Tuggles v. Callison

45 S.W. 291, 143 Mo. 527, 1898 Mo. LEXIS 249
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedApril 1, 1898
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 45 S.W. 291 (Tuggles v. Callison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tuggles v. Callison, 45 S.W. 291, 143 Mo. 527, 1898 Mo. LEXIS 249 (Mo. 1898).

Opinion

Williams, J.

This is an action of ejectment for one thousand three hundred and eighty-one acres of land. The petition contains the. usual averments. The answer sets up an equitable defense, the nature of which will appear from the facts hereinafter stated.

Defendant, in February, 1893, was the owner of the land sued for, but, prior to that time he had given three deeds of trust, upon it. The first, dated August 1, 1888, was to secure a note for $6,000 payable to Gilbert & Gay; the second, dated July 27, 1892, was for a note of $2,500 to the Farmers Exchange Bank; and the "third, September 23, 1892,. for one of $1,760, to the Union Bank of Trenton. Defendant was also heavily indebted to other parties. He was a customer of the Daviess County Savings Association, of which plaintiff was president, and had borrowed money from it, from [532]*532time to time, until his indebtedness to said association then due amounted to about $5,600. Plaintiff represented said bank in all of its dealings with defendant and they were upon terms of intimate friendship. A sale of the land under one or more of said deeds of trust above mentioned was about to be made. Plaintiff, as representative of the Daviess County Savings Association, and the defendant were anxious to prevent such sales. Plaintiff was not satisfied that the security held by his bank was sufficient. The debt due it of $5,600 was secured by a chattel mortgage upon some cattle, which defendant was feeding. It was believed by both plaintiff and defendant that it would not be advisable to sell the cattle at that time. It was thought by them that if said cattle should be kept upon the land a while longer, a larger sum could be realized for them. The parties believed that if the cattle were sold in February, 1893, in the condition in which they then were, they would not bring enough to pay the debt due plaintiff’s bank. They were also desirous of preventing a sale of the land.

Defendant claims, and so alleges in his answer, that on or about the twenty-third of February, 1893, plaintiff agreed that his bank would take up the Union Bank debt and the note of the Farmers Exchange bank, and would advance the instalment of interest due at that time upon the Gilbert & Gay note, and would stop the sale of the land, and would “hold the defendant harmless against said deeds of trust until such time as the lands could be sold for their substantial value, or anew loan negotiated sufficient to pay off and discharge said deeds of trust; and advance from time to time a sum not exceeding $2,000, should it be needed, to mature said cattle for market and complete certain improvements upon said real estate.” Defendant asserts that, in consideration of this undertaking upon [533]*533the part of plaintiff’s bank, the defendant promised to give said bank a fourth deed of trust upon the land in controversy, and a chattel mortgage upon ten head of work horses to secure said $2,000, to be advanced, and also as additional security for the old indebtedness, and that he also agreed to move with his family upon the land and to give his personal attention to improving it and caring for said cattle. The arrangement made at this time was verbal and the parties differ as to its terms. Defendant did, on March 1, 1893, execute a deed of trust upon the land and a chattel mortgage upon the ten work animals to secure the old indebtedness due plaintiff’s bank and a note for $2,000, which, it is conceded was given to cover advances to be thereafter made. Plaintiff’s version is that this was done because sixty-six head of cattle, included in the original chattel mortgage held by his bank, were missing and were not accounted for, and that this additional security was demanded on that account, and he denies the agreement mentioned above. The Daviess County Saving’s Association did not, at any rate, take up the notes secured by the second and third deeds of trust. Defendant and plaintiff afterward, jointly, made several unsuccessful efforts to induce other creditors of defendant to make some arrangement to purchase said notes and to carry the debts without a sale.

Finally defendant’s father-in-law, Mr. R. C. Williams, agreed to assist in the matter. A written ©entrant was, on the twenty-second of March, 1893, entered into and signed by the Daviess County Savings Association (acting through plaintiff, its president), and by Mr. R. C. Williams and defendant. This contract provided that said bank should purchase and have assigned to it the note to the Farmers Exchange Bank secured by the second deed of trust and should carry it, without foreclosure, for twelve months. This deed [534]*534of trust liad not been signed by defendant’s wife, and the contract stipulated that plaintiff’s bank should not be required to take up said note until she should execute and acknowledge said deed of trust. It was further agreed that the bank should hold said note for twelve months, as above stated, unless it should be sooner paid by Williams or defendant. Said bank was also to advance, from time to time, as needed to pay for labor in raising the crops during that year, sums not exceeding in the aggregate $800 and was to have a lien upon the crop for such advances, etc. Mr. Williams agreed, upon his part, to purchase and have assigned to him the the Union Bank debt secured by the third deed of trust. Defendant was to move upon the land with his family within thirty days from the date of the contract, and give his personal attention to the farm and stock.

Defendant and his wife, at the time of making the above contract, executed a quitclaim deed to Mr. R. C. Williams for the land. The consideration recited in this deed is $1. It was made by defendant of his own motion. He says that he did it because he thought Williams would be better satisfied to have the deed and he made it on that account. Plaintiff claims that the incentive to defendant to execute this conveyance was the fact that judgments for large amounts were about to be rendered against the latter, and he desired for that reason to make the transfer. Mr. Williams testified that he accepted the deed with the understanding that it was intended as an unconditional conveyance of the land to him.

Defendant alleges that he fully performed said contract above stated upon his part and moved upon the land and made improvements thereon. Afterward defendant’s wife signed the deed of trust, securing the debt of the Farmers Exchange Bank, and acknowl[535]*535edged it before Mr. "Williams who was a notary public. It was presented to plaintiff for his bank to take up the note in accordance with the terms of the written contract above referred to. He objected to the acknowledgment on the ground that the party who took it was interested in the land, and he preferred to have it acknowledged before another officer. Mr. Williams agreed to this, but it was several weeks before it was convenient for the wife to acknowledge it again. The holder of the note in the meantime notified Williams that the matter must be attended to at once or the land would be sold. Re then took up the note with Ms own funds. Plaintiff claimed that in doing so Williams exercised the right given him. under the written contract to pay off said debt but Mr. Williams says he did not understand it that way.

Defendant’s father-in-law, Mr. Williams, caused the land to be advertised for sale under the third deed of trust, and it was sold by the trustee November 4, 1893, and at that sale plaintiff purchased and received a deed from the trustee. Afterward Mr. Williams on the eighteenth of December, 1893, assigned to.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
45 S.W. 291, 143 Mo. 527, 1898 Mo. LEXIS 249, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tuggles-v-callison-mo-1898.