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3 Edw. Ch. 588

Shotwell v. Smith

New York Court of Chancery

Decided July 1, 1842

New York Court of Chancery · decided 1842-07-01

In support of the motion, the complainant showed that the mortgagor had become insolvent; and that, if the premises were to be sold, they would not produce above nine thousand dollars or ten thousand dollars and which would be insufficient to satisfy his claim.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1842-07-01

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently December 1903

3 state decisions

101842185018601870188018901900decided

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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The Vice-Chancellor :

¶1This case is to be governed by the usual rule that when premises are an inadequate security and the mortgagor is insolvent, a receiver will be allowed; and if the present case rested solely on the affidavits, produced by the complainant, the court would here appoint a receiver. But opposing affidavits show also the value ; and two of these are made by persons presumed to be competent judges of real estate, namely, assessors appointed to value city property for the purposes of taxation.

¶2I consider, however, the best criterion of the value of property in the city of New York is its rental. We are not to be bound by what it would sell for. Its worth can best be known by the rent it commands from paying tenants. In this way, we can get at the value as an investment.

¶3I am of opinion that the security held by the complainant is sufficient for the payment of his mortgage debt, without, any interference with the rents through a receiver. Indeed, I consider that the court has no authority to interfere with a mortgagor’s right to the rents, unless such rents, as well as the property, have been pledged as security for the debt or there is a clear want of security.

¶4In this case, the application for a receiver must be denied.

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