including attorney’s fees.

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Bluebook (online)
221 F. 154, 137 C.C.A. 54, 1915 U.S. App. LEXIS 1299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boatmens-bank-v-fritzlen-ca8-1915.