36 Neb. 66 | Neb. | 1893
On the 17th day of April, 1889, the defendant, M. A. Upton, executed a promissory note for $800 to Chittenden, and to secure the payment of the same Upton and wife executed a mortgage upon lot 20, block 3, in Brown Park addition to South Omaha; also on said date he executed a second note to Chittenden for $800, and to secure the payment of the same tie and his wife executed a mortgage upon lots 13 and 14, in block 6, in said addition. On the same date as the first and second notes Upton executed a third note to Chittenden for $800, and to secure the payment of the same he and his wife executed a mortgage to Chittenden on lot 22, in block 3, in the aforesaid addition. Chittenden assigned the mortgages to the plaintiff, and default having been made, an action was brought to foreclose the same. To the petition so filed the defendants, Upton and wife, filed an answer, as follows: “ Come now M. A. Upton and Mary A. Upton, defendants, and for their separate answer to the petition of the plaintiff herein they deny each and every allegation in said petition contained.” This was duly verified. The plaintiff thereupon filed a motion as follows: “ Now comes the plaintiff and moves the court to strike the answer of M. A. Upton and Mary A. Upton from the files of this court, because the same is sham and frivolous, and bases
A sham pleading is defined as one which is good in form but false in fact. (Bliss, Code Pl., sec. 422; Maxw., Code Pl., 553.) The codes of Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin contain provisions for striking out sham answers or defenses. The subject is not named in the other code states, but as the power existed at common law it is no doubt retained under the code. An examination of the cases will show a direct conflict in the decisions as to what answers will be stricken out as sham. The better rule seems to be to treat all answers which are false on their face as shams. Thus, suppose the maker of a note or other instrument sued oy^ehould, in the verification of his answer, swear that he had no knowledge, information, or belief as to the genuineness of the instrument and, therefore, denied the same. In such case the answer would be false on its face, because the alleged maker must have known whether the instrument was true or false. So if it appears that he had knowledge from public records, it is his duty to ex
Reversed and remanded.