Laird v. German Savings Bank

167 Iowa 187
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedOctober 23, 1914
StatusPublished

This text of 167 Iowa 187 (Laird v. German Savings Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Laird v. German Savings Bank, 167 Iowa 187 (iowa 1914).

Opinion

Gaynor, J.

In November, 1908, the plaintiff was the owner and holder of a certain promissory note, executed by W. H. & F. 0. Rood, for the sum of $3,000, bearing interest at 6 per cent. This note was past due and unpaid, and was secured by a chattel mortgage, executed by the makers of the note, on certain personal property owned by them. ^ In order to save a foreclosure of the mortgage,’ it was agreed between the plaintiff and Rood Bros, that the property covered by the mortgage should be offered for sale at public auction, in the name of Rood Bros.; that the plaintiff should receive the proceeds of such sale, and apply the net proceeds thereof on the note aforesaid; that plaintiff should employ some competent party as clerk of the sale; that all notes taken at the sale should be taken in the name of the plaintiff, and that all cash received at the sale, should be the property of the plaintiff, to be applied on said note; that thereafter plaintiff entered into a contract with the defendant bank, to act as clerk at said sale, and that the bank should take all notes given for property, and collect all cash for property sold, and, at the conclusion of the sale, the defendant agreed to turn over all the cash received, and cash all notes taken, and to pay the full amount to the plaintiff, less 2 per cent, commission and 1 per cent, to the auctioneer; that, in pursuance of said agreement, the defendant sent its cashier to act as clerk at said sale, and said sale was made, and the proceeds of said sale received by the defendant, under said contract; 'that the total proceeds of said sale amounted to $1,596.35; that the discount and auctioneer’s fees amounted to $55.67, leaving net proceeds of $1,540.48.

It appears that, after this sale had been completed, the [189]*189plaintiff demanded the proceeds of the sale delivered to her, less the discount and auctioneer’s fees; that the money was not delivered to her; and that subsequently the defendant herein, having certain notes against Rood Bros., assigned them to the Lake Park State Bank. It appears that at this time the Lake Park State Bank also had notes against Rood Bros., and the Lake Park State Bank instituted suit on the notes so assigned to them, and on the notes held by them against Rood Bros.; that in this suit the defendant was garnished as the debtor of Rood Bros. Its cashier — the same one who acted as clerk at the sale — appeared and answered, but did not disclose to the court the contract under which his bank held the money; that thereafter the plaintiff intervened in the suit brought by the Lake Park State Bank against Rood Bros., claiming the money in the hands of the garnishee. This suit was determined in favor of the plaintiff, finding that she was the owner of the money, as against the garnishing plaintiff.

The present action is commenced to. recover from the defendant the amount so received by it — $1,540.48—and in this suit the plaintiff also claims that the defendant entered into a conspiracy with the Lake Park State Bank to defeat plaintiff in any efforts she might make to secure the money in their hands — the proceeds of the sale — and, for that purpose, assigned the notes held by them to the Lake Park State Bank, and conspired with said bank to have a suit instituted on said notes, and to have this defendant garnished as the debtor of Rood Bros., in violation of its contract and agreement.

The defendant, for answer, admits that there is due .plaintiff $1,540.48, as the proceeds of the sale, after allowing for the discount and auctioneer’s fees, but, by way of counterclaim, says that for some years prior to 1908 Rood Bros, were tenants occupying certain land of the defendants; that it had a lien upon the property for the rent due; that the plaintiff’s mortgage was prior to defendant’s lien for rent; [190]*190that it was orally agreed between the plaintiff and defendant that the defendant would permit the sale of said property at public auction, without foreclosure of the mortgage, on condition that defendant should be allowed to retain out of the proceeds of the sale the sum of $433.07, to be applied on this claim for rent; that the property was sold, and the money received by the defendant under this stipulation; that, by reason of the stipulation, the defendant waived its landlord’s lien; that the defendant applies $433.07 of the proceeds of said sale, in payment of the rent aforesaid, under the agreement, and with the consent and approval of the plaintiff; that therefore, of the proceeds of the sale, there is due plaintiff the sum of $1,107.41 only.

Plaintiff, replying to this, alleges that defendant is now estopped to make this claim, for the reason that they did not assert it earlier in the litigation, and that, in the former litigation, this claim has been adjudicated against the defendants.

Upon, the issues thus tendered, the cause was tried to a jury, and a verdict rendered for the plaintiff for $1,107.41, being the full amount of plaintiff’s claim, less the $433.07 allowed on defendant’s counterclaim. The court, in submitting the case to the jury, did not submit plaintiff’s claim for damages based on the alleged conspiracy between the defendant and the Lake Park State Bank, and did not submit the question of estoppel pleaded in the reply.

There was a direct issue as to whether or not there was any agreement between the plaintiff and defendant, as claimed by the defendant, touching the allowance of the rent due it from Rood Bros., and their right to retain a portion of the proceeds of the sale to discharge the same, and this question was submitted to the jury, and the jury found that the agreement was made between the plaintiff and defendant, as claimed by the defendant, and that there was $433.07 due the defendant from Rood Bros, as rent, and this was allowed as [191]*191against plaintiff’s claim. This finding is supported by the evidence.

The only question submitted to the jury and determined by it was whether or not the defendant was entitled to offset against the plaintiff’s claim the $433.07 on account of rent due from the Rood Bros, to it. The jury determined this question in favor of the defendant, under proper instructions, and we are not concerned with that matter on this appeal.

1. Conspiracy : evidence. The question which we are required to determine from this record is whether or not the court erred in refusing to submit to the jury the plaintiff’s claim for damages, based upon an alleged conspiracy between the defendant and the Lake Park State Bank, in which it is charged that the two banks conspired together, wrongfully and fraudulently, to procure a garnishment of this defendant, and to secrete from the court the true facts in relation to the proceeds of the sale of the property in the hands of this defendant, and to make it appear that the property belonged to Rood Bros., and that the garnishee held it as the property of Rood Bros., and whether suit was brought by the Lake Park State Bank against Rood Bros, in pursuance of this conspiracy, and the defendant garnisheed, for the purpose of holding the property under such garnishment proceedings against the plaintiff. This issue the court refused to submit to the jury, on the ground that there was no evidence supporting the claim of fraud or conspiracy, and in this we think the court was right.

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Related

Lake Park State Bank v. Rood Bros.
131 N.W. 55 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1911)

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Bluebook (online)
167 Iowa 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/laird-v-german-savings-bank-iowa-1914.