106 Ga. 498 | Ga. | 1899
T. J. Haile brought suit against the Atlanta Land & Loan Company and Mrs. R. C. Haile, for the purpose of foreclosing a lien as an equitable mortgage upon certain land. The material allegations of his petition were as follows: A. J. Haile sold a half-interest in certain land to the Atlanta Land & Loan Company on the 26th of October, 1892, conveying the
The defendants admitted the execution of the deed and the giving of the notes by A. J. Haile to the Atlanta Land & Loan Company, as charged in the petition, but denied that the purchase-money notes referred to were sold and transferred to petitioner, alleging that the transfer was not real, but only in form to render said A. J. Haile unable to pay his debts, among-which was a debt due by A. J. Haile to defendant Mrs. R. C. Haile, amounting to the sum of $256.30. For further answer-defendants alleged that Mrs. R. C. Haile had a good and valid title to, and possession of, said property for a valuable consideration, and denied that she had actual notice of the character of the deed from A. J. Haile to the Atlanta Land & Loan Company, when she bought the land. They further denied that said deed was any security for the payment of the notes therein mentioned, but alleged that it was made to convey the title to said company, and not for the purpose of securing the debt. It appeared from the testimony that the petitioner purchased the three notes set forth in his petition, from his brother, A. 'J. Haile, the consideration being a credit given by petitioner on a debt due him by A. J. Haile. There was no evidence tending to sustain the plea that this purchase and transfer of the notes to petitioner were made for a fraudulent purpose. The deed from A. J. Haile to the company was for a one-half undivided interest in the land, and the suit was to foreclose an equitable lien upon this interest. It appears that the other-half-interest was owned by Mrs. R. C. Haile, the wife of A. J. Haile, which she acquired in 1886. The remaining half-interest formerly owned by her husband, and which he conveyed to the Atlanta Land & Loan Company, Mrs. Haile claimed by virtue of a conveyance from the company to her, dated January 12, 1893, consideration expressed $2,000, in which latter deed this language occurs: “The said and above-described two lots of land being the same conveyed to this company by the two deeds of one-half interest undivided each of R. C. Haile, dated May 21, 1892, and recorded in the office of the clerk of the su
In the bill of exceptions is the following recital: “ As the court recollects, after the evidence had closed, the presiding judge inquired if there was any contested question of fact to be submitted to the jury, or if he should direct a verdict; and as he understood, counsel on both sides conceded that if he held that the papers in evidence created an equitable lien or mortgage, and that the recital in one of the deeds affected Mrs. Haile with notice, there was nothing to do but for the judge to control the finding by his charge, parties not waiving any right to except to his rulings. He charged accordingly. Counsel for defendants did not consent for the court to direct the verdict for plaintiff. They said there .was a dispute as to the notice, and denied that there was a lien. These were the only questions of fact brought to the attention of the court, and it was not claimed that there were others which should be submitted. The court held that the papers created a lien, and that Mrs. Haile was charged with notice by recital in the deed.”-
Judgment affirmed.