90 Ala. 136 | Ala. | 1890
A demurrer was interposed to so much of the bill as seeks to enforce the collection of solicitor’s fees under the following stiiiulation, contained in the note upon which the bill is founded: “It is further agreed, that the
It is well settled by our decisions, that an agreement to pay the reasonable attorney’s fees, which the payee of a note would have to pay if forced to collect by suit, in addition to the legal interest, does not render the contract usurious. Defendants contend, that the terms of the agreement to pay all costs for collecting, not less than ten. per-cent., without reference to the reasonableness of the charges, makes the contract usurious. In Munter v. Linn, 61 Ala. 494, the agreement was to pay, if it became necsssary to institute legal proceedings to recover the amount of the notes, the fee of the attorney employed, “such fee to be ten per-cent, of the amount sued for and recoyered,” — an unconditional agreement to pay ten per-cent. It was held, that this stipulation does not constitute the contract usurious, but that the creditor could recover only a reasonable fee, though he stipulated for a larger sum or per-cent. In Wood v. Winship, 83 Ala. 424, the note obligated the maker to pay principal, interest, and ten percent. attorney’s fees. It was ruled, that the note was sufficient to support a judgment by default for the entire amount due, including attorney’s fees, without the intervention of a jury. These decisions show, that an agreement, to pay ten per-cent, of the amount recovered, in addition to the legal interest, is
Affirmed.