Everette v. Woodward

174 S.E. 864, 162 Va. 419, 1934 Va. LEXIS 258
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedJune 14, 1934
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 174 S.E. 864 (Everette v. Woodward) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Everette v. Woodward, 174 S.E. 864, 162 Va. 419, 1934 Va. LEXIS 258 (Va. 1934).

Opinion

Gregory, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The appellants, who were the complainants in the court below, filed their original and amended bills against Woodward, trustee, Suffolk Floral Gardens, Inc., and E. F. O’Berry, the purpose of which was to set aside a certain foreclosure sale under a deed of trust on the grounds that the trustee failed to comply with the directions in the deed of trust in making the sale. The appellees, who were defendants below interposed their demurrer to the bills and upon a hearing on the bills and the demurrer the court, by decree, sustained the demurrer and dismissed the bills. This decree is here to be reviewed.

[422]*422The appellants were the joint owners of a parcel of land containing nineteen and one-fifth acres and on June 25, 1925, conveyed the same by deed of trust to Woodward, trustee, in trust to secure Suffolk Floral Gardens, Inc., the payment of $1,500 and interest. Default was made in the payment of the money due and the trustee, upon proper request, advertised the property for sale and sold the same on the 12th day of April, 1933. At the sale the Suffolk Floral Gardens, Inc., became the purchaser at $4,100. Since the sale the Suffolk Floral Gardens, Inc., which has received its deed from the trustee, agreed to sell the property to E. F. O’Berry.

Ruth Everette and Essie Howell, in May, 1933, filed their bill of complaint against the trustee asking that the sale made by him be set aside. The Suffolk Floral Gardens, Inc., and E. F. O’Berry were made defendants. Later the bill was amended.

The complainants alleged in the bills that the trustee had failed to follow the directions contained in the deed •of trust in making the sale. They alleged that the property was not advertised as required by the deed; that the advertisement was not made for a period of ten days; that the terms as advertised were not according to the requirements of the deed and that by reason of these departures the sale was a nullity.

The deed of trust provided in part:

“In the event that default shall be made in the payment of the said debt, principal or any installment of interest, when due and payable, then the trustee, on being required so to do by Suffolk Floral Gardens, Inc., its executors, administrators or assigns, shall sell the property hereby conveyed.
“And it is covenanted and agreed between the parties aforesaid, that in case of a sale the same shall be made after first advertising the time, place and terms thereof for ten days, in such manner as the trustee shall see fit, and upon the following terms, to-wit: For cash as to so much of the proceeds as may be necessary to defray [423]*423expenses of executing this trust, including a trustee’s commission of five per centum, the fees for drawing and recording this deed, if then unpaid, and to discharge the amount of money then payable upon the said debt; and if there be any residue of said purchase money the same shall he made payable at such time, and secured in such manner as the said trustee shall think fit.”

On May 25,1933, by leave of court, a demurrer was filed by the defendants. The effect of the demurrer was to admit the allegations of the bill to be true; that is, that the trustee failed to advertise the property for ten days and that he did not sell upon the terms required in the deed. But the appellees (the defendants below) contend that the copy of the advertisement filed with the bill shows that the trustee did follow the terms of the deed. The language of the advertisement follows:

“By authority of a certain deed of trust, dated July 31, 1925, made by Ruth H. Everette (widow) and Essie B. Howell, to me as trustee, default having been made in the payment of the debt therein secured, and in the performance of the terms and conditions of said deed of trust, and at the request of the beneficiary thereunder, I will offer for sale
At Public Auction In Front Of The National Bank of Suffolk In The City of Suffolk, Virginia On The 12th Day Of April, 1933 At Twelve o’Clock Noon
the following property, to-wit:” Then follows a description of the property.
“Thomas L. Woodward, Trustee.
“Terms: Cash.
“Suffolk, Virginia, April 1, 1933.”

It is argued that because of the notation at the bottom of the advertisement, “Terms: Cash. Suffolk, Virginia, April 1, 1933,” that this shows that the period of [424]*424the advertisement was more than ten days, for the sale was made on April 12th. Of course if the advertisement began on April 1st, this would have satisfied the requirement in that respect, but nowhere does it appear to have begun on April 1st. The date on the bottom of the advertisement is no evidence of the fact that it was advertised on that day. It was simply the date of the paper, but not the date upon which the advertisement began. On demurrer we think the allegation in the bills as to the time of the advertisement is sufficient.

A sale made by a trustee, without advertising the property as required by the deed, is invalid, and a purchaser is bound to know what the requirements of the deed are in this respect and to see that they have been complied with. Tabet v. Goodman, 136 Va. 526, 118 S. E. 230, 232.

The terms of the sale were left to the discretion of the trustee. This is apparent from the deed. The residue “shall he payable at such time and secured in such manner as the said trustee shall think fit.” This, we think, vested in the trustee a reasonable discretion as to whether the residue should be paid in cash or whether it should be paid at some future time, and, as there is no allegation in the bills that the discretion of the trustee in this respect was abused, we think the demurrer was properly sustained as to that point.

In Preston v. Johnson et at., 105 Va. 238, 53 S. E. 1, the court held:

“It is the well-settled doctrine in this jurisdiction that a trustee for sale is the agent of both debtor and creditor, and as such it is incumbent upon him to act toward each with perfect fairness and impartiality; and, moreover, in executing the trust he must in all material particulars substantially conform to the stipulations of the deed. Norman v. Hill, 2 Patton & Heath 676; Taylor v. King, 6 Munf. [20 Va.] 358, 8 Am. Dec. 746; Harris v. Harris, 6 Munf. [20 Va.] 367; Gibson’s Heirs v. Jones, 5 Leigh [32 Va.] 370; Wood’s Ex’r v. Krebbs, 33 Graft. [74 Va.] [425]*425685; Sulphur Mines Co. v. Thompson’ Heirs, 93 Va. 293, 315, 316, 25 S. E. 232; Wilson v. Wall, 99 Va. 353, 355, 38 S. E. 181; 2 Min. Inst. (4th Ed.) 341.”

In Tabet v. Goodman, supra, the court held that the advertisement failed to state whether the terms of sale would be for cash or credit and in holding that the advertisement was insufficient said:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
174 S.E. 864, 162 Va. 419, 1934 Va. LEXIS 258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/everette-v-woodward-va-1934.