McGarry v. Nicklin

110 Ala. 559
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedNovember 15, 1895
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 110 Ala. 559 (McGarry v. Nicklin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McGarry v. Nicklin, 110 Ala. 559 (Ala. 1895).

Opinion

McCLELLAN, J.

This suit is prosecuted by Nicklin against McGarry et al. on a promissory note. The note [562]*562was signed by the defendants at Florence, Ala., and is payable at the People’s Bank of Chattanooga, Tennessee. A prominent, and indeed, as we shall see, the controlling question in the case is as to whether the obligation is an Alabama or Tennessee contract. The facts in legal effect bearing upon that issue may be stated as follows : Originally a corporation of which the defendants were stockholders executed at Florence, Ala., where it was also payable, a note to one Foster which was by Foster endorsed to one Chandler, who discounted it with the plaintiff in due course of trade. On the maturity of this note, it was renewed, with the defendants as accommodation indorsers thereon. This renewal note was signed, indorsed and dated at Florence, Ala.,_but was delivered to and accepted by plaintiff at Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it was payable, an officer of the maker corporation going to the latter place in person to arrange for said renewal, taking this note with him, and there arranging for the renewal and delivering the note accordingly. This note was in turn renewed by a note dated at Florence, payable at People’s Bank, Chattanooga, bearing 8 per cent, interest on its face, and signed by the defendants, being like the note in suit except as to date. On the maturity of this note the defendants desired to again renew it, and one of them — Jordan— wrote thus to the plaintiff: “I think I can give you the same paper, with another name on it, that of W. P. Campbell, if you will renew it for six months on payment Of the interest accrued, ” and asked a reply. Plaintiff replied accepting Jordan’s proposition, to pay interest and renew the note, and inclosing the form of anote, which, as originally printed, specified Chattanooga as the place of execution and also stipulated for interest at the “legal rate.” The words “Chattanoogi, Tenn.” in the date line and “legal rate” in the body of the paper were marked out by plaintiff, and the words “Florence, Ala.” substituted for the former, and “8%” for the latter, before the form was sent to the defendants. The letter of plaintiff accompanying this paper requested that the interest accrued on the former note be-paid at once, and that the note as made out and indorsed be signed and returned. The paper as sent to and received by the defendants contained this stipulation : “If suit is brought on this note, I agree to pay all [563]*563tlie attorney’s fees and costs of collection.” Before signing, the defendants erased or struck out, by drawing a line through them, the words : “I agree to pay all attorney’s fees and costs of collection,” and added to the pajber this memorandum: “Renewal Foster M’f’g. Go. note.” With this erasure and this addition they signed the paper, had W. P. Campbell to indorse the same, and mailed it to plaintiff at Chattanooga, inclosed in a letter written by Jordan in which he states he has been unable to get the money to pay the accrued interest on the old note but will pay it soon, and asks that the amount of the new note be credited upon the old, and the latter so credited be held for the unpaid interest. The paper thus changed reached the plaintiff at Chattanooga in due course of mail and was accepted by him there as the contract between him as payee, the defendants as makers and Campbell as indorser. On these indisputed facts it is too clear for much discussion that the contract evidenced by this note was consummated at Chattanooga, Tennessee, and, being also payable there, was in every sense and for all purposes a Tennessee contract. The paper sent by the plaintiff to the defendants to be signed and indorsed was essentially a proposition involving certain specified terms. Had it been signed without alteration and then remailed at Florence to the plaintiff at Chattanooga, the contract evidenced by.it would have been consummated at Florence by the unqualified acceptance there of plaintiff’s proposition evidenced by signing the note containing the terms of that proposition and by delivering the paper thus signed into the mail, which, postage being prepaid, would have been an efficacious delivery to the plaintiff, whereby execution of the note would have been consummated. But this did not happen. The defendants did not accept plaintiff’s proposition ; but submitted to the plaintiff at Chattanooga a counter proposition for his acceptance or rejection at that point. They in effect said we will not agree to pay the debt and attorney’s fees and costs of collection, as you propose, but we will agree, as set forth in the accorm panying note, to pay the debt only, and we inclose said note as our proposition counter to yours for your consideration, and acceptance or rejection. Again, plaintiff’s proposition was upon the condition that the defendants [564]*564presently pay the interest which, had accrued on the existing note. This condition was not met by the defendants, but another was submitted in its stead : that they would pay the interest as soon as'practicable in the future, and that in the meantime plaintiff should hold the original note credited with the amount of the renewal note as security for the past due interest. Had there been no change in the paper itself this failure to meet plaintiff’s proposition in respect of the interest, and this submission to the plaintiff at Chattanooga of a counter proposition in that regard, would have left the whole matter open until the plaintiff received the note and the proposition as to interest at Chattanooga and there assented to it, whereby the receipt of the note would have constituted its delivery to him, or rejected it, whereby the whole matter would have been set at large. With these new matters injected into the negotiation by the defendants, the case stands in principle as if without previous communication the defendant had proposed by letter addressed to the plaintiff at Chattanooga to renew the existing note as to its principal by anew note, and had to that-end inclosed to the plaintiff for his acceptance or rejection a paper in the form of a note dated and signed by them at Florence, but payable at Chattanooga, and this paper had been delivered to and accepted by the plaintiff at Chattanooga. Upon these facts, which are in legal effect the facts of this case, the note is essentially and for all purposes a Tennessee contract because it is not only payable in that State but also was executed—made—in that State.—Story on Conflict of Laws, §§ 242, 242a, 280, 291, 292, 293, 293a, 293b, 296-306; 3 Am. & Eng. Encyc. of Law, pp. 546-549, 561-563; Parsons on Notes & Bills, pp. 324-327; Young v. Harris, 61 Am. Dec. 170; Lee v. Selleck, 33 N. Y. 615; Hyde v. Goodnow, 3 N. Y. 266; Murphy v. Collins, 121 Mass. 6; Rindskopf v. DcRuyter, 33 Am. Rep. 340; Bell v. Packard, 31 Am. Rep. 251; Millekin v. Pratt, 28 Am. Rep. 241; 1 Daniel Neg. Inst., §§ 868 et seq.; Andrews v. Pond, 13 Pet. (U. S.) 65; Cowles v. Townsend & Milliken, 37 Ala. 77; Evans v. Kittrell, 33 Ala. 449; Broughton’s Admr. v. Bradley, 36 Ala. 689; 2 Parsons on Contracts, pp. 696 et seq.; Backman v. Jenke, 55 Barb. (N. Y.) 468; Johnston v. Gawtry, 83 Mo. 339; Story on [565]*565Promissory Notes, §§ 156 et seq, 165; 1 Randolph Com. Paper, § 28.

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Bluebook (online)
110 Ala. 559, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcgarry-v-nicklin-ala-1895.