24 Wis. 93 | Wis. | 1869
This cause was most ably argued on both sides, and, if time permitted, it would be interest
This question of priority is the great question in the case, out of which arose the numerous other questions argued at the bar, which we shall not consider, since, as already stated, we think this and all of the questions connected with it are conclusively settled against the plaintiff by the decree of the district court in the foreclosure action above referred to. Our examination will therefore be limited to the objections taken to the form and sufficiency of that decree, and of the proceedings in which it was rendered.
1. It is said that it was not charged in the bill, that the Martin and Coman mortgage was paramount- — that in this respect the bill charged as matter of fact what was only a conclusion of law. After pleading the hot of March 23,1853, by its title and the day of its passage,
2. It is also said that the charges of the bill, conceding them to have been sufficient as allegations of matter of fact, did not raise or put in issue the question of the priority of the Martin and Qoman mortgage over the Janssen mortgage, nor of its priority- over the mortgage executed to Schuyler, and, therefore, the decree is not res adjudícala upon those questions. In support of this objection we are referred to Lewis v. Smith, 9 N. Y. 502; Strobe v. Downer, 13 Wis. 10; Straight v. Harris, 14 id. 509, and Williamson v. Probasco, 4 Halst. Ch. 471. The pleadings under consideration in those cases differed so widely from those which we are
3. But it is again said, that the question of priority, though presented and in form decided, is not one which a court of chancery cam adjudicate in a proceeding to foreclose a mortgage. It is freely admitted that a foreclosure suit is not an appropriate proceeding in which to litigate the rights of a party claiming title to the mortgaged premises in hostility to the mortgagor, and that, if such rights be so litigated, and be determined upon pleadings and proofs, the decree will'be erroneous, and will be reversed. Roche v. Knight, 21 Wis. 324; Corning v. Smith, 6 N. Y. 82. But whether, until reversed, such decree is coram non jiodice and void, so that it may be collaterally impeached, is quite another question. The conclusion would seem to follow, from all of the decisions, that it is not. But, be that as it may,
4. It is furthermore insisted that the priority of the Martin and doman mortgage was not adjudged, because there was no such specific prayer, and no prayer for general relief. If the force or validity of the decree depended on the presence of such prayer in the bill, or if without it no decree could be rendered, then, undoubtedly, this objection would be fatal to the proceeding,. The bill contained no prayer for general or special relief, but only the prayer for process according
5. Another objection is, that the decree did not find the facts, and specifically adjudge as a legal result that the Martin and Goman mortgage was prior and paramount. The decree, with one unimportant exception, was in the usual form in foreclosure suits, and, among other things, “ordered, adjndge’d and decreed that the defendants, the Mineral Point Railroad Company, Samuel D. Hastings, treasurer of the state of Wisconsin, and John M. Keep, and all persons claiming or to claim from or under them, or either of them, since the commencement of this cause, be forever barred and foreclosed of and from all equity or equities of redemption, and claim of, in and to said mortgaged premises, prop
6. It is further objected, that the trust or agency of Edward EL Janssen in the mortgage executed and delivered to him was personal and not official, and did not devolve upon Samuel D. Hastings, his successor in office, who was treasurer of the state at the time the foreclosure suit was instituted and decree rendered. The mortgage recited that it was made in conformity with the provisions of the act of March 23, 1853, and was to “Edward H. Janssen, treasurer of the state of Wisconsin, and his successors in office, party of the second part.” The act of March 23, 1853, provided that the mortgage should be executed and delivered “to the treasurer of the state and his successors in office, in trust for the use and benefit of the holders of any and all of said bonds.” Under these circumstances, we cannot well see how it can be maintained that Samuel D. Hastings, upon his accession to the office, did not become the lawful trustee and true representative of the cestui que trusts. Unlike the case of Delaplaine v. Lewis, Governor, etc., 19 Wis. 476, it was not a trust created by mere act of the parties in interest, but was one created by authority of a law of the state; and, if the law authorized and required the mortgage to be made to the state treasurer and his successors in office, then the trust was not merely personal, but one pertaining to the officer as such. It is clear to our minds that such was the intention of the legislature, and must have been the intention and understanding of the railroad
7. A still further objection is, that it was not sufficient to make the trustee alone a party to the bill, but that the cestui que trusts, or holders of the bonds, were necessary parties, without whom there could be no decree affecting or barring their rights. The mortgage to Jans-sen was executed and delivered to secure the payment of one hundred and fifty bonds for the sum of one thousand dollars each, before then issued by the railroad company, and made payable to Janssen,-treasurer of the state, and his successors in office, orto the bearer thereof; and the same were so described in the mortgage, and also asbeing ‘£ transferable by general or special indorsement, or by delivery.” Besides those bonds, the mortgage was likewise made to secure the payment “of such other bonds of a similar description” as should thereafter be executed, part of an issue of bonds which should not exceed, in the aggregate, ten thousand dollars per mile of the whole of the surveyed line of said railroad. The bill charged that bonds of such subsequent issue, amounting to the sum of one hundred and seventy thousand dollars, had been executed and put in circulation by the company; but to whom or when issued, the complainants were not informed. It thus appeared on the face of the bill, that the number of bonds secured by the mortgage, and then outstanding, was three hundred and twenty, which might have been in the hands of an equal number of different persons as the holders thereof. Row, the general rule in equity is undoubted, that, in suits affecting trusts, the parties beneficially interested must be made parties. But this rule is subject to several exceptions, which are as well established as the rule itself; one of which is, that whenever the parties in interest are, or, from the nature of the case, may be, so numerous that it would be difficult or impracticable to bring them all before the court, and their rights are such as may be fairly and fully repre
But it is said that the county of Iowa ought notwithstanding to have been made a party, because it was apparent from the character of the bonds delivered to the county, constituting the whole of the first issue, that they were not. negotiable, and therefore, as to them, that the county was and must have remained the sole cestui qxoe trust. This argument is founded upon a stipulation in those bonds, by which it was agreed that the company should pay the principal and interest of each and every of the bonds issued by the county, promptly whenever the same should become due and payable,
8. The eighth and last objection which we shall consider is, that Gfeorge L. Schuyler was a necessary party defendant, in the absence of whom the court acquired no jurisdiction to pronounce a decree which was valid and binding as against any person. In support of this objection, it is assumed and argued that the mortgage to Schuyler was or might have been the actual first mortgage executed in pursuance of the power reserved by the act of the legislature, and by the mortgage to Jans-sen ; and, if this was so, then that the mortgage to Martin and Coman, instead of constituting a prior lien, was, in fact, subsequent and subject to the lien of both the other mortgages. • To determine this question of priority as between the Martin and Coman and Schuyler mortgages, and the consequent priority of either over the Jans-sen mortgage, it is said that Schuyler was an indispen
We deem it unnecessary to refer particularly to the authorities cited by counsel for the plaintiffs upon this
It follows from these views, that the judgment of the circuit court must be reversed, and the cause remanded, with directions that it be dismissed.
By the Court. — Ordered accordingly.