Frevert v. Henry

14 Nev. 191
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedApril 15, 1879
DocketNo. 910
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 14 Nev. 191 (Frevert v. Henry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frevert v. Henry, 14 Nev. 191 (Neb. 1879).

Opinion

By tlie Court,

Leonard, J.:

It is alleged in tlie complaint that defendant made liis certain promissory note with plaintiff as surety, in words and figures following, to wit:

“ $450.
“On the first day of February next, for value received, we jointly and severally promise to pay Whitesides & Sacrider the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars in United States gold coin, with interest at two per cent per month, until paid.
Charles Henry,
Fred. Frevert.
“Genoa, September 28, 1865.”
“That said note was then and there delivered to the payees named therein, who indorsed and transferred the 'same to one Henry Epstein, by whom it was held and owned when it became due and payable, on the first day of February, 1866; that defendant failed and refused to pay the amount due on said note, or any part thereof, when it became due; that immediately thereafter said Henry Epstein duly notified plaintiff, as surety upon said note, that defendant had failed and refused to pay any part of said note; that both principal and interest remained due and payable from said maker to said indorsee; that he, the said indorsee, should look to plaintiff as such surety to pay the same, and then and there demanded of and from plaintiff the payment thereof; that subsequently, to wit, about March 16, 1866, plaintiff, as such surety, was compelled to, and did, pay to said Epstein, the lawful holder and owner of said note, the sum of one hundred dollars, United States gold coin, which sum, thus paid, was paid for and on behalf of defendant, on account of said note, and in part payment of the principal and interest; that subsequently, to wit, about the-day of May, 1866, plaintiff, as such surety, was compelled to, and did, pay to said Henry Epstein, who was still the [194]*194lawful holder and owner of said note, the further sum of four hundred and fifty dollars and fifty cents, United States gold coin, which said further sum thus paid, was paid for and on behalf of said defendant, and on account of said note, and in fall payment of the-priucipal and interest of said note, and thereupon said indorsee duly indorsed, assigned, and delivered said note to plaintiff, who is now, and ever since has been, the lawful holder and owner of the same; that no part has been paid, and there is now due from defendant to plaintiff, on account of said note and said moneys paid as before stated, with interest thereon, the sum of one thousand seven hundred dollars, in United States gold coin.”

Other facts are pleaded, showing that the action is not barred by the statute of limitation, and the prayer is for judgment for one thousand seven hundred dollars, besides interest upon the sum of four hundred and fifty dollars, at two per cent, per month, from the commencement of the action uiitil judgment, and costs of suit.

By his answer defendant admitted the making and delivery of the note as alleged, but denied payment by defendant, or that one thousand seven hundred dollars or any other sum was due as alleged or otherwise. He also pleaded entire failure of consideration.

Plaintiff recovered judgment for one thousand eight hundred and one dollars and fifty cents, with interest upon four hundred and fifty dollars at the rate of two per cent, per month from the date thereof until paid, and costs of the action.

Defendant moved for a new trial, which was denied; and this appeal is taken from that order and from the judgment. At the oral argument, counsel for plaintiff made several pre-. liminary motions, one of which was to strike out the statement on motion for a new trial, for reasons then stated. Inasmuch as our opinion will be based upon errors claimed by counsel for appellant to appear upon the judgment roll, •which will necessitate a reversal or modification of the judgment, it is unnecessary to pass upon the preliminary motions. In cases of this .character a judgment must [195]*195accord with, and be warranted by, the pleadings of the party in whose favor it is rendered, and if such is not the case the judgment is as fatally defective as one not sustained by the findings or verdict. (Bachman v. Sepulveda, 39 Cal. 688.).

An objection that the judgment is not authorized by the pleadings may be taken upon the judgment roll alone, whether there is a statement on motion for a new trial or not. (Putnam v. Lamphier, 36 Cal. 158.)

Upon an appeal from a judgment, any error appearing in the judgment roll may be corrected in the appellate court without a statement on appeal. (Klein v. Allenbach, 6 Nev. 162.)

Let us ascertain, then, the full extent of relief to Avhich plaintiff was entitled, according to the case made by his complaint, and for what amount he could have taken a valid judgment, if defendant had failed to appear and answer. And first, what is the nature of this action ? Is it an action upon the promissory note proper, or is it to recover, on implied assumpsit, for money paid by plaintiff for defendant’s use and benefit, as surety, in satisfaction of the note? I think it is the latter. Plaintiff had no right to bring any other action, and all the facts necessary to support such an one are pleaded. It is true that there are certain immaterial allegations which are proper to be inserted, and are material, in an action upon a promissory note; but those allegations, when considered with previous ones, cannot be true in the sense apparently expressed, whether the action was intended to be upon the promissory note proper, or for money paid for-defendant’s use and benefit.

That is to say, plaintiff having alleged that he paid five hundred and fifty dollars and fifty cents, for and on behalf of defendant, on account of said note, and in full payment of said note, principal and interest, it is an insertion of mere surplusage to allege, in addition, “that Epstein then indorsed, assigned, and delivered said note to plaintiff; that plaintiff is and ever since then has been the lawful holder and owner thereof, and that no part has been paid.”

Plaintiff could not be the “owner and holder,” after [196]*196payment, except as evidence of the fact that he has paid the note. If, as joint maker, although in fact only surety, he paid the note to Epstein, it was no longer negotiable. Had he passed it by indorsement to another, his indorsee could not have recovered upon the note, nor could plaintiff recover upon it in his own name. By his payment, as alleged, to Epstein, the note was satisfied and became functus officio, as to both plaintiff and defendant. There was, thereafter, no debt due from either to Epstein; but, by reason of plaintiff’s payment, defendant became indebted to him for the amount due and paid.

It is said by counsel for plaintiff that “ the complaint being verified and the defendant having failed to controvert specifically the assignment and indorsement to the plaintiff, his ownership thereof and non-payment, the judgment must be affirmed whether the statement be considered or not.”

It may be admitted, generally, that in an action upon a promissory note, an allegation of non-payment is a material averment, and consequently, in such an action, should be denied if the fact of payment be relied on.

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14 Nev. 191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frevert-v-henry-nev-1879.