Brown v. Scottish-American Mortgage Co.

Citations

• 110 Ill. 235

Syllabus

<p>1. Usury—commissions to loan broker, or to the borrower’s own agent. The payment of an amount to a loan broker as commissions, by the borrower of money, which, added to the current interest upon the note, largely exceeds legal interest, does not show usury in the loan, without proof that the broker acted as the agent of the lender. It does not concern the lender what the borrower pays to his own agent.</p> <p>2. Same—taking interest in advance. It is the well settled law of this State that it is not usurious to exact the payment of interest in advance.</p> <p>3. A person obtained a loan of $4500 when the statute authorized ten per cent interest on money loaned, and the agent effecting the loan retained $225 of that sum. The borrower gave his note for $4500, payable five years after the date thereof, with nine per cent interest. It was held,, that there could be no usury, as the $225 was the interest on the whole sum for five years, at one per cent. In such case the borrower did not pay more than ten per cent, (the legal rate,) so there was no usury, even if the agent acted for the lender.</p> <p>4. Practice in the Supreme Court—whether question arises as to legality of master’s fee. Until the trial court has adjudicated upon the master’s fee charged or entered in his report, this court will not inquire whether the amount charged is legal or illegal. By approving the master’s report the court below will not be presumed to have passed upon the master’s charge and statement of costs appended below his signature, where such charges were not within the reference.</p> <p>5. Corporation—corporate existence—effect of dealing with a body as a corporation, as an admission of its corporate existence. The execution of a note, mortgage, etc., to a corporation, as such, is sufficient prima facie evidence of the existence of the corporation, and no further proof thereof is necessary until such proof is rebutted. This is a rule of evidence, rather than the application of the doc