46 Wis. 301 | Wis. | 1879
Lead Opinion
This is an appeal from a judgment of nonsuit, in an action of replevin to recover possession of certain crops. The plaintiff was the purchaser of the land upon which the crops were growing, at a foreclosure sale made on the 19th day of June, 1878, under a judgment rendered on the 18th of June, 1877. The premises at the time of sale were, and had been for more than two years previous, in the possession of the defendant, under an unrecorded lease given by the mortgagor, subsequent to the mortgage. The defendant was not made a party to the foreclosure suit. On the trial, the plaintiff, to establish his title to and ownership of the crops, offered in evidence the deed executed by the sheriff' on the foreclosure sale, which was objected to on the ground that it appeared on the face of the instrument that the judgment was rendered on the 18th day of June, 1877, and that the sale took place on the 19th day of June, 1878, and that therefore the sale and deed were void. The deed was excluded, and the first error assigned is this ruling rejecting the deed.
In support of the ruling of the court below, the counsel for the defendant contend that the deed was void, because, under ch. 143, Laws of 1877, no proceedings on the judgment, as by advertising the mortgaged premises for sale, could legally take place until after the expiration of a year from the date of the judgment. In the case of The N. W. M. L. Ins. Co. v. Neeves, ante, p. 147, it was said that a proper construction of the law of 1877 did not justify any steps to be taken for a sale of the mortgaged premises before the expiration of one year from the date of the judgment; but in that case we did not have occasion to consider the effect of a sheriff’s deed executed on a sale prematurely made. That is the question involved here.
The counsel for the plaintiff insists that even upon the con-
In note (H), 1 Powell on Mortgages, 161, Mr. Coventry remarks, that, “ when it is said that, as between the mortgagee and mortgagor, the mortgagee is entitled to the emblements, the meaning is, that when the mortgagor has personally occupied the premises, and the actual possession is afterwards delivered to the mortgagee by the sheriff or otherwise, the growing crops which are found upon the premises become part of the security, and may be applied by the mortgagee to his own use; but the principle does not apply to the case where the growing crops have been carried off by the mortgagor before the mortgagee obtains possession, and between the time of his demand and recovery of possession.” And this same rule of law has been substantially laid down or recognized by numerous authorities in this country. Some of the eases bearing upon the point are cited in the brief of the counsel for the plaintiff. But we do not find that any of these authorities go to the extent of holding that a purchaser at a foreclosure sale can, before he obtains possession of the premises, or even before the sale is confirmed by the court, maintain an action of replevin for the crops growing upon the premises. In Lane v. King, 8 Wend., 584; Shepard v. Philbrick, 2 Denio, 174; Simers v. Saltus, 3 id., 214; Gillett v.
We have assumed, thus far, that the tenant was bound by the judgment of foreclosure because his lease was not recorded at the time of filing the notice of Us gendens. This position is controverted by the counsel for the defendant, because he was in the open possession of the property when the foreclosure action was commenced. We shall not examine the question, inasmuch as the action must fail because the sale has never been confirmed. That question is decisive of the case.
By the Court. — The judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.
On a motion for a rehearing, appellant’s counsel argued substantially as follows: 1. When this action was commenced, in August, 1878, no confirmation of a foreclosure sale was necessary to vest the title and right of possession in the purchaser. (1) C. O. Rule 31 of 1857 declares that, “ unless otherwise specially ordered by the court, the judgment shall direct .... that the purchaser at such sale be let into possession of the premises on production of the deed; ” and in Loomis v. Wheeler, 18 Wis., 524, this rule is construed as entitling the purchaser “ to be let into possession, and, if need be, to a writ of assistance, before confirmation of the sale.” (2) Sec. 2, ch. 143 of 1877, provides that the sheriff’s deed on such a sale “ shall vest in the purchaser the same estate, and shall be as valid, as if the same were executed by the mortgagor and mortgagee to the same person, .... and the purchaser shall be let into the possession of the premises so sold, on production of such deed.” (3) The judgment in the foreclosure action, which was offered in evidence in this action by the plaintiff, adjudged that “ the purchaser or purchasers at such sale, his or their assigns, be let into possession of the premises so sold, on production of the said sheriff’s
Rehearing
Only a few words need be said in answer to the elaborate argument filed on the motion for rehearing. In the above opinion attention is called to the important fact, that in Lane v. King and the other cases the purchaser at the foreclosure sale had entered into the actual possession of the premises, and this circumstance distinguishes those cases from the one at bar. If counsel will but refer to Lane v. King, they will find this stated as a fact, that the purchaser, King, put a tenant into possession, and that, “ at the time of the entry of the tenant of King, there was a crop of rye in the ground on
In Shepard v. Philbrick, Jewett, J., says at the close of the opinion: “ Shepard, having acquired the title to the mortgaged premises, which carried with it a title to the crop growing, and having acquired actual possession of the premises, showed a perfect title to the wheat in controversy, as well against Wright as Philbrick, the latter having no greater right or interest* in the crop than the former would have had if it had not been sold on execution against him prior to the sale under the mortgage.” In Sherman v. Willett, 42 N. Y., 146, the mortgagee, Cornell, as administrator of the estate of the mortgagor, sold the growing crop on a public administrator’s sale to the plaintiff, and he was held estopped from after-wards setting up any title or claim against his own sale. In Aldrich v. Reynolds, 1 Barb. Ch., 613, the mortgaged premises were advertised for sale under the statute, and the mortgagor obtained an injunction staying the sale, giving a bond for damages, etc. During the continuance of the injunction, he cut and removed the crops and grass from the premises. The premises did not finally sell for enough to discharge the mortgage debt, and the mortgagee was allowed, as part of his damages by reason of the injunction, the value of the crops and grass taken from the premises during the time the sale was stayed. The other authorities referred to on this point, in the argument on the motion, except the one in our own court, require no further comment.
II. But it is insisted that this court, in Loomis v. Wheeler, 18 Wis., 524, decided that no confirmation of sale under a foreclosure was necessary to vest in the purchaser at such sale the complete title of the property sold, and the right of 0 possession, and that this case is decisive upon the question before us. That was an action brought by the purchaser at the
By the Court. — Motion denied.