40 Wis. 523 | Wis. | 1876
The plaintiff’s right to recover the property in dispute must rest entirely upon the chattel mortgage mentioned in the case. That instrument was the foundation of his title, and if it had ceased to he a lien when the defendant in good faith purchased the property, there could he no recovery. The controlling question then is, "Was the mortgage a valid lien upon the' property when "Weber sold and transferred it to the defendant?
The evidence is conclusive that the mortgage was withdrawn from the office of the city clerk on the 30th of December, 1874, and that this was done by the éxpress authority of the plaintiff. He gave written authority to "Weber “ to withdraw and destroy” the mortgage; and the case, therefore, is quite unlike that of Swift v. Hall, 23 Wis., 532. In that case the agent exceeded his authority in taking the mortgage from the files, and this court held that the lien was not thereby lost, it appearing that the mortgagee exercised due diligence in restoring the mortgage to the files. Bnt here there is no ground for saying that "Weber was not fully authorized to withdraw the mortgage from the files, or that he did not actually withdraw it before the sale of the property to the defendant was complete. The bill of sale bears date January 1, 1875, the day the defendant was legally organized or had an existence. As there can be no dispute about these facts upon the evidence, it must be held that the defendant took the property discharged of the lien created by the mortgrge.
Bnt it was claimed on the part of the plaintiff, and an
We think the judgment of the circuit court must be affirmed.
By the Gowrt. — Judgment affirmed.