Gary v. May

16 Ohio St. 66
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 15, 1847
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 16 Ohio St. 66 (Gary v. May) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gary v. May, 16 Ohio St. 66 (Ohio 1847).

Opinion

Read, J.

Out of abundant caution twenty-nine errors have been assigned in this case. All that are material to be considered will come under one of the following heads:

I. Lack of proper parties.

II. Want of due notice and proof of publication, to bring the respondents into court.

III. Want of proof to sustain the decree.

[65]*65Before considering these points it may be remarked that if the facts set forth in the bill are true, and the proper parties were before the court, the decree was properly rendered.

1. It is claimed that the personal representative of Gary should have been made a party. Gary died in Yirginia and had no personal representative in Ohio. If necessary, one might have been appointed. But in this case the heirs only, and not the personal representative, had an interest in the land sought to be subjected. It is true that where the realty is charged with incumbrances which should be discharged out of the personal estate, and suit is brought to enforce payment out of the realty, the heir has the right to demand that the personal representative should bo made a party to such proceeding to determine the question of assets, which should be first applied. But when the realty is primarily liable and the creditor is authorized to look directly to that, it is only necessary to make the heir, or real representative, a party.

In this case, a deed of trust was executed to Jones *with authority to sell the land thus conveyed to protect Boisseau, security for Gary in the sum of $4,000 to the Bank of Yirginia. This is a trust coupled with an interest. If Gary did not pay this debt, Boisseau, the cestui que trust, was authorized to direct Jones, the trustee, to sell the land in such manner as he might deem expedient to raise money for its discharge. The land, by the express terms of the deed of trust, was the fund out of which the debt was to be discharged. Boisseau was not bound to look elsewhere, nor could the hei r compel him to seek satisfaction out of the personal assets of Gray. By the terms of the deed, Boisseau had the right to demand a sale of the land on failure of Gary to pay, and direct the proceeds to be applied to discharge the debt of the bank. Without having first discharged such debt himself, under these circumstances, he would have had no claim against the personal assets, and it would not be contended that if he had filed a bill to compel an execution of the trust, before he had paid the debt to the bank, that he could properly have made the personal representative a party. Indeed, under no circumstances was Boisseau compelled to look for indemnity to any other source than the land thus conveyed in trust. Hence, it was not necessary, and would not have been proper, to have made the personal representative a party in a suit, brought to subject the land merely. But it is contended that the personal representative [66]*66should have been made a party, because perhaps, he had discharged the debt in whole or in part, out of the personal assets. If such had been the fact, the heir might have shown such payment, in whole or in part, to discharge the trust wholly or pro tanto. That is mere payment, and the evidence of it could be produced, as well by the heir as the administrator. But it is said if an administrator had been appointed in Ohio, he must have had notice, and in the rightful discharge of his duty, must have had communication with the administrator in Virginia, which would have brought home to the absent1 parties, actual notice of the pendency of this suit. This reasoning is not valid, ^because if the administrator was not a necessary party, from the nature of the interest involved in litigation, the law neither directs nor permits the appointment of an administrator, and the making him a party to a suit, for the purpose of more certainly bringing homo notice of its pendency to absent parties.

But it is assigned for error that Boisseau was not a party. Gary died insolvent, without having paid the debt, and left Boissoau, his security, to pay it as ho best might. Boisseau gave a new note to the bank, with his brother, Peter F. Boisseau, and May, the complainant, as indorsers. Boisseau became insolvent; his brother was discharged for want of proper notice to charge him as indorser, and the whole debt fell upon May, the complainant in the original bill. May discharged this debt, which was about $5;000.

Boisseau had assigned to him, as indemnity, his entire interest in the deed of trust to Jones. Boisseau thus parted with his entire interest in said trust, and May paid the whole debt, for which Boisseau was liable to the Bank of Virginia. Why then should Boisseau be made a party to a proceeding instituted by May to 'indemnify himself out of the proceeds of the sale of the land, by enforcing the trust? Boisseau had no interest in the matter, further than that May should be paid out of the land. This would discharge Boisseau from any liability to May, his accommodation indorser. Now, it appears from the record, that Boisseau was •insolvent; that May paid the debt; and that Boisseau had assigned to him his entire interest in the deed of trust. What, then, is there in all this that would require Boisseau to be made a party in a proceeding to sell these lands? It is said that there were ■certain contingencies, upon which the right to sell depended ; such [67]*67as that Gary must have failed to pay, etc. It is sufficient to say, upon this point, that all the contingencies have happened in the fact that all failed to pay the debt who were originally bound, and that it has been discharged in full by May, and he is the only party directly interested in enforcing indemnity to himself out of the land. But it is urged that ^perhaps' Boisseau has paid May, and therefore has an interest in the trust fund, and hence should be made a party. The record shows that Boisseau was insolvent, and that May paid the whole debt, and that no part of it had been refunded to him. Hence, Boisseau had no interest whatever under this trust deed, and it was not necessary to make him a party. He had assigned his whole interest to May. The case of Johnson v. Hart, referred to in 3 Johnson’s Cases, is not like the present. There Hart took an assignment of a note and mortgage for a larger sum, to secure the payment of a less sum; hence, Johnson was entitled to the surplus, and was a necessary party.

It is said that the widow of Gary should have been made a party, as she has a dower interest in the land. It is sufficient answer to that, that if she has such dower, it is not affected by this decree, and she is at full liberty to file her bill to have dower assigned, or to pursue any other interest she may have. It is not necessary to open up this decree to permit her to pursue her equity.

We find, then, no want of proper parties.

2. As to notice arid proof of publication. There is proof of publication ; but it is contended that the notice itself is not sufficiently full and accurate. * We regard it sufficient under the statute. It certainly contains a “summary statement of the object and prayer” of the bill, sufficient to put the respondents upon inquiry, and advises them as to what interest of theirs is sought to be affected by'the proceeding.

3. As to the proofs upon which the decree was rendered. The bill was taken as confessed, the trust deed exhibited, and the cause referred to a master to take an account. The report was made and confirmed by the court. We are not advised upon what evidence the master made up his report.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
16 Ohio St. 66, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gary-v-may-ohio-1847.