North American Acceptance Corporation v. Cutts

244 So. 2d 802, 46 Ala. App. 522, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 402
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Alabama
DecidedFebruary 17, 1971
Docket3 Div. 24
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 244 So. 2d 802 (North American Acceptance Corporation v. Cutts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
North American Acceptance Corporation v. Cutts, 244 So. 2d 802, 46 Ala. App. 522, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 402 (Ala. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

BRADLEY, Judge.

• vThis proceeding was commenced when appellees here, Mr. and Mrs. James A. Cutts, plaintiffs below, filed an action in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County .against appellant here, North American Acceptance Corporation, a Corporation, claiming the sum of $1,822.79 to be due under a contract they had with appellant for the purchase of a house and lot in the City of Montgomery.

On May 28, 1969 appellant filed a motion to transfer to the equity side of the Circuit Court this action, and have it disposed of along with another suit involving the¡ same property. This motion was overruled on July 10, 1969.

A demurrer was filed to the complaint on September 16, 1969, and was later overruled by the court.

The appellant then answered the complaint on September 30, 1969 by filing five pleas thereto. Demurrers to pleas two, three and' five were filed by the appellees, and these demurrers were sustained by the trial court.

Issue was'- joined on the complaint and pleas one and four filed thereto. Trial was had before the court and jury, with verdict being returned in favor of appellees for $1,822.79. A judgment was entered in accordance with the jury verdict.

Appellant thereupon moved for a new trial, which motion was later overruled.

On April 29, 1970 appellant filed notice of appeal to this court, and on May 1, 1970 filed a supersedeas bond.

Appellees entered into a contract with appellant on March 29, 1968, wherein appellees agreed to purchase a certain house and lot in Montgomery, Alabama, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the written contract, and moved into possession of the property.

As required by the “Agreement for Deed,” the appellees paid $245 as down payment, and also paid nine of the purchase price installment payments (out of a total of 180 payments) at the rate of $112.-40 per month. In addition to the foregoing, and by virtue of the said agreement, appellees also undertook to make repairs, such as replacing a hot water heater ($29.-15), making electrical repairs ($27.50), and repainting the house inside and out ($247.-36). Also in accordance with the agreement, the appellees procured insurance ($60), making the total expended by appellees $1,822.79.

On the trial of the cause, appellant questioned the propriety of the house painting, asserting that it was an improvement not required by the agreement. Appellant also asserted that the insurance procured by the appellees was “homeowners” insurance, covering personal property, as well as real property, and therefore not required by the agreement.

The agreement entered into by the parties provided that should the buyers (appellees) first make the payments and perform the covenants mentioned in the agreement, the seller (appellant)- would convey to the buyers its interest in the property, subject to the following restrictions:

[525]*525“This Agreement is subject to any statutory rights of redemption by virtue of that certain foreclosure deed from North American Acceptance Corporation to North American Acceptance Corporation dated July 18, 1967, * * *.
“This Agreement is also subject to any rights of Charles Terry Cline, Jr. by virtue of ‘Agreement for Deed’ dated October 29, 1967, from North American Acceptance Corporation, a corporation.
“Provided, however, that where the property which is the subject of this Agreement is subject to an equity of redemption, such redemptive right shall be superior to this Agreement, said Agreement being made specifically under and subject to any right of redemption.”

The agreement entered into by the parties also specifically provided that in the event the buyers failed to carry out any of their covenants, particularly those for the payment of the down payment and installments, such payments would be deemed forfeited to the seller as rent. There were other provisions that were also directed to a possible default on the part of the buyers, stating what would happen if such should occur.

The agreement is devoid of any provision authorizing the seller to retain as rent any moneys paid to it or expended on the property while the buyers were in possession upon the failure of sellers to convey title to the buyers due to the failure of the vendor to carry its end of the bargain, i. e., convey good title to vendees.

Mr. Cutts testified that he read the agreement and signed it, knowing that it was subject to the potential claim of Mr. Cline.

Mr. Cutts also testified that after having made the down payment, installment payments, insurance payment, and the repairs, all pursuant to the agreement, that appellant notified appellees on February 3, 1969 to vacate the premises because appellant was unable to complete the sale as contemplated in the agreement.

Appellees did vacate the premises and have since been unable to recover the money expended pursuant to the agreement as heretofore mentioned.

Appellant has made nine assignments of error, but assignments two, eight and nine were not argued in brief and are thereby deemed waived. Supreme Court Rule 9.

Assignment of error one is based on che alleged error of the trial court in refusing to transfer the present action to the equity docket, where another proceeding was docketed which involved the same property.

Appellant says that the' line of cases holding that error in refusal of a trial court to transfer a cause to the equity side must be raised by mandamus, and cannot be considered on appeal from a judgmerit thereafter entered, applies only to cases initially raising some' equitable question on the law side below. ' ' 1 ■' ’

Appellant also contends that the case at bar is distinguishable in that this case is directly concerned with the' same property dealt with in a separate case which was already on the equity side, wherein appellant asserts said equity case had directly involved .the rights of the parties in the case at bar. ' ■ •

As authority for its position, appellant cites us to the cases of BBC Inv. Co. v. Ginsberg, 280 Ala. 148, 190 So.2d 702, and Amann v. Burke, 237 Ala. 380, 186 So. 769. Ginsberg, supra, merely states that where property rights are involved, all persons having legal or equitable rights in the property must be made parties. Similarly, in Amann, supra, it is said that minors should be represented in a sale for division of property where they owned a one-third interest in the property.

Even assuming for argument’s sake that appellant might possibly be correct in asserting that appellees should have been [526]*526joined in the suit on the equity side, this would not mean that error claimed in the refusal to transfer an action to the equity side could be raised by appeal rather than by mandamus. In fact, appellant has cited us to no authority which would support such a contention.

Furthermore, appellant fails to point out why it feels that the case at bar should be treated differently from the other cases, particularly where, as in the present case, the suit on the equity side is admittedly a different action from that on the law side in that the parties are not the same, and for ought that appears, the relief sought was entirely different.

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Bluebook (online)
244 So. 2d 802, 46 Ala. App. 522, 1971 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 402, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/north-american-acceptance-corporation-v-cutts-alacivapp-1971.