Michigan State Insurance v. Soule

16 N.W. 662, 51 Mich. 312
Michigan Supreme Court·Decided October 3, 1883·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

Cooley, J.

The circuit judge who took the testimony -and heard these cases found material facts as follows :

That one Lucy Piquette was the patentee of certain lands in Ottawa county, including a parcel of about forty-four acres now claimed by these parties respectively.

That prior to August 6, 1860, she made a mortgage of ■.said lands, which was subsequently the subject of a suit for ■foreclosure, in the Ottawa circuit court in chancery, in which suit decree for sale was made, and the lands were sold to William M. and Thomas W. Perry.

That afterwards, and on December 16,1867, said William M. and Thomas W. Ferry, for a valid consideration, by a ■deed with full covenants of warranty, conveyed seventy acres, including the lands now in controversy to James B. Soule.

That on August 28,1868, James B. Soule mortgaged the lands so conveyed to one Edward L. Craw for the sum of three thousand dollars, of which mortgage, after it had been endorsed down to fifteen hundred dollars, the insurance •company became the owner.

That the foreclosure of the Piquette mortgage was invalid, and did not cut off the equity of redemption, and •on September 20, 1873, Lyman D. Norris became the [314]*314owner of such equity of redemption by deed from Mrs, Piquette.

That afterwards, on June 15, 1875, Norris conveyed the premises in controversy to Edward P. Ferry, executor of the-estate of William M. Ferry, at the request and by the procurement of James B. Soule, who then continued to be the-owner of the title derived from the Ferrys, and also of Edward P. Ferry, executor as aforesaid, and who was also agent and attorney of Thomas W. Ferry; and that it was-the intention and purpose of the parties to said conveyance that the same should operate to perfect the conveyance-from the Ferrys to James B. Soule, and to discharge the Ferrys from liability upon their covenants.

And that the force and effect of the Norris conveyance-was to perfect the title so conveyed by the Ferrys to Soule..

We concur in this finding, and do not deem it necessary to enlarge upon it. Some further facts, however, require-to be now stated.

March 10, 1871, Soule conveyed twenty acres, part of the-land, for a consideration of $5000, to one Alonzo J. Sawyer, and as a part of the consideration Sawyer was to pay $1500, the balance owing on the Oraw mortgage, then held by the insurance company. The deed was expressly made subject to this payment; and in January, 1872, Soule obtained from Sawyer a bond of indemnity as further security. He afterwards conveyed six acres more of the land to hi& sister, Mrs. Craw.

Flavius J. Hough was then the general agent of the insurance company, and he was notified of this sale to Sawyer, and that Sawyer assumed the payment of the mortgage. Sawyer himself requested Hough to notify him as interest came due, and he did so, and Sawyer paid interest for several years.

The lands were known as fruit lands, and Sawyer, who-was a man of considerable means, was purchaser for a rise of other lands in the neighborhood. In 1876, however, there was a very great depreciation- in the market value of [315]*315these lands, and Sawyer became unable to meet his obligations. The insurance company then called upon James B. Soule for payment; failing to obtain it, foreclosed its mortgage by advertisement, and bid in the land. After the time for redemption expired, the company obtained possession, and filed its bill to quiet the title. Linnie S. Soule, who, with knowledge of all the facts, had received a conveyance from James B. Soule of the lands in dispute,, filed a cross-bill claiming title and praying decree accordingly.

The circuit court made decree as prayed by complainant in the original bill, and the complainant in the cross-bill appeals. Edward P. Perry, who is defendant in both bills,, makes no claim.

The decree is right if the foreclosure of the Craw mortgage is sustained. But it is contended by Mrs. Soule that there are fatal defects in the proceedings, and also that before the foreclosure the insurance company had estopped itself by the acts of its general agents from resorting to her lands.

The supposed estoppel depends upon the testimony of James B. Soule, and of Craw who is bis brother-in-law. Soule testifies that shortly after the sale to Sawyer, having an ambition to get the remainder of his farm freed from incumbrance, he asked Hough to have the insurance company release it. Hough said he would see about it and let him know. Some time after that Hough told him it was a great deal of bother to release it, or something of that kind, but that he considered the land sold to Sawyer good security and satisfactory and all that, and that he was glad to deal with a man like Mr. Sawyer who he knew would pay the interest. After that conversation Soule was not called upon to pay interest until 1876. Again he says: Mr. Hough told me that it would be a good deal of bother for them to release a part of the land; that they had extended the time to Mr. Sawyer, and that the twenty acres and Sawyer were just as good security as thé insurance company wanted; that he himself would be glad to have [316]*316the Sawyer land for twice the amount of the mortgage; that the insurance company would never look to me or my land for any part of the money, and that I might rest at ■ease about the matter.” Craw’s testimony tends to confirm this evidence, and Hough’s to contradict it.

No claim is made upon the evidence that there was in fact at any time an extension given to Sawyer, and Sawyer himself testifies that there was none. ' The demand was simply allowed to remain uncollected so long as the interest-was met. Soule claims, however, that by the sale to Sawyer and the assumption of the mortgage by the purchaser, Sawyer in equity became the principal debtor, and Soule, the mortgagor, the surety. If this is not strictly correct, so far as the parties are concerned, the transaction had the effect to make the land sold to Sawyer the first fund to be resorted to, and the land retained by Soule the secondary or security fund. Metz v. Todd 36 Mich. 473. Hough, it is shown, was aware of this fact, and made what statements he did make with knowledge of it.

The authority of Faxton v. Faxon 28 Mich. 161, is invoked to support an estoppel. That was the case of a distinct renunciation of a demand, made for the purpose of inducing a party to change materially his plans of life, and to incur heavy expenditures; and it was very justly held that after the change had been made and the expenditures incurred in reliance upon the renunciation, the creditor must abide by it. In effect a parol contract, made on ample consideration and performed on one side, was specifically enforced in that case. But in this case there was no contract and no consideration; there was simply a request for a discharge not acceded to, and some very strong statements that the party making the request would not be called upon for payment. It is not claimed that in this State the failure of the creditor to enforce his demand against the principal at the request of the surety would have the effect to release the surety; for Pain v. Packard 13 Johns. 174, which originated that doctrine, is repudiated in this State as it is in [317]*317most others. Inkster v. First Nat. Bank 30 Mich. 143. The estoppel, then, must stand upon the representations.

In Parker v. Leigh

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

Michigan State Insurance v. Soule, 16 N.W. 662, 51 Mich. 312 (Mich. 1883).

16 N.W. 662 (Michigan State Insurance v. Soule) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Gustin v. Ziem
286 N.W. 219 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1939)
Keyworth v. Wiechers
263 N.W. 57 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1934)
National Bank of Commerce v. Gilvin
152 S.W. 652 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1912)
Wiener v. H. Graff & Co.
95 P. 167 (California Court of Appeal, 1908)