Cook v. Taylor

27 So. 2d 404, 200 Miss. 381, 1946 Miss. LEXIS 301
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 23, 1946
DocketNo. 36090.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 27 So. 2d 404 (Cook v. Taylor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi 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. Taylor, 27 So. 2d 404, 200 Miss. 381, 1946 Miss. LEXIS 301 (Mich. 1946).

Opinion

L. A. Smith, Sr., J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The question for decision involves the foreclosure of a deed of trust to lands in both Yazoo and Madison Counties, all in one body. The-appellees, as complainants in the trial court, brought suit to cancel the trustee’s deed to appellant Cook, and certain subsequent transactions affecting the land, as clouds- on their title to the lands so located. Appellants, as defendants, demurred to the bill; demurrer was overruled, and appeal granted here to settle all the general controlling principles of the case.

The complaint charged that the trustee’s deed to appellant was void and of no effect; and that the foreclosure sale was'not valid and did not divest the title to said lands out of complainants, mortgagors. The reason assigned is: “That the property conveyed and described by the deed of- trust shown as Exhibit A hereto, lies in two counties, to-wit: in the County of Madison and in the County of Yazoo, and that said substituted trustee, in attempting to foreclose said deed of trust, wholly failed and neglected (a) to advertise the sale of said lands for three consecutive weeks preceding such sale in a newspaper published in Madison County, Mississippi, although a newspaper is regularly published in said last mentiqned county, and (b) to post a notice of such sale of lands at the courthouse of Madison County, in Canton, Mississippi, for such time, both of which are required by the laws of the State of Mississippi, and particularly Sections -2167, 2162 and 2168 of the 1930- Mississippi Code Annotated, to make and effect a good and lawful sale, and that said substituted trustee attempted to conduct said foreclosure *391 sale after having published an incorrect, insufficient and void notice in a newspaper published in Yazoo County, Mississippi, and after having posted an incorrect, insufficient and void notice at the courthouse in Yazoo County, Mississippi, notwithstanding the necessity under the law of posting and publishing as required by law a notice of sale in both Yazoo County and Madison County, Mississippi. ’ ’

The foreclosure wás had on January 2, 1933, and trustee’s deed executed the same day. The land is described as “The Northeast Quarter and the North Half of the Southeast Quarter and the Northeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 1, Township 11, Range 2 East, the North Half and thé North Half of the Southwest Quarter of Section 5, Township 11, Range 3 East, the North Half and the North Half of. the South Half of Section 6, Township 11, Range 3 East; the East Half of the Southeast Quarter of Section 36, Township 12, Range 2 East, the Southwest Quarter and the West Half of the Southeast Quarter of Section 31, Township 12, Range 3 East, and the Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter of Section 5, Township 11, Range 3 East, all of said land except that part of said section 5, which lies south and east of Big Black River being in Yazoo County, and State of Mississippi, and that lying south and east of said river being in Madison County in said state. ’ ’

The power of sale in the trust deed provides that the trustee “. . . shall proceed to sell said land and property, or a sufficiency thereof to satisfy the indebtedness aforesaid, then unpaid, after having first given notice of the time, place and terms of such sale, together with a description of the property to he sold, by publication in some newspaper published in said Yazoo County, Mississippi, for three consecutive weeks next preceding the date of such sale, and by posting a notice similar to the published notice at the main front door of the county Courthouse of Yazoo County, in said state, for said time,

*392 The trustee’s advertisement of the sale, both in the newspaper and in the posted notice, and the trustee’s deed, all contained the same description. The sale was advertised only in Yazoo County. It was published in a Yazoo City newspaper ánd posted at the courthouse, and was made at the main door, of the courthouse in Yazoo County. The trustee’s deed contains the following recital: “Whereas, on the date and at the place aforesaid and at the hour of 2:20 o’clock P. M., I did offer said property for sale at public auction, pursuant to said notice, when G-. P. Cook appeared and hid therefor the sum of $4,000.00, which said hid was the highest and best hid received for said property and the same was therefore knocked off to the said Gr. P. Cook and he declared the purchaser thereof. I first offered said property in separate lots and parcels and then, offered the same as a whole and the bid aforesaid was more than the aggregate of all of the bids received for said property in separate lots and parcels.” The trustee’s deed then conveyed all of said land to appellant Gr. P. Cook for the said price of $4,000.00.

Special Demurrer No. 1 filed by appellants challenging the original hill of complain.!, in its pertinent part,, is as follows: ‘ ‘ The bill of complaint shows on its face that in any event the larger portion of the land covered by the deed of trust is situated in Yazoo County, Mississippi, and that the sale was had in Yazoo County, Mississippi, and the advertisement thereof was had and notice posted in Yazoo County, Mississippi, for the time and in the manner as required by law and the consequent sale of said land valid.”' Appellants argue that the original hill does not recognize their view that under the law of Mississippi it would he impossible to foreclose this deed of trust in any manner than by holding a sale in Madison County for the Madison County lands, and a sale in Yazoo County for the Yazoo County lands. They further argue that the sale was perfectly good as to the Yazoo County lands, and that no sale was made of the Madison County lands, *393 so therefore, they say, their special demurrer should have been sustained instead of overruled, as it was by the chancery court.

The appellees, on the contrary, argue that failure to publish the posted notices of sale in both Yazoo and Madison Counties invalidated the sale as to all of the land involved, since the land was stiuated in two counties and constituted one single tract wholly described by subdivisions of the governmental survey. Appellees further contend that the lands attempted to be foreclosed could have been effectively conveyed by the trustee’s deed, if properly advertised in both counties, although sold as a single tract in Yazoo County, under the power of sale contained in the trust deed. However, they say that failure to advertise in Madison County invalidated the entire sale.

This issue requires a construction of Section 2167 of the Code of 1930. We quote the pertinent parts: “All lands comprising a single tract, and wholly described by the subdivisions of the governmental surveys, sold under mortgages and deeds of trust hereafter executed, shall be sold in the manner provided by section one hundred and eleven of the constitution for the sale of lands in pursuance of a decree of court, or under execution. All lands sold at public outcry under deeds of trust hereafter executed, or the contracts hereafter made, shall be sold in the county in which the land is located, . . . provided that where the land is situated in two or more .counties the parties may contract for a sale of the whole in any of the counties in which any part of the land lies.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
27 So. 2d 404, 200 Miss. 381, 1946 Miss. LEXIS 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cook-v-taylor-miss-1946.