56 Neb. 50 | Neb. | 1898
Emily J. Robinson executed and delivered to the New England Loan & Trust Company her bond for $2,500, due five years after date, drawing interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from date until maturity, and payable semi-annually, such interest evidenced by ten coupons or interest notes of $75 each, attached to said principal bond. The first of said coupons matured six months after the date of said principal bond, and one other coupon each six months thereafter. These coupons were payable to bearer. To secure the payment of the bond and coupons, Robinson executed and delivered to.the trust company a mortgage upon certain real estate in Douglas county, Nebraska. The trust company brought this suit
1. It i-s first insisted that the trust company’s petition filed in the district court does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. This argument is based upon counsel’s contention that an owner only of an interest note or coupon of said loan cannot maintain an action to foreclose the mortgage securing the payment of such coupon; that a suit to foreclose the mortgage can be brought only by the owner of the principal bond. It is insisted that such is the express contract between the mortgagor and mortgagee, as found in the mortgage itself. The mortgage provided that in case the mortgagor should fail to pay the taxes upon the mortgaged property when due, or make default in the payment of any interest
2. A second contention under the argument that the petition does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action is that the holder of the coupons could not pay taxes which were a lien upon the mortgaged real estate and recover such taxes from the mortgagor or the mortgaged property. The mortgage provided that if the mortgagor should neglect to pay the taxes on the mortgaged property, the mortgagee might do so, and recover the amount paid with ten per cent interest from the mortgagor, and that the mortgage should stand as security for the taxes so paid. The argument is that the owner of the principal bond and mortgage might pay the faxes upon this mortgaged property and have a lien upon
3. The petition of the trust company alleged that after it received the bond, coupons, and mortgage from Robinson, it transferred and sold them to a third party and guarantied the payment of the mortgage debt, and that it subsequently, by reason of Robinson’s default, was compelled to and did pay to its assignee the amount due on coupons nine and, ten. These allegations were denied by the answer of Robinson, and it is now argued that the finding of the district court that these allegations of the trust company’s petition were true is not sustained by the evidence. The contention is correct. The evidence does not sustain that particular finding of the district
4. But it is insisted that the finding of the district court that the trust company, at the time of bringing this suit, was the owner of coupons nine and ten is not sustained by the evidence. We think it is. The execution and delivery of these coupons to the trust company by Robinson were admitted by her in her answer. They were payable to bearer and they were in possession of the trust company, and produced on the trial. The possession of a promissory note payable to bearer is prima facie evidence of the holder’s ownership of such note. (Sharmer v. McIntosh, 43 Neb. 509; City Nat. Bank of Hastings v. Thomas, 46 Neb. 861.)
5. The foregoing are tbe only points argued in tbe briefs of counsel which we deem it necessary to notice. Tbe decree of tbe district court is right and is
Affirmed.