Harkness v. Althen

228 N.W. 397, 56 S.D. 328, 1929 S.D. LEXIS 290
CourtSouth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 31, 1929
DocketFile No. 6705
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 228 N.W. 397 (Harkness v. Althen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Dakota Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harkness v. Althen, 228 N.W. 397, 56 S.D. 328, 1929 S.D. LEXIS 290 (S.D. 1929).

Opinion

BURCH, J.

In 1926 defendant, Althen,. foreclosed by advertisement six mortgages, executed by plaintiff Moyer, covering six separate tracts of real property in the city of Mitchell. The sale was made on October 31st and Althen as mortgagee purchased each tract upon separate bids. Each bid was for the full amount claimed by Althen to be due upon the mortgage covering the tract upon which the bid was placed. Plaintiff, Moyer, claiming that the amount of the bid was greater than the amount actually due [330]*330npoi) the mortgage covering each tract, brought this action for an accounting and to- recover the excess claimed to' be due him by reason of the sale of the property for more than the amount due upon the mortgages. An account was taken, and the court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff for $694.47. Defendant appealed from the judgment and from an order denying a new trial. Since the- appeal was taken 'Moyer died, and his administrator has been substituted as respondent.

The judgment rendered by the court is the difference between the amount found to be due upon the mortgages in the accounting taken and the amount of the bids made by appellant upon the sale of the property, with one or two items of rent collected by appellant after the bid. The figures composing the account are complicated, owing to numerous small payments made, their proper application to the indebtedness, the amount to be credited from collections made by Alt-hen under an assignment of rent, the allowance of charges for collecting, and for other services. Appellant concedes there may have been some errors in figuring interest and in crediting amounts, but insists that such errors are slight and insignificant in amount and were settled and adjusted by agreement of the parties pending foreclosure of the mortgages, and that appellant’s bid was in compliance with and in fulfillment of such settlement and not otherwise.

Appellant presents his -first question on appeal by an objection to the introduction of any evidence. He takes the position that he, being the mortgagee and having bid in the properties for the amounts claimed and advertised to be due, is not in the position of a purchaser who bids to acquire title without other interest in the sale, and therefore respondent cannot maintain an action to recover the amount -bid as upon a sale of the property knowing the bid was intended as a step in the foreclosure of respondent’s equity of. redemption and to satisfy the indebtedness only, with no intent to fix the value of the property or the purchase price. Appellant concedes that if respondent wished to redeem, he would have the right to do so by paying the amounts actually clue, instead of the amounts for which the properties were bid in;. but he' contends that respondent cannot profit by appellant’s mistake in figuring the amounts due. Appellant cites no authority to support his position, but contents himself b)' arguing- that it is [331]*331inequitable to permit respondent to collect after having permitted the sale to take place upon the advertisements showing a certain amount due, without moving to stop such sale and having the amounts first adjudicated as he might have done under section 2876, Rev. Code 1919, providing for foreclosure of mortgages in court. With this, however, we cannot agree. Section 2884, Rev. Code 1919, authorizes the mortgagee to purchase at a mortgage foreclosure sale. He is not required to bid at such sale, nor if he bids to bid the amount claimed to be due. He is as free in bidding as any other purchaser. We can see no .reason why he should not be held to his bid, in the absence of fraud, the same as any other purchaser. He 'was under no oblgation to bid more than the property was worth. Under his bid he maj acquire title as any bidder. He, having, bid a certain amount and expecting to acquire title thereunder if no redemption is made, should be held to have purchased the property for that sum. The mortgagor is not obliged-to redeem. He may not be able to do so, and if he does not he should have the benefit of the highest price for which his property will sell. Situations might arise where, because of competition in the bidding, a mortgagee would be willing to pay much more than the amount due upon the mortgage. The mortgagor under such circumstances might be pleased to make the sale. He would then be entitled to take no steps to redeem and to^ take the advantages of the sale instead. True, in this case there was no competitive bidding, and the amount ibid was not more than was claimed to be due; but it was for a fixed amount as the price appellant would pay. No reason is apparent why that should not govern the sale price in determining the rights of the parties, unless his following position is well taken.

Wihich is substantially this, that about the time of the foreclosure of the mortgages and before the sale under foreclosure appellant furnished to Moyer a statement of amounts due; that Moyer made some objection to the amount of credit given him and claimed that the statement was not correct, but was unable to-, or at least did not, point out any errors in the statement; 'that after-wards numerous conversations were had concerning the amount due resulting in an agreement and settlement of the account between the parties whereby appellant agreed to bid in the several properties at the foreclosure sale for the amounts he claimed were due [332]*332him on the respective mortgages, and take n.0‘ deficiency judgment against Moyer on account of any of the mortgages or indebtedness secured thereby, in consideration that Moyer make no objection to the account but settle and agree that the same is correct for the purpose of foreclosure and sale of the property; that in fulfillment of this agreement, appellant bid in the property for the amounts he claimed to be due upon the respective mortgages with the full knowledge and consent of Moyer and for the purpose of making his bid cancel the indebtedness and leave nothing upon which to •base a deficiency judgment, although both appellant and Moyer knew that the properties were not in fact worth the amounts for which appellant had agreed to bid them in. The foregoing is substantially the position of appellant in defense of Moyer’s claim to recover upon an accounting in this action. Appellant argues that Moyer is now estopped by reason thereof to insist upon an accounting or to recover from appellant for any difference between the amount of the bids and the amount actually due, if there should on such accounting appear to be a difference in favor of Moyer. If the evidence supports and proves the facts relied on by appellant, it would seem that Moyer is bound 'by an accord and satisfaction rather than by estoppel. If the parties in fact settled their disputed account in the manner claimed, there was an accord which was satisfied by appellant’s bidding in the property and assuming the position of a purchaser in fulfillment of that agreement.

The evidence discloses numerous conversations and negotiations between the parties looking to a settlement, and on the 1st of October, 1926, a written agreement was signed by appellant and Moyer, as follows:

“Whereas a dispute has arisen between the undersigned in regard to the removal of a building from the West 92 feet of Lots 3 and 4, Block 21, Rowley’s Second Addition, by the undersigned P. L. Moyer, and. the placing of another building thereon, the undersigned, John Althen, having a mortgage on said premises:
“Now Therefore, said dispute is settled as follows, to-wit: The undersigned P. L.

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

Related

Valmont Credit Corp. v. McIlravy
371 N.W.2d 797 (South Dakota Supreme Court, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
228 N.W. 397, 56 S.D. 328, 1929 S.D. LEXIS 290, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harkness-v-althen-sd-1929.