State Bank of Waverly v. McCoy

3 N.W.2d 141, 232 Iowa 456
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedApril 7, 1942
DocketNo. 45813.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 3 N.W.2d 141 (State Bank of Waverly v. McCoy) 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
State Bank of Waverly v. McCoy, 3 N.W.2d 141, 232 Iowa 456 (iowa 1942).

Opinion

StigeR, J.

The sole question on appeal is whether appellant is liable on the notes. Her defenses to the notes are (1) that she received no consideration for her signature and signed the notes and mortgage for the sole purpose of relinquishing her dower interest, and (2) that she was a surety on the notes and was discharged by an extension agreement granted the principals on the notes by appellee without her consent.

I. On March 3, 1926, M. J. McCoy and his wife, Emma McCoy, appellant, and others, executed and delivered the notes and mortgage which are the subject matter of this suit to ap-pellee, the State Bank of Waverly.

In 1914, W. H. Auner entered into a written contract with O. H. Thomas for the purchase of the real estate involved in the mortgage. Auner then entered into a contract for the sale of the land to M. J. McCoy, husband of appellant. Later, Auner entered into a new contract for the sale of the land to McCoy, Saylor, and Smith.

In 1921, this second contract was canceled, and Mr. Thomas, the owner of the land, sold and conveyed it to McCoy, Saylor, and Smith. McCoy, appellant, Smith, and Saylor and his wife executed and delivered a purchase-price note to Thomas on March 1, 1921, in the sum of $19,000, due in 1924, secured by a mortgage on the premises. Smith then sold his interest in the real estate to J. A. Krause.

In 1924, Thomas tried to sell the note and mortgage to the appellee, which refused to buy because it thought the mortgage was ‘ ‘ pretty heavy. ’ ’

*458 The note being due, McCoy, Saylor, and Kranse, sometime prior to March 1, 1926, went to appellee and stated that Thomas was insisting on payment of the note and asked for a loan of $20,000. Appellee’s appraisers appraised the land at $26,000.

The cashier of the bank, who negotiated the loan, stated:

“I finally said to them this, ‘I have known you for a long time, you have done considerable business with the bank, I would like to help you out, I believe that we can get a loan for twenty thousand dollars through if you people, all three of you, and your wives will sign the notes and the mortgage. ’ I took that matter up with some of our people and we finally decided that we would make that loan that way; the discussion was this, that Mrs. McCoy owned a farm and John Krause owned property, and Mrs. Saylor owned property and Mr. Saylor owned property, and I remarked to them when they came in, ‘I am going to make this loan to you because I consider you people good’ and I said ‘If you people all six of you, your wives and yourselves, will jointly sign notes and mortgage for twenty thousand dollars, and that to be secured by a mortgage on this two hundred and ten or twelve acres of land’ I don’t know exactly what there is but it is about that, ‘We will make you the loan’ and they said they did not need it until March 1st, but that at that time Mr. Thomas would be up and knew he would be glad to get his money because he was threatening to take some action; and on the 3rd day of March, 1926 Mike McCoy and Mrs. McCoy that is M. J. McCoy and Mrs. Emma McCoy, W. W. Saylor and Mrs. Kittie Saylor, John Krause and Jennie Krause came into the bank, I wrote out the papers, made three notes, one for ten thousand, one for five thousand and one, another one of five thousand dollars, and a mortgage. I read the notes and mortgage to them and then I asked Mr. McCoy to sign and he signed, and I asked Mrs. McCoy to sign and she signed, and Mr. Saylor signed and she signed, and Mr. Krause and his wife both signed. They had applied for a loan of twenty thousand dollars, I drew the papers, the three notes for ten thousand, five thousand and five thousand, and a mortgage for twenty thousand dollars securing those notes; I had told the people that they must all sign the notes and mortgage, and they did without any objection whatsoever. ’ ’

*459 When, the purchasers completed the execution of the instruments the cashier paid the amount due Mr. Thomas on the $19,000 note; which was signed by appellant, and received a release of the Thomas mortgage. This testimony is uncontra-dieted.

The transactions with Auner, Thomas, and appellee were separate and independent.

In denying her liability on the $19,000 note executed and delivered to Mr. Thomas in 1921, appellant testified that when her husband told her he had purchased an interest in the farm she replied:

“I will sign no note, he said all you will have to do, he said, you can sign your dowry away, you would have no claim on the place whatever, you will get nothing out of it or receive nothing or give nothing; and I said well then if I sign it then I will have nothing to pay on that farm, he said no, * *

The witness further testified:

“When I signed this $19,000 mortgage and note to O. H. Thomas, I had no intention or understanding that I would be binding myself personally. I had no intention of binding myself. I did not sign for any other reason or purpose than to sign off my dower interest in the property. My husband told me I would have no claim on it. I didn’t understand or wasn’t toM by anyone that I would be personally liable by reason of signing the note and mortgage. At the time that 'I signed the note and mortgage for $19,000, I don’t think that I saw O. H. Thomas. I done what my husband told me, signed the note and mortgage and went home.”

Appellant does not claim that she told Mr. Thomas she did not intend to be personally liable on the note and that she signed it for the sole purpose of relinquishing her dower interest. There is nothing in the record to suggest that Mr. Thomas did not rely on appellant’s signature on the note given in payment for the real estate. The only contract between Thomas and the purchasers was the note and mortgage; that is, ' there was no prior contract of sale between Thomas and the grantees in the deed.

*460 The contract was between Thomas and appellant and the other signers of the note. Appellant’s intention not to be liable on the note was not communicated to Thomas. We agree with the trial court’s conclusion that appellant was personally liable on the Thomas note.

Appellant’s testimony in regard to appellee’s notes is similar to that given with regard to the Thomas note. She testified:

“My husband talked to me about the notes and mortgage he wanted me to sign at the bank. He said if I would' sign them, I would sign away my dowry, but I would have no claim on them whatever or receive anything from it, and I done as he told me. I signed the notes and mortgage at the bank in this suit with that understanding and intention.”

The witness further testified that she did not receive any money from appellee; that no one at the bank told her that the loan would not be made unless she signed the notes; that she signed the notes and mortgage for the sole purpose of releasing dower.

After the notes and mortgage had been read to appellant at the bank she signed the instruments without protest and did not object to the payment of the Thomas note, which she had signed, from the proceeds of the loan. Appellant does not claim that she told appellee of her intention not to be personally liable on the notes or that the bank had such knowledge when it made the loan.

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Bluebook (online)
3 N.W.2d 141, 232 Iowa 456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-bank-of-waverly-v-mccoy-iowa-1942.