Currier v. Webster

45 N.H. 226
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedJune 15, 1864
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 45 N.H. 226 (Currier v. Webster) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Currier v. Webster, 45 N.H. 226 (N.H. 1864).

Opinion

Sargent, J.

Revised Statutes, chap. 131, secs. 8 and 9, provide that" the mortgagee, upon a request in writing by the mortgager, shall make out and deliver to him or his agent a just and true account of all his demands secured by such mortgage and all damages and costs incurred by reason of the non-performance of the condition thereof, and of all rents and profits by him received.” If he shall unreasonably refuse or neglect to make out and deliver such account, the Court of Common Pleas, upon petition by the mortgager setting forth the facts in the case, and due notice given to the parties interested, shall determine the amount justly due, after deducting rents and profits received.

The defendants contend, 1st — that, as the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas was transferred to the Supreme Judicial Court at its trial terms, by the' act of 1859, the plaintiffs’ only remedy was to file a petition in the trial term of this court, if an account was not properly rendered upon demand, and that this bill cannot be maintained, and could not be, whether the account were rendered or not; and, 2nd, that in this case a just and true account was seasonably rendered upon demand, and, as plaintiffs have not paid the amount due, and the year has expired, that the said Webster and Sanborn have held possession under their writ of possession, that therefore the mortgage is foreclosed and that plaintiffs have now no remedy.

The statute above cited is substantially the same as the statute of 1829, (N. H. Laws of 1830, 486—7,) with this change, that the law formerly provided that the petition should be to the justices of the Superi[231]*231or Court instead of to tbe Court of Common Pleas, as in the Revised Statutes. But by the law of 1834 it was provided that the Superior Court of judicature shall have chancery powers and jurisdiction in all cases respecting the redemption and 'foreclosure of mortgages, * *

* And the powers and jurisdiction thus vested in the Superior Court shall be exercised according to the established principles of chancery as far as shall be consistent with the laws and constitution of this State.”

It was held, in Wendell v. The N. H. Bank, 9 N. H. 404,that this remedy in chancery was given as a cumulative remedy, and that a party might proceed in either way, under the statute of 1829, which is there construed and explained, or by billin chancery, in which the usual course in courts of chancery may be pursued, as far as the statutes have not provided specially; but that, wherever the act of 1829 was applicable, it must govern the substance, but not the form, of proceeding. Now we have seen that the only change in the statute of 1829, at the revision in 1842, was the change in the court to which the petition of the mortgagee should be addressed. And in the Revised Statutes it is also provided, chap. 171, sec. 6, that the Superior Courtshall have power to hear and determine, as a court of equity, in cases respecting the redemption and foreclosure of mortgages”; which power was transferred to the Supreme Judicial Court by the act of 1855 remodelling the judiciary. Both remedies being thus continued in the Revised Statutes as before, we conclude that it was not intended substantially to change the law, but to leave the remedy in equity, as well as by petition under the statute, as it existed when Wendell v. The N. H. Bank was decided.

Section 8 of chap. 131 Rev. Stats., above quoted, provides, that, upon request, the mortgagee shall make out and deliver a, just and true account; and section 9 provides, that, if the mortgagee shall unreasonably refuse or neglect to make out and deliver such account, &c. Now, it is held, in Wendell v. The N. H. Bank, 9 N. H. 416, that, in order to justify the filing of the petition under the law of 1859, there must be either an unreasonable x-efusal or neglect to make out the account, or the account rendered mxxst be erroneous, and that, in either of these cases, the mortgager, or party having his right, may either file his petition under the law of 1829 or bring his bill in chancery under the law of 1834, as he may elect. And, as the laws remain now substantially as they were then, the same rule will apply to this case.

How then does this case stand ? It is not alleged that here was any unreasonable delay in making out and delivering the account, but it is alleged that the account rendered was erroneous, that it was not just and true, and we think that this allegation is well founded. We do not regard the error in the footing of the suxn claimed as material. Though it appears a hundred dollars too large, yet,the items being allgiven, the computation is easy, and the error is so plain that no one could be misled by it. Had a tender been attempted, we should, of course, hold that all that was necessary was to tender the amount shown to be due by a correct computation. If it had been a mistake by which the plaintiffs could easily, and would have been likely to, have been xnisled, then the burden of the mistake should fall upon those who make it. But, in [232]*232a case like this, we think the error was so plain and evident a mistake, and one so patent upon the face of the account, that it should not be held to have any effect whatever.

But, supposing the first items in the account (excepting the charge for recording) to be correctly stated and sufficiently definite the last five are evidently either improperly charged, or are not properly stated. The 6th, 7th and 10th items are, we think, improper matters to be charged at all. And though, perhaps, the 8th and 9th items might be proper charges to make, either in whole or in part, yet it is evident, from the manner in which they are stated, that these sums or any sums had not been paid; and that the mortgagees did not know what the bill of their counsel would be, at the time the account was made out, but that these were mere estimates of what their bills might be, without any definite knowledge upon the subject. This is not sufficient.

If these plaintiffs had tendered the amount of the first five items, less the charge for recording, we should probably have held that sufficient. Duncklee v. Gay, 39 N. H. 242. But they must, in that case, tender enough upon their peril and rely upon that; and if it proved insufficient, lose the land. And we think they were not called upon to run that risk. The account was so clearly erroneous upon its face, that they might safely have petitioned the court under section 9 of chap. 131, or, if they chose, bring their bill in equity to ascertain the just and true amount which they must pay in order to redeem. The bill in equity can, therefore, be maintained. Nor can the defence, stated in the answer, that a just and true account was seasonably rendered, be maintained.

The bill charges that the conveyances to Webster and Sanborn were made by the procurement of Rowe, and for the purpose of defeating and embarrassing said W. A. Currier in the prosecution of his rights in the premises. Webster and Sanborn deny any such wrong intent on their part; but it appeárs from the evidence that they were induced to purchase the mortgage by Rowe, and that he was the active man in bringing about the whole arrangement between the several parties ; and he, by failing to answer, has admitted all the allegations in the bill.

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Bluebook (online)
45 N.H. 226, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/currier-v-webster-nh-1864.