8 S.D. 596 | S.D. | 1896
This was an action to compel the defendant to satisfy a mortgage, alleged by the plaintiffs to have been paid. The defendant, by her answer, denied the payment, and by way of counterclaim demanded the foreclosure of the mortgage. Findings and judgment were in favor of the plaintiffs,
The facts necessary to a proper understanding of the case may be briefly stated as follows: In June, 1887, the plaintiffs obtained a loan of $1,600 from Downing & Lumley, who were bankers and loan agents at Armour, in this state, through their agents at Plankinton. Subsequently, in 1891, Downing & Lumley organized the Douglas County Bank, of which Lumley became the president and manager. The loan was made on five years’ time, interest payable semi-annually,'and interest and principal were made payable at the First National Bank of Hartford, Conn. The note and mortgage to secure the same were made payable to Lumley. The interest coupons were paid to Lumley, and he delivered to the plaintiffs the coupons so paid. . Lumley notified the plaintiffs when interest was due, extended time for payments, and transacted all the business pertaining to the note and mortgage with the plaintiffs, and when the note became due informed the plaintiffs that the money should be paid to him. Lumley, in June, 1888, transferred the note and mortgage to the mother of the defendant, through Smith & Co., brokers at Hartford, who seem to have been the agents of Dowing & Lumley, and subsequently of the Douglas County Bank. The assignment of the mortgage was duly recorded. The defendant transacted the business for her mother with Smith & Co., and subsequently became the owner of the note and mortgage. The mother and the defendant received all interest for the five years through Smith & Co., at Hartford. Neither the plaintiff Reid nor the defendant nor her mother transacted any business relating to this loan with the First National Bank of Hartford, where the note, mortgage and interest were made payable. There was no communication between plaintiff Reid and the defendant or her mother. Neither the defendant nor her mother ever notified Reid that she held the mortgage and note. When the note became due, Reid caused the cashier of the Davison County Bank, at Mt.
Numerous errors are assigned, but only two are discussed in appellants brief. These are: That there is no evidence that the plaintiffs ever paid the amount due upon the note and mortgage to the defendant, or to any one authorized to receive it, and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the finding that the plaintiff Reid did not sign the application marked ‘ ‘Exhibit 4. ” The evidence as to the signing of the application, Exhibit 4, by Reid, was conflicting, and the findings of the court and jury
It is contended by the appellant that the evidence as to the authority of the Douglas County Bank to receive the money on the notes and mortgage was undisputed, and therefore the question as to such authority was one of law for the court. The respondents contend that, while the facts may be undisputed, the inferences to to be drawn from the facts are a question of fact, and not of law. We are of the opinion that respondents are correct in this contention. It is only when the facts are undisputed, and but one inference can legitimately be drawn therefrom, that the question becomes one of law. When different minds may reasonably draw different inferences and arrive at different conclusions from the undisputed facts, the question remains one of fact, and not one of law. The rule adopted by this court is thus stated in the headnote in Bates v. Railroad Co, 4 S. D. 394, 57 N. W. 72: “Upon the trial, if the evidence leave the facts undisputed, and they are such that different conclusions or inferences could not reasonably be drawD from them, it becomes the duty of the court to declare their legal effect; but if tbe facts are in dispute, or, if undisputed, they are such that different impartial minds might fairly draw different conclusions from them, they should be submitted to the jury. ” Thompson in his work on Negligence (page 236) states the rule as follows: ‘ ‘It is frequently stated that when the facts are undisputed or conclusively proved the question of negligence is to be* decided by the court. A better opinion, however, would seem to be that, in order to justify the withdrawal of the case from the jury, the facts of the case should not only be undisputed, but the conclusions to be drawn from the facts indisputable. Whether the facts be disputed or undisputed, if different minds may honestly draw different conclusions from them, the case should properly be left to the jury.” The evidence in this case upon the questions presented
This is a case where one of two innocent parties must necessarily suffer loss. This loss the jury and trial court find resulted from the defendant intentionally and by want of ordinary care causing the plaintiff Reid to believe that the Douglas County Bank was authorized by her to collect the note for her. If such was the fact, the rule laid down in Sec. 4730, Comp. Laws, applies, namely: “Where one of two innocent persons