Cook v. Lockerby

111 N.W. 628, 16 N.D. 19, 1907 N.D. LEXIS 23
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 20, 1907
StatusPublished

This text of 111 N.W. 628 (Cook v. Lockerby) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cook v. Lockerby, 111 N.W. 628, 16 N.D. 19, 1907 N.D. LEXIS 23 (N.D. 1907).

Opinion

Fisk, J.

This is an action to determine adverse claims to certain real property in Barnes county. The appellant, Lockerby, one Moses Vachon, and all persons unknown claiming any interest in the real property in dispute, were made defendants. The defendant Vachon filed a disclaimer, and tlie action was dismissed as to the unknown defendants. Judgment was rendered in plaintiffs favor in the District Court, adjudging him to be the owner in fee of the land described, and also adjudging that neither of the defendants has any right, title, or interest in such land, and quieting the title thereto in plaintiff. From this judgment the defendant Lockerby appealed to this court, and asked a review of the entire case.

The facts, briefly stated, are as follows: On September 14, 1882, the defendant, Moses Vachon, being the owner in fee of the property in dispute and being indebted to the co-partnership of Cook & Dodge, of Davenport, Iowa, in a large sum, executed and delivered [21]*21his mortgage upon the property in question to such co-partnership in its firm name of Cook & Dodge, such co-partnership consisting of E. E. Cook, the plaintiff herein, and one F. L. Dodge, to secure such indebtedness. Such mortgage contained the usual power of sale in case of default. In October, 1884, defendant Lockerby acquired title to the property by deed of conveyance from defendant Vachon and wife, and is now the owner thereof, unless he was divested of such title by the foreclosure of the mortgage above mentioned, executed by his grantor; and this brings us to the real controversy between these parties, which is as to the validity of these foreclosure proceedings. In July, 1885, proceedings were instituted by the firm of Cook & Dodge to foreclose said mortgage by advertisement under the power of sale contained in said mortgage, and pursuant thereto notice was caused to be published in the Lisbon Star, a weekly newspaper of general circulation published at Lisbon, in said county. As stated in the affidavit of publication, such notice was published “seven consecutive times, commencing on the 17th day of July, 1885, and ending on the 28th day of August, 1885, both inclusive.” The notice, as published, was signed: “Cook & Dodge, Mortgagees. Francis & Francis, Attorneys for Mortgagees.” The plaintiff, Cook, was the purchaser at the foreclosure sale, and in due time acquired a sheriff’s deed under such foreclosure.

Two objections are made to the validity of this foreclosure. It is appellant’s contention that the affidavit of publication is fatally defective, because it fails to recite that the notice was published “once in each week for six successive weeks,” as required by law at the date of such foreclosure, and that a statement in. the affidavit that such notice was published “seven successive times, commencing on July 17, 1885, and ending on August 28, 1885, both inclusive,” is not the equivalent thereof. The affidavit recites that the newspaper, “the Lisbon Star,” is a weekly newspaper, and that the printed notice thereto annexed was printed therein “seven consecutive times, commencing on the 17th day of July, 1885, and ending on the 28th day of August, 1885, both inclusive.” We think the affidavit was sufficient. The expression “weekly newspaper” can have but one meaning, which is that it is a paper published once in each week, and a statement in the affidavit of publication that the notice was published in such paper seven successive times, commencing on July 17th and ending on August 28th, both inclusive, unquestionably means that such notice was published in each issue of such paper [22]*22between said dates, or, in other words, that it was published once in each week during such time. In the absence of proof to' the contrary, we think it should be presumed that said paper, as its name implies, was published once in each week during the time in question. The Supreme Court of South Dakota in Bank v. Jacobson, 8 S. D. 292, 66 N. W. 453, had occasion to pass upon a similar question, and we unhesitatingly approve the reasoning of that court. In that case, as in this, the sufficiency of an affidavit of publication was challenged. It recited that the summons was published in a weekly newspaper for “seven successive issues, to wit: The first publication being made on December 25, 1891, and the last publication on February 5, 1892.” We quote from the opinion as follows: “Commencing on December 25, 1891, and concluding on February 5, 1892, the summons was published in a weekly newspaper for seven successive issues. The ordinary acceptation of the expression “weekly newspaper” unerringly conveys the idea of a paper issued once a week, and the phrase ‘for seven successive issues/ when -used with reference to publication in a weekly newspaper simply means that such publication appeared in the columns thereof once each week for seven successive weeks; and when the date of the first and last publication is given, as in the affidavit before us, the above conclusion is irresistible.”

It is appellant’s second contention that the. foreclosure proceedings were void for the reason that the published notice of sale recited the names of the mortgagees as “Cook & Dodge” merely, without disclosing the Christian names of the partners in such firm, and that the notice was signed in the same manner. Subdivision 1 of section 5415, Comp. Laws 188'7, in force at the date of this foreclosure, provides that the notice of sale must specify “the names of the mortgagor and the mortgagee.” Was the notice in conformity with such statute? Counsel concede, for the purposes of this case, that the mortgage of real estate taken in the name of a firm is effectual to create a lien upon the premises for the benefit of the members of the partnership; but they argue that such a mortgage cannot be foreclosed by advertisement under the power of sale, but must be foreclosed by action, in which the names of the persons composing the partnership must be alleged and proved, and, finally, they argue that, even if it may be foreclosed by advertisement, still, in any event, it cannot be so foreclosed unless the published notice of sale shows the full names of the mortgagees, citing Gille v. Hunt, 29 [23]*23N. W. 2, 35 Minn. 357, and Foster v. Trowbridge, 40 N. W. 256, 39 Minn. 378. The first case cited furnishes no light upon the question here involved. In that case the mortgage ran to “D. B. Dorman & Co.,” and the case turned 'mainly on the question, in whom was the legal title to the mortgage? In other words, who was in law the martgagee? Was it D. B. Dorman, or was it the partnership, or the individuals composing the firm of D. B. Dorman & Co. ? And the court held that D. B. Dorman was the only person through whom legal title could be made under the mortgage, and hence that he held the legal title. The point here under consideration was not involved in that case. The -case of Foster v. Trowbridge does not support appellant’s position. In that case the mortgage ran to the firm of Blake & Elliott.

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Related

Gille v. Hunt
29 N.W. 2 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1886)
Iowa State Savings Bank v. Jacobson
66 N.W. 453 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1896)
Wakefield v. Brown
37 N.W. 788 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1888)
Foster v. Johnson
40 N.W. 255 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1888)
Menage v. Burke
45 N.W. 155 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1890)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
111 N.W. 628, 16 N.D. 19, 1907 N.D. LEXIS 23, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cook-v-lockerby-nd-1907.