147 Iowa 107 | Iowa | 1910
This action is in equity to set aside a judgment in favor of the defendant T. F. Griffin, and against his codefendants herein, J. ]\I. and Jennie M. Collins. It is alleged that the judgment was procured by fraud, and that the note and mortgage upon which it was rendered were executed for the purpose of cheating andi defrauding the creditors of the said defendants J. M. and Jennie M. Collins. It is further alleged, that the property covered by the foreclosed mortgage belonged to Jennie M. Collins, and that the note and mortgage given to said Griffin were to be used by him as collateral security for money he was to borrow for the use and benefit of J. M. Collins in compounding a felony. Separate answers were filed by Griffin, Weston, and J. M. and Jennie M. Collins. Jennie M. Collins pleaded that the note and mortgage were procured from her by duress, and they both pleaded that the note and mortgage were made and delivered as collateral security for $7,840 borrowed of the First National Bank of Sioux City by one Flanders, and that said sum had been paid before the foreclosure of the mortgage. Other issues tendered by the pleadings- will be noticed where necessary for a proper understanding of the case. The principal questions for determination herein are of fact; and, as they are at first glance somewhat complicated, we shall state them with more particularity than we otherwise would.
In 1904, and for sonie years prior thereto, a firm known as the Collins Commission Company was engaged in the live stock commission business at the Sioux City stockyards. The defendant J. M. Collins was a member of the company and the manager of its business. His wife, the defendant Jennie 1VL Collins, at times worked in the office of the company, acting as its clerk or bookkeeper. In 1904 one W. S. Flanders was also in the live stock business in Sioux City. One P. H. O’Neill was a cattleman residing near Faulkton, S. D. In the fall of
The appellant claims that, after it received notice of the foreclosure suit of Griffin, its attorneys called upon Griffin for the purpose of finding out whether the mortgage was a valid one and the note secured thereby unpaid,
As we have heretofore said, Jennie M. Collins pleaded that the mortgage in question was executed by her under duress. The evidence does not sustain the claim. Nor is there evidence sustaining the claim that the note and mortgage in question were given for the purpose of compounding a felony. O’Neill had a valid claim for something over $8,000, and compelled Collins and Flanders to pay him about $1,700 for his trouble and expense in the matter. But there is nothing in the record tending to show that he entered into any such agreement as is prohibited by section 5301 of the Code, which punishes any one who agrees to “compound or conceal the offense, or to abstain from a prosecution therefor, or to withhold any evidence thereof.” There is no question of contribution, among wrong-doers in this case.
The judgment of the trial court is right, and it is affirmed.