Gandy v. Cameron State Bank

2 S.W.2d 971
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 16, 1927
DocketNo. 7150.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2 S.W.2d 971 (Gandy v. Cameron State Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gandy v. Cameron State Bank, 2 S.W.2d 971 (Tex. Ct. App. 1927).

Opinions

Appeal by Mrs. Elizabeth Gandy and the Southern Memorial Company (defendants below) from a judgment upon a directed verdict awarding to Cameron State Bank (plaintiff below) 100 acres of land in Milam county.

The litigation arose out of these undisputed facts:

January 26, 1923, Mrs. Gandy, owner of the land, executed a trust deed thereon to Graves, trustee, securing the bank in payment of a $1,500 note, bearing 10 per cent. interest, and due January 1, 1926. March 11, 1924, she executed a trust deed on the property securing the memorial company in two notes of $638 each, bearing 8 per cent. interest, and due one and two years from date. These trust deeds were promptly recorded. On June 14, 1926, the memorial company sued Mrs. Gandy on its notes and to foreclose its trust deed lien. Judgment of foreclosure was rendered, order of sale issued, and the land advertised to be sold December 7, 1926. September 24, 1926, the bank sued Mrs. Gandy upon its note and to foreclose its trust deed lien. Citation was promptly issued and sent to the sheriff of Harris county, who served it, "but not in time for the defendant to answer at the November term, 1926," which convened the second Monday in that month. This suit the bank dismissed December 4, 1926. Meanwhile, November 1, 1926, Graves executed a written refusal to act as trustee, *Page 973 and Mangum was appointed in his stead. The latter, as trustee, upon the bank's request advertised the property to be sold December 7, 1926. On the morning of that day, Mangum sold the property to the bank for $2,000, and executed to it a trustee's deed. That afternoon the memorial company bought in the property under its foreclosure sale. December 10, 1926, the bank brought this suit against Mrs. Gandy, the memorial company, and another in trespass to try title for the land, and in the alternative to foreclose its trust deed lien. December 30, 1926, the memorial company reconveyed the land to Mrs. Gandy, reserving a vendor's lien to secure notes aggregating $4,018.90. Mrs. Gandy and the memorial company alleged various irregularities in the bank's trust deed sale which they sought to set aside, and tendered to the bank, and paid into the registry of the court, on January 5, 1927, $2.000, which amount was a little in excess of the principal, interest, and attorney's fees on the bank's note on that date, but lacked a few dollars of being sufficient to pay additionally the trustee's fees. There are a number of issues presented questioning the regularity and validity of the bank's trust deed sale, but as we have reached the conclusion that the sale should be set aside on the ground that the institution of the foreclosure suit by the bank constituted an election of remedies and invalidated any proceeds under the trust deed so long at least as that suit was pending, it will be unnecessary to discuss other alleged irregularities.

While there is some diversity of view among the decisions of other states upon the subject, the holding in this state is that judicial foreclosure and foreclosure under a power are remedies which cannot be prosecuted concurrently, and institution of the former constitutes an election of remedies and precludes subsequent resort to the latter. Cameron v. Hinton, 92 Tex. 492, 49 S.W. 1047; Sabine Co. v. English Co. (Tex.Com.App.) 291 S.W. 1088; Avery v. Loan Agency (Tex.Civ.App.)62 S.W. 793; Holland Texas Hypotheek Bank v. Broocks (Tex.Civ.App.)266 S.W. 183; Neill v. Johnson (Tex.Civ.App.) 234 S.W. 147.

The bank contends that there is no irrevocable election of remedies until judicial foreclosure is prosecuted to judgment, up to which time the lienholder may abandon the judicial proceeding and resort to his other remedy under the power. This proposition may be conceded, but it has no application we think to this case. The authorities cited are clear that the two remedies cannot be concurrently pursued, and it necessarily follows that where judicial foreclosure is first instituted foreclosure under the power cannot be resorted to until after a definite abandonment of the judicial proceeding. The suit was filed September 24, 1926, and remained pending until December 4, 1926. The declination of Graves, the substitution of Mangum, and the notices and advertisement of sale were all had within the period — November 1 to November 12. The bank had full control over the case until it was dismissed, and the above proceedings under the trust deed, which were absolutely essential to the sale, were voidable, if not in fact absolutely void, at the time they were had.

Anent the dismissal the bank's attorney testified that when he discovered that the memorial company had advertised the property for sale on December 7, and Mrs. Gandy had not been served in time for the November term of court, he consulted with the bank and decided to dismiss the case and proceed under the trust deed. He did not, he testified, dismiss it then because the regular judge was disqualified and another judge had not then been arranged for. No notice was given Mrs. Gandy that the suit would be dismissed other than what might be inferred from the fact that the property was advertised for sale under the deed of trust, and nothing was filed in the case to indicate its abandonment.

We find no merit in the contention of the bank that its action in the premises was tantamount to an abandonment and dismissal of the foreclosure suit. R.S. art. 2089 reads:

"The plaintiff may enter a discontinuance on the docket in vacation, in any suit wherein the defendant has not answered, on the payment of all costs that have accrued thereon."

This statute has been in effect with little modification since very early times (see Paschal's Dig. art. 1440), and has been often resorted to and construed. It is plain and unambiguous and furnishes a ready means whereby a plaintiff may dismiss his suit without any action of the judge. We hold that the failure of the bank so to dismiss, whether designedly or by inadvertence of its attorney, continued the proceeding under its control until the order of dismissal of December 4, 1926.

In addition to the foregoing holding, we are of the view that the bank's trust deed sale should be set aside for gross inadequacy of consideration. The record shows that the land was worth at the lowest estimate $100 an acre, and the various disinterested witnesses valued it at from $100 to $150 an acre. One of these, a loan agent, testified that for loan purposes it was worth $140 an acre, and that he could obtain a loan on it of $70 an acre. The bank paid only one-fifth of the lowest valuation.

It may be that gross inadequacy of consideration alone is not sufficient to set aside a trustee's sale. But it is generally held that only very slight additional circumstances are *Page 974 necessary to invoke the aid of a court of equity.

In view of the above holding, it will not be necessary to detail in extenso what the record shows in this regard. We believe the evidence sufficient, from the viewpoint both of Mrs. Gandy and the memorial company, to set the sale aside for gross inadequacy of consideration.

Briefly: The record shows Mrs. Gandy acquired the land on the death of her husband about 1920; that she had never had any business experience, and had little if any knowledge of business matters, and no knowledge of legal proceedings.

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

Related

Golden v. Tomiyasu
387 P.2d 989 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1963)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 S.W.2d 971, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gandy-v-cameron-state-bank-texapp-1927.