Chandler Inv. Co. v. Matlock Inv. Co.

187 P. 1105, 95 Or. 394, 1920 Ore. LEXIS 44
Oregon Supreme Court·Decided March 2, 1920·Published

Opinion

HARRIS, J.

Although the note of April 20, 1915, represented a joint and several indebtedness from the four makers to the payee, yet as between the makers themselves, the bank says, the sum of $6,211.50, or 27.34 per cent of the face of the note, was the debt of the Matsons, while the sum of $16,500, or 72.66 per cent of the face of the note was the debt of the Lockharts. If as between the makers of the note the Matsons owed 27.34 per cent and the Lockharts owed 72.66 per cent of the aggregate indebtedness on the note, then the Matsons owed $8,188.23 and the Lockharts $21,761.41 of the judgment for $29,949.64 secured by the Chandler Investment Company against them. The bank argues that as between the makers of the note parcels 10 to 16, inclusive, or the Matson lands, were chargeable with $8,188.23, while parcels 1 and 3 to 9, inclusive, the lands formerly owned by the Lockharts but now owned by the bank, are chargeable with $21,761.41. At the sale the Matson lands, parcels 10 to 16, inclusive, brought the aggregate sum of $6,090.50, or $2,097.73 less than the Matsons’ share of the indebtedness, while [401] the Lockhart parcels were sold for $23,859.14, or $2,097.73 more than the Lockharts’ share of the indebtedness. The bank contends that the statement made by L. A. Liljeqvist at the sale chilled competition, with the result that the Lockhart lands were compelled to carry a portion of the burden which should have been carried by the Matson lands.. In substance, the argument of the bank is that as between the makers of the note the Matson lands were charged with the obligations of a principal as to the Matsons’ share of the indebtedness and with the duties of a surety as to the Lockharts’ share of the indebtedness. Although each of the four makers of the note was primarily liable to the payee for the whole debt, and none of the makers occupied the position of a surety as between them and the payee, still it may be assumed for the purposes of the discussion that, as between the makers themselves, the Matsons owed only 27.34 per cent of the total indebtedness.

1, 2. As a general rule, false representations made by a purchaser or by a judgment creditor to prevent competition will render a sale void: Bethel v. Sharp, 25 Ill. 173 (76 Am. Dec. 790). If the representation is untrue, it is usually immaterial whether the person making the representation did or did not know of its falsity (Reed v. Diven, 7 Ind. 189), although illustrations are not lacking of instances where the sale will not be set aside unless it is shown that the representation deterred some person or persons from bidding: Conley v. Redwine, 109 Ga. 640 (35 S. E. 92, 77 Am. St. Rep. 398). However, if a party has an interest in or a valid claim against property to be sold under execution, he may announce such interest or claim without invalidating the sale: 17 Cyc. 1257; Nodine v. Rich[402] mond, 48 Or. 527, 546 (87 Pac. 775); Leake v. Anderson, 43 S. C. 448 (21 S. E. 438). See note in 20 L. R. A. 545.

The bank stipulated that it became the owner of the Lockhart parcels after the execution of the note, deeds, and trust agreement dated April 20, 1915. It is not contended by the bank that it purchased without knowledge of the first mortgage, nor does the bank claim that it acquired the interest of the Lockharts without notice of the second mortgage. Whatever interest the Lock-harts conveyed to the bank was acquired by the latter subject to both mortgages. Prior to the sale under execution T. T. Bennett, who represented the bank, was made aware of the fact that the Chandler Investment Company claimed that its second mortgage on the Mat-son parcels was still a lien, although it was junior to the mortgage of April 20, 1915; and, indeed, he expected that L. A. Liljeqvist would make public announcement of that fact at the time and place fixed for the sale under execution, for the record shows that, at the request of Mr. Bennett, Fred Hollister attended this sale for the sole purpose of listening “very attentively to the statements made by Mr. Liljeqvist” and thus be enabled to “testify in the future to what he said.” According to the testimony of Fred Hollister there were “probably half a dozen” persons present at the sale. The officer who conducted the sale says that he remembers the names of all the persons “who came and went and stopped and listened to the proceedings that took place” during the sale; and according to his testimony there were present during the sale the officer, a stenographer employed in the sheriff’s office, T. T. Bennett, L. A. Liljeqvist, “Henry Wells and Mr. Chandler.” Besides Fred Hollister, who was present only a part of the time, Mr. Brand “stayed a [403] while, but not all of the way through.” Laying aside for the moment the statement made by Mr. Liljeqvist, there is no evidence tending to show that any person was deterred from bidding, unless it can be said that Mr. Bennett was such a one. Mr. Bennett testified thus:

“While the Flanagan & Bennett Bank does not believe that Mr. Liljeqvist’s claim of $3,500 is a legitimate one, we do believe that we would have a fight or a lawsuit on our hands if we bought in the Matson property, and to that extent it deterred us from bidding at that sale; deterred me from bidding in the Mat-son property. * * My object at that sale at that time was to force Mr. Chandler to bid as much as possible for the Matson property; I did not want the property, but I wanted them to bid as high as I could induce them to bid, and I bid against them on every piece of property of Mr. Matsons that was sold, and I took into consideration, and I thought and believed that if I purchased the Matson property I would have to fight Mr. Chandler and Mr. Liljeqvist in another lawsuit in order to set aside this illegal claim of Mr. Chandler’s claim of $3,500 and interest, which they claim is ahead of the sale and which I claim was not. * * I did bid, I am very sure, on every piece of property of Mr. Matsons that was offered; I bid something.”

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Chandler Inv. Co. v. Matlock Inv. Co., 187 P. 1105, 95 Or. 394, 1920 Ore. LEXIS 44 (Or. 1920).

187 P. 1105 (Chandler Inv. Co. v. Matlock Inv. Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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Gaines v. Childers
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Nodine v. Richmond
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Higgs v. McDuffie
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Bethel v. Sharp
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