. But m Egmtry to enforce Verbal Agreement as Mortgage, or Eguitdble Lien on Personal Property.

Appeal from the Chancery Court of Pike.

Heai-d before the ITon. N. S. Geaitam.

The bill in this case was filed on the 20th February, 1884, by John B. Knox, against Archelaus Wilson and his two sons, Charles and Wm. Ii. Wilson ; and sought to establish and enforce an alleged equitable lien or mortgage on certain crops raised by the defendants, for the price of a certain quantity of guano sold and delivered to them by the plaintiff, amounting to $282.75. According to the allegations of the bill, the plaintiff sold and delivered to the defendants, in the early part of the year 1882, a certain quantity of guano, to be used on land which they were jointly cultivating, under a verbal agreement with them that the price should be considered as included in a mortgage for advances which they had executed to one Henderson; and the money was paid to him, under this arrangement, out of the crops which they had conveyed to said Henderson by the mortgage. At the beginning of the next year (1883), “a similar arrangement was made for guano for the year 1883;” and the defendantshaving executed a mortgage to the Farmers’ & Merchants’ Bank at Troy, of which said Henderson was the president and principal stockholder, for advances made and to be made to them during the year 1883, conveying the crops raised by them jointly during that year, it was verbally agreed between them and the complainant “ that said mortgage should stand also as a security for the guano,” and the guano was afterwards delivered under this agreement. “ Said A. Wilson not being present when this second arrangement was made, and in order that said agreement might not rest entirely in parol, complainant prepared an instrument in writing substantially embodying said verbal agreement, and sent it to said A. Wilson for his signature and that of his sons; but he returned the paper unsigned,” and sent with it a letter addressed to the complainant, dated the 24th January, 1883, in these words: “I am always the man to do right. If you think it proper to put the guano in the paper that Mr. Henderson has against me and my boys, it will be all right with me ;” to which said A. Wilson signed his name. The written instrument referred to was never signed by any of the defendants, but the guano was delivered from time to time, as the bill alleged, on their repeated promises to sign it, and on the faith of their verbal agreement that the debt should be considered as covered by the mortgage. The bill alleged, also, that the mortgage debt had .been paid in full, that the defendants were insolvent, and that they were disposing of the residue of the crops remaining in their hands ; and prayed that a lien on the property might be declared in favor of the complainant, for the amount of his debt, with interest, and that the property be sold for its satisfaction.

…

Citation profile

How this case has been treated — in progress