Lanier v. McIntosh

23 S.W. 787, 117 Mo. 508, 1893 Mo. LEXIS 365
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 6, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 23 S.W. 787 (Lanier v. McIntosh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lanier v. McIntosh, 23 S.W. 787, 117 Mo. 508, 1893 Mo. LEXIS 365 (Mo. 1893).

Opinion

Macfaklane, J.

The suit is ejectment in the usual form, to recover a parcel of land twenty-two rods and six feet long by fifteen rods and seven feet wide, in McDonald county. The answer admitted the possession of McIntosh as tenant of his codefendant, J. D. Shields, but denied all other allegations. It also set up the following special defense:

“Defendants, for further answer, say and aver that at one time in the year 1886, defendant, Shields, gave to one John A. Kunkel a note for the sum of $270, to bear interest at the rate of ten per cent, per annum, to secure which he executed, a mortgage upon the property sued for herein, to the said Kunkel, but the same has been long paid and satisfied, so no ground of action could exist on that account against him; notwithstanding which defendants are advised, and aver that plaintiff pretends to make some claim of right to the possession of the land as a pretended assignee of the said mortgage after condition broken.
“Defendant Shields, while protesting that the said mortgage was long ago satisfied, comes and offers to pay into the court, for the benefit of the lawful owner of the said mortgage debt, all and every sum and amount which may appear from the evidence in this case to be and remain unpaid thereon, if any, if it be found that the plaintiff is vested with the rights of the said mortgagee.”

The reply admits the execution and delivery of the note and mortgage by J. D. Shields, but denies that he ever paid the note or satisfied the mortgage as charged in the answer.

In support of his title plaintiff offered in evidence, the following deeds: First. Mortgagee’s deed from John A. Kunkel to J. C. Seabourn, dated October 29, [514]*5141887. This deed purports to convey the land under power of sale contained in the mortgage made by defendant Shields, ' and described in the answer. Second. Quitclaim deed from J. C. Seabourn to Geo. W. Corum, dated May 2, 1888. Third. Mortgage deed from Geo. "W. Corum to plaintiff, L. C. Lanier, to secure note for $300 due in ten days with power of sale in case of default, dated April 5, 1889. Fourth. Mortgagee’s deed from L. C. Lanier, under power of sale, to Alphonso Howe, dated May 18, 1889. Fifth. Quitclaim deed from Alphonso Howe to plaintiff Lanier. No date given in abstract.

The record of the mortgage from defendant Shields to Kunkel, showed an entry of satisfaction on the margin, dated October 16, 1886, and signed by Kunkel, the mortgagee.

In explanation of that entry of satisfaction Kunkel testified that prior to the entry he had undertaken to sell the property under his mortgage, but misdescribed the land in both, the advertisement and deed. At this sale Seabourn was also the purchaser, paying therefor $305, which paid the debt and cost, and $17 or $18 over, which was paid to shields, as mortgagor, to whom was delivered the note and mortgage, and he then entered satisfaction. That, on learning of the misdescription of the land in the previous sale and deed, at request of the purchaser and Shields, he resold the property merely to correct the mistake. On this sale nothing was paid. .

The evidence also tended to show that these purchases at mortgage’s sale were made by Seabourn. at the request of Shields, his son, Abe, and Gus .Corum and Seabourn undertook it for the benefit of defendant Shields. Seabourn gave them an agreement to convey as they should direct upon repaying him. The parties borrowed the money to pay for the land and Seabourn [515]*515signed the note as security with the understanding that when the amount was paid he would convey as directed. Seabourn had the note to pay but the money was afterwards repaid to him, a part by Abe Shields but most of it by Corum and at the request of Shields, Abe and Corum, he conveyed the land to the latter. The evidence is not very clear from or by whom Seabourn was repaid. The evidence shows further that the second sale made under the Shields mortgage was conducted by an agent, the mortgagee then being sick. Howe was the stepson of Corum, and married the daughter of plaintiff.

There was conflict in the evidence as to who was in possession of the property after Seabourn gave it up, which, if important, cannot be intelligently settled from what appears on the abstract.

The facts were tried by a jury and at request of plaintiff the court gave the following instructions:

“The court instructs the jury that if they believe from the evidence that J. D. Shields and wife executed and delivered the mortgage deed to John A. Kunkel, read in evidence, and that after condition broken in said mortgage, said Kunkel attempted to advertise and sell the land therein described, but by mistake failed to describe the said land in the advertisement and the mortgagee’s deed, and that J. C. Seabourn became the purchaser at such sale, and paid the note, interest and costs secured by said mortgage; and if the jury further find that by mistake in the first sale Kunkel entered satisfaction on the margin of the record of the said mortgage, and that thereafter, at the request of J. D. Shields, he advertised and sold the land in said mortgage deed according to the conditions therein, and executed and. delivered to J. C. Seabourn the mortgagee’s deed read in evidence, then such conveyance vested the legal title to the land in controversy in [516]*516Seabourn, and that J. D. Shields is stopped from denying Seabourn’s title, or those claiming under him; and the successive conveyances from Seabourn and others, claiming under him, had the effect to vest in plaintiff all right and title of defendant Shields.”

Defendant asked but the court refused to so instruct, first, that payment of the mortgage debt by Seabourn, the surrender of the note to Shields, and the entry of satisfaction of the mortgage on the record extinguished the power of sale, and the second sale and deed thereunder were nullities; second, though the attempted sales may have operated as an assignment of the debt and mortgage to Seabourn, yet plaintiff, by the conveyances to him, succeeded to no such rights under the mortgage as would entitle him to recover in ejectment from the mortgagor; third, that under the pleadings and evidence defendant Shields should have been permitted to recover.

I. It is conceded that the first sale attempted by the mortgagee, in failing to decribe the land, either in the advertisement or deed, did not pass to the purchaser the legal title to the property sold. The same result would follow a conveyance, with a like error by the owner. It is insisted, however, by defendants that the sale and payment of the purchase money in discharge of the mortgage debt gave the purchaser no equitable right to the security but operated as a complete and absolute discharge of the debt and mortgage. To that proposition we do not yield assent.

An assignment of a mortgage, in order to transfer the entire legal and equitable interest of the mortgagee must be by deed containing such words of grant as will show an intention of the parties to make a complete transfer. When a formal assignment is thus made, and the bond, note, or other evidence of the debt is assigned and delivered, the assignee will be [517]*517invested not only with the legal estate but with any power of sale contained in the mortgage. Pickett v. Jones, 63 Mo. 199; 1 Jones on Mortgages, sec. 786; 15 Am. & Eng. Ency. of Law, 842.

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Bluebook (online)
23 S.W. 787, 117 Mo. 508, 1893 Mo. LEXIS 365, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lanier-v-mcintosh-mo-1893.