11 Wis. 126 | Wis. | 1860
This action was brought to foreclose a mortgage given to secure two notes, amounting to $1,336, on one of which there was an indorsement of $100. The notes and mortgage were given to secure the payment of the purchase money of the land, which was sold by the plaintiff to the defendant, Harvey Briggs, and conveyed at. his request, to his wife. For a part of the land the plaintiff had at the time of the sale, a contract for the conveyance, and he procured a deed to be made directly to Mrs. Briggs, and also gave her a quit claim of that part to which the title was in him. The notes and mortgage were given back, and the plaintiff at the same time executed and delivered to the defendants an agreement not to collect the notes until he had given a warranty deed, and perfected the title in Frances L. Briggs. These facts are all set forth in the complaint, and it is further averred, that the object of this agreement was to require the plaintiff to extinguish the right of dower of his wife, who did not sign the deed, and with whom he had then a divorce suit pending. And it is also alleged that the plaintiff did, before the bringing of the suit, tender a good and sufficient warranty deed of the premises, and that he had extinguished the dower of his wife by a decree divorcing them from the bond of matrimony, and that by these proceedings a perfect title had become vested in Frances L. Briggs.
The answers deny the execution of the mortgage described in the complaint, which denial however seems to have been based upon some variance in the date of its record. This the court properly disregarded at the trial, as it was very clear that the defendants were not and could not have been misled by it. And they also deny that the plaintiff had tendered the warranty deed, or had perfected the title as he had agreed.
On the trial the defendants objected to any proof under the complaint, on the ground that it did not set forth facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. This objection was
A preliminary question was raised as to whether the evidence is before this court, the bill of exceptions not having been signed by the judge. That question has been several times suggested, but it has not been necessary to determine it, until it was presented in this case. Under the old practice a bill of exceptions was always authenticated by at least the
In this case the affidavit shows only the proper service of the exceptions, but as there was no pretence by the counsel on the other side that any amendments were served, we shall consider the exceptions as properly a part of the record. This
A number of objections were made by the defendants to the admissibility of evidence. But we think them all unfounded. The evidence offered tended to show a good title in Frances L. Briggs, either by tracing the actual chain of title, or by showing that the incumbrances had been paid and discharged. The certificate of the register of the land office was admissible by a positive statute, and we can see no substance in any of the other objections. We think from the evidence upon which we have to pass, this being an equity case, that the allegations of the complaint which were denied by the answers, were sufficiently established, and that the plaintiff showed his right to collect the notes according to the agreement.
The judgment is affirmed with costs.
Note. — In Ricker vs. Scofield, 6 Wis,, 367, which was a bill in chancory for specific performance, the attorney for the defendant prepared a bill of exceptions, and served it upon the plaintiff’s attorney, and after waiting eight days, as required by rules 19 and 20, 0. R.., he filed the same with the clerk of the circuit court, without procuring the signature of the judge, and it was sent up with the appeal papers. The supreme court held that such a paper could not be considered as a bill of exceptions.
In Townsend et al. vs. Bank of Racine, 7 Wis., 185, the judgment was rendered on the 5th of January, 1858. On the 6th of March the plaintiffs, against whom the judgment was rendered, took their appeal to the supreme oourt; and on the 19th of March they served a copy of the bill of exceptions upon the defendant’s! attorney, without any notioe accompanying it. The attorneys for the defendant, on the same day, wrote on the copy served as follows, and returned it: “ This paper is returned to the plaintiff’s attorney ; and the defendant’s attorneys refuse to aocept the same,
April 23, 1858. J. M. KEEP.”
The bill so signed was filed on the 11th of May, 1S58. The appeal papers certified on the 14th of May, were filed on the 15th of June, 1S58, in the supreme court; and on the next day tho defendant’s attorneys moved the court, to strike out the bill of exceptions from the return of the circuit court, "for the following reasons: 1. No bill of exceptions was served in this case upon the defendants' attorneys, within the time allowed by the rules of the court. 2. No bill of exceptions was filed within ten days after settlement. 3. No notice of the settlement of any bill was ever served upon the defendant’s attorneys. And 4. No bill of exceptions was served upon defendant’s attorneys, until after the case had been removed to the supreme court.”
The attorney for tho plaintiffs, in opposition to this motion, made an affidavit showing, among other things, that from the 6th or 7th of April to the first of May, he was confined to his room by sickness, and unable to attend to any business; that the bill of exceptions had been given to him in person by the judge, and he was unable to state whether it was received more or less than ten days before the 11th of May; and that the delay of filing the bill in the clerk’s office,was oocaasioned by the sickness of the attorney, and his inability to attend to business.
This motion was argued by the attorneys of the respective parties, and denied by the court, on the 19th of June, 1858. The court held that the bill of exceptions had been well settled; that the failure to file the same in time, if there had been any failure, was sufficiently accounted for, and was excusable.
See also the case of State vs. Gale, 7 Wis., 673.