132 Minn. 372 | Minn. | 1916
Defendant was the owner of certain real property in the village of Spina, St. Louis county, and some time in the year 1912 constructed a dwelling, house thereon. He thereafter occupied the premises with his family as his homestead, and the same was exempt from seizure or sale on execution, except for debts incurred for labor or material used in the construction of the building. Thereafter defendant mortgaged the property to one McCoy, and procured a policy of insurance thereon in the sum of $1,500, payable to the mortgagee as his interest might
The insured property constituted the homestead of defendant; of this there is no question. The insurance was procured by defendant, was his personal contract, and was payable to the mortgagee, as his interest might appear. That the surplus over and above the interest of the mortgagee belonged to defendant, the insured, there is no question, nor can there be any question but that such surplus was exempt to him .under the provisions of section 7951, supra, the validity of which cannot well be called in question. Unless, therefore, the provisions of section 12 of article 1, of the Constitution, by which the homestead is rendered liable for debts for material and labor used in its construction and re
Counsel are in error in the contention that in the Bennett case it was held that the creditor had the right to the insurance money over and above that paid to tbe mortgagee. Such was tbe ruling of the trial court in that case, but whether the decision was right or wrong was not involved on the appeal to this court. The appeal presented only the question whether the insurance money was or was not properly granted to the mortgagee. We sustained the trial court in that respect, and the questions involved in that conclusion were the only matters considered or determined.
Order affirmed.