Jackson v. Hooper

• Decision Date: 26 July 1895
• Citation: 107 Ala. 634,18 So. 254
• Parties: JACKSON ET AL. v. HOOPER ET AL.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

18 So. 254

107 Ala. 634

JACKSON ET AL. v. HOOPER ET AL.

Supreme Court of Alabama

July 26, 1895

Appeal from chancery court, Tallapoosa county; S. K. McSpadden Chancellor.

Bill by Hooper & Nolen against C.J. Jackson and others to foreclose a mortgage, and for a receiver pending suit. From a decree appointing a receiver, defendants appeal. Affirmed.

The bill in this case was filed by the appellees, Hooper & Nolen to foreclose a certain mortgage which they held on certain property belonging to the appellant C.J. Jackson, situated in Alexander City, Tallapoosa county, Ala., and asking that a receiver be appointed to take charge of the property pending the foreclosure suit, and to rent, insure, and keep the same from waste. It was averred in the bill that the respondent C.J. Jackson was insolvent; that the property was insufficient to pay the indebtedness secured by this mortgage; that the property, which consists principally in buildings, was uninsured, although the mortgage provides that the same should be insured in reliable companies; and that the taxes upon the property were unpaid. The indebtedness of this respondent to the complainants is shown to be $6,000 with interest from the 1st of December, 1892, and the attorneys' fees, for which the respondent was liable, for foreclosing this mortgage, and an amount due upon a prior mortgage to the Southern Home Building & Loan Association, of Atlanta, Ga., in the sum of $1,000, making a total indebtedness of about $10,000. The application for the appointment of a receiver was made to the chancellor in vacation, and notice was served upon the respondents of the time and place that the application would be made. A number of affidavits were filed, both by the complainants and the respondents, as to the value of the property, upon the submission of the cause for the appointment of a receiver. The affidavits of eight persons, who were acquainted with the property, estimating the value of the same at $7,000, and one who estimated the value at $7,500, were filed by the complainants, and a number of affidavits showing the insolvency of the respondent Jackson. The respondents filed the affidavits of five persons, who were acquainted with the property, who estimated the value at from $10,000 to $12,000 and three others who estimated the value at $15,000. The respondents also filed additional affidavits of three parties who had already made affidavits for the complainants estimating the value at $7,000, stating that this value of $7,000 was upon the basis of the present financial condition of the country, and that in ordinary times the property would be worth more than $7,000. It is not denied in the affidavit of the respondent himself, or of any other person, that he is not insolvent, nor does he claim that the property was insured, and that the taxes were paid. Upon the submission of the cause, upon the application to appoint a receiver, in vacation, to the chancellor, both on the averments of the sworn bill and the affidavits of the complainants and respondents, the chancellor appointed a receiver to take charge of the property pending the...