Maher v. Morrison

178 Iowa 1318
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedJanuary 17, 1917
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 178 Iowa 1318 (Maher v. Morrison) 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
Maher v. Morrison, 178 Iowa 1318 (iowa 1917).

Opinion

Preston, J

September 27, 1913, plaintiff obtained a

judgment in the district court of Polk County against Charles Morrison for $500 and costs. On September 28, 1913, and before the motion for a new trial had been filed or ruled upon, the attorney for said Charles Morrison stated to plaintiff’s attorney that he expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. At another time, the attornéy for said Charles Morrison stated that he had partially prepared a notice of appeal, but had not completed it, as he did not have the date of the judgment. The date of this conversation is not shown. These two matters just referred to are the only circumstances and the only evidence to sustain plaintiff’s claim as to alleged representations made to her attorney to induce. her not to issue execution. Plaintiff’s claim is, that, but for said representations, she would have collected her judgment out of property mortgaged by said Charles Morrison to Kate Morrison, the surety on the bond. As will be shown later, an execution was issued before the time had expired in which an appeal could have .been perfected. On the' day the verdict was returned, defendant was given ten days in which to file motion for new trial; this motion was filed October 6, 1913, and overruled by the court on October 16th. On Oc[1320]*1320tober 30, 1913, defendant, Charles Morrison, filed with the clerk of the district court a supersedeas bond for $1,000, signed by himself, as principal, and' Kate Morrison, his mother, the defendant, as surety. No notice of appeal was ever served or filed, and no appeal was ever perfected, and it was abandoned.

After the supersedeas bond above referred to had been filed, Charles Morrison executed two chattel mortgages, aggregating nearly $5,000, in favor of his mother. Before the expiration of the six months immediately following said judgment in favor of plaintiff and against Charles Morrison, within which an appeal might have been perfected by giving notice, said plaintiff caused execution to issue on ,said .judgment. Said execution was returned unsatisfied, and proceedings auxiliary to execution were likewise fruitless. Plaintiff then brought this action, claiming that there had been a breach of the supersedeas bond, and that she was entitled to recover the amount of her judgment against Charles Morrison from Kate Morrison, as surety upon the supersedeas bond. The bond provides, among other things:

‘ ‘ Now if the said appellant shall pay to the said appellee all costs ■ and damages that shall be adjudged against said appellant on said appeal, and shall also satisfy or perform the said judgment or order appealed from, in case it shall be affirmed, and any judgment or order which the Supreme Court may render or order to be rendered by the said district court, not exceeding in amount or value the original judgment or order, and all rents of, or damages to, property during the pendency of the appeal, out of the possession of which the appellee is kept by reason of the appeal, then this obligation to be void, otherwise to be and remain in fall force and virtue. ”

The petition- alleges that the bond has been breached, in that no part of the judgment or costs has been paid.

The grounds of defendant’s motion for a directed verdict [1321]*1321are, substantially, that the bond names the conditions upon which it will become due and payable, and the evidence fails to show that the bond has been breached in any manner, and for the reason that the evidence affirmatively shows that the appeal bond is a statutory appeal bond, drawn in the language of the statute of the state of Iowa, the giving of which bond does not in any manner stay an execution; and the evidence affirmatively shows that, prior to the expiration of the time at which an appeal bond should be taken, execution was issued in this case.

It is said by appellant in argument that no claim is made that appellant can recover on the supersedeas bond as a statutory bond, when the appeal has not been perfected by serving and filing a notice of appeal. Their claim is that, the bond having prevented appellant from collecting her judgment, it constitutes a valid common-law obligation, founded upon a sufficient consideration. They state their legal proposition in this way: A bond not authorized by statute, or a statutory bond insufficient under the statute, may be enforced as a common-law obligation, when not in contravention of public policy or in violation of law, if founded upon a good and sufficient consideration. They cite Sheppard & Morgan v. Collins, 12 Iowa 570; Garretson v. Reeder, 23 Iowa 21; Painter v. Gibson, 88 Iowa 120; Stevenson v. Morgan (Neb.), 93 N. W. 180; Carroll County v. Cuthbertson, 136 Iowa 458.

In the first case cited, an attachment'had been issued, and the defendant gave a bond to release the attached prop-, erty, and the attached property was released, and went back into the possession of the defendant. The holding was that, although the bond was not drawn in conformity with 'the statute, it was a binding obligation under the common layr. The consideration was the release of the property that was taken into the custody of the sheriff,, and the release of the property was the consideration for the contract, and was • sufficient.

[1322]*1322The Garretson ease, supra, is similar. The court held that the failure to return the property or the value thereof was a breach of the contract, and that there was a right of action, even though the bond was not given in conformity with the statute.

In the Carroll County case, supra, the contract was held invalid, for the reason that there was no consideration.

The Nebraska case, before cited, was where, by reason of giving a bond, a party held possession of land for two years; and this was held to be sufficient consideration.

In the Painter case, supra, defendant secured the release of attached property by giving the bond.

The instant case is readily distinguished from the cases'' cited. Appellant contends that the supersedeas bond prevented appellant from collecting her judgment, and saved the property of Charles Morrison, and that there was consideration for the issuance of the supersedeas bond, and that it is enforceable as a common-law obligation. But, as we shall see, the giving of the supersedeas bond, without an appeal, could not prevent the issuance of ah execution at any time, and, as before shown, appellant did in fact issue an execution.

Appellee’s propositions are that no appeal was ever perfected, and there was no breach of the bond, and execution was not stayed; and they cite on this point Section 4114, Code, 1897; Pratt v. Western Stage Co., 26 Iowa 241; Loomis v. McKenzie, 57 Iowa 77; Oyster v. Bank, 107 Iowa 39; Davis v. Huth (Wash.), 86 Pac. 654. They also contend that there was no consideration for the supersedeas bond, and the same was not an enforceable contract; and upon this proposition, cite Davis v. Huth, supra; Allen v. Kitchen (Tex.), 156 S. W. 331; Pace Grocery Co. v. Savage (Tex.), 114 S. W. 866; Carter v. Hodge (N. Y.), 44 N. E. 1101; Gregory v. O’Brian, 13 N. J. L. 11.

[1323]*13232 appeal and erappeai^fiiing1^ serving notice: ef£ect [1322]*1322The statute, Section 4114, Code, 1897, provides in part that an appeal is taken and perfected by the service of a

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178 Iowa 1318, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maher-v-morrison-iowa-1917.