Mortgage Bond Co. of New York v. Moore

96 S.W.2d 91, 1936 Tex. App. LEXIS 752
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 11, 1936
DocketNo. 1766.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 96 S.W.2d 91 (Mortgage Bond Co. of New York v. Moore) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mortgage Bond Co. of New York v. Moore, 96 S.W.2d 91, 1936 Tex. App. LEXIS 752 (Tex. Ct. App. 1936).

Opinion

GALLAGHER, Chief Justice.

This suit was instituted by appellee, Mrs. Dora Moore, a feme sole, against appellant, the Mortgage Bond Company of New York, a foreign corporation, and against Blair Stribling, who has made no appearance in this appeal. Appellee alleged that on May 13, 1925, she was the wife of B. P. Moore, and that she and her husband, in consideration of the sum of $1,900, loaned to them by appellant, executed and delivered to it their promissory note for said sum of money; that the same was payable in part in semiannual installments and the remainder on June 1, 1930; that said note bore interest from date on the amount of the principal unmatured during each successive six months’ period at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum, payable semiannually, evidenced by ten interest notes in accordance with the terms thereof; that all said notes, both principal and interest, provided that the same should bear interest at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum after maturity; and that appellee and her husband, to secure the same, executed a deed of trust on the land involved herein. Certain provisions of said deed of trust, hereinafter designated' as the first deed of trust, were specifically pleaded, which provisions, so far as material to the disposition of this case, will be recited in connection with our discussion of the issues of law relevant thereto. Appellee further alleged that appellant at the same time required appellee and .her husband, as a part of the same transaction and as further interest on the money loaned to them by appellant, to execute and deliver to one C. K. Durham a series of ten notes in the aggregate sum of $78.10, bearing said date and becoming due contemporaneously with the several interest notes of the first series as aforesaid. While not specifically alleged, each of said notes represented 1 per cent, of the unma-tured portion of the principal note for the six months’ period covered thereby. Said notes bore interest only after maturity, and then at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum. Appellee and her husband executed a second deed of trust upon the same land to secure said second series of notes. All said interest notes, both original and secondary, were duly paid, and the further sum of $675 was paid on the principal. Appellee’s husband, B: P. Moore, died prior- to the maturity of said principal note. The land involved passed at his death to appellee as community survivor. He died intestate, and no administration was had on his estate.

Appellee further alleged that on May 31, 1930, she was fraudulently induced by appellant to execute to it a renewal note in the sum of $1,400, payable in part in semiannual . installments and the remainder on June 1, 1935, with interest on the unma-tured portion of the principal thereof at the rate of 7 per cent, per annum, payable semi *92 annually, and evidenced by ten interest notes in accord with such terms; that both said principal and interest notes bore interest after maturity at the rate of 10 per cent, per annum; that appellee, to secure the same, executed another deed of trust on the land involved herein. Certain provisions of said deed of trust, hereinafter designated as the last deed of trust, were specially pleaded, which provisions, so far as material to the disposition of this appeal, will be hereinafter recited. Said last note included the unpaid principal of the original note and $175 additional advanced at that time. Appellee, in that connection, paid to Blair Stribling $28 which appellant claims was commission. He was made a party apparently because he was named as trustee in the last deed of trust. Appellee alleged that both said transactions were usurions, and asked that all sums paid on all said interest notes be applied as credits on the $1,400 note, and alleged that, when so applied, said note would be satisfied in full. Upon appropriate allegations, appel-lee sought an injunction restraining appellant and said trustee Stribling from advertising the land for sale under the power contained in said last deed of trust and a decree canceling all said deeds of trust and removing the purported liens created thereby as a cloud upon her title.

Appellant denied that said transaction contained any element of usury, and alleged that the second series of notes in the first transaction were a commission which appellee and her husband had agreed to pay to said Durham for procuring said loan from appellant, and that the $28 paid Strib-ling was also a commission for his services in negotiating the renewal. Appellant also filed a cross-action in which it alleged that said $1,400 note was then due, and asked for recovery of the unpaid balance thereof, together with interest and attorney’s fees, and for foreclosure of its lien.

The case was tried without a jury. The court held both the original and renewal transactions usurious and void as to interest; that the balance due on the $1,400 note was only $123.24; and rendered judgment therefor, with foreclosure of lien.

Opinion.

Appellant presents various propositions in which it contends that neither of said transactions was usurious, and that the court erred in refusing to render judgment in its favor for the entire unpaid bal-.anoe on the note sued on, with foreclosure of lien to secure the same. Appellee seeks to sustain the holding of the court so assailed on the ground of the acceleration provisions contained in the several instruments involved in said transactions. We may concede that the second series of notes, payable to Durham, were given, as stated in the second deed of trust, for a part of the agreed interest on the original $1,900 note, and not as commission as alleged by appellant. Nevertheless, the entire interest evidenced by both series of interest notes given in said transaction amounted in the aggregate to only 8 per cent, per annum, and therefore they contained in themselves no element of usury. The original note provided on its face for acceleration of maturity, in which event only the principal “and interest then accrued” should become due. Neither series of interest notes contained any provision authorizing acceleration of the maturity thereof. The first deed of trust provided that in event of default, the holder of the notes secured thereby might declare the same due and payable, and that the proceeds of any sale of the land by the trustee should be applied to the payment of all unpaid principal and interest and any other advancements made by the holder. The second deed of trust contained no provision for acceleration of the maturity of the second series of notes and authorized the trustee, in event of default in the payment of any of said notes, to sell the land, subject to all subsequent notes of said series and all other indebtedness secured by lien thereon, and to apply the proceeds to the payment of any note or notes of said series then past due, and any of the first series of interest notes unpaid at the time, and to the discharge of any advancements. Our Supreme Court has held that in case of conflict on the issue of acceleration between the provisions of an original note and the deed of trust securing the same or the provisions of a deed of trust subordinate thereto, the provisions of the note control. Braniff Inv. Co. v. Robertson, 124 Tex. 524, 81 S.W.(2d) 45, 51, par. 6, 100 A.L.R. 1421; Odell v. Commerce Farm Credit Co., 124 Tex. 538, 80 S.W. (2d) 295, 297, par. 3. However, there is no such conflict in this case. The provisions of said note are merely more specific than those contained in the respective deeds of trust.

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Bluebook (online)
96 S.W.2d 91, 1936 Tex. App. LEXIS 752, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mortgage-bond-co-of-new-york-v-moore-texapp-1936.