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257 Ala. 643

Downs v. Downs

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided October 9, 1952

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1952-10-09

Relies on Rodgers v. Thornton · Williams v. Davis · Palmer v. James

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1952-10-09

How this case has been cited

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently April 1972

3 state decisions

10195219601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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SIMPSON, Justice.

¶1This is a suit in equity by appellant for specific performance of an oral agreement to execute a mortgage or to declare and establish an equitable lien on personal property. The question of the sufficiency of the bill is not raised on this appeal. On a final hearing the trial court denied relief and dismissed the bill. The decree must be affirmed.

¶2The evidence was substantial that whatever debt was owing the plaintiff by the defendant had been paid. While this was, of course, controverted by the plaintiff, the trial court concluded against her contention. So under the favorable presumption attending such a ruling on testimony heard ore tenus before the trial judge, this court will not reverse. Rodgers v. Thornton, 254 Ala. 66, 46 So.2d 809.

¶3It is also to> be pointed out that the agreement contended for by the bill was unenforceable under the statute of frauds. An oral agreement to execute a written mortgage is unenforceable in equity either by way of specific performance or as an equitable mortgage. Palmer v. James, 210 Ala. 641, 99 So. 109; Williams v. Davis, 154 Ala. 422, 45 So. 908; Code 1940, Title 20, § 2.

¶4Affirmed.

LIVINGSTON, C. J., and FOSTER and GOODWYN, JJ., concur.
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