Connecticut Life Insurance v. McCormick

Citations

• 45 Cal. 580

Syllabus

<p>Acknowledgment of Mortgage by Wife.—If the wife acknowledges a mortgage on her separate property, to secure a debt owed by her husband, and is induced to do so by a promise of her husband’s attorney that he will see the debt paid, neither this promise, nor the failure to perform it, will invalidate the acknowledgment.</p> <p>Wife’s Mortgage Given Under Compulsion of Husband.—If the wife executes a mortgage under the compulsion or undue influence of her husband, she cannot avoid the mortgage because of this compulsion or undue influence, when the mortgagee has no notice of it, unless, at the time of the acknowledgment of the mortgage, she also acted under the fear, compulsion, or undue influence of her husband.</p> <p>Answer when Wife Seeks to Avoid Her Mortgage. — If the wife seeks to avoid her mortgage on the ground of the same having been executed or acknowledged under the compulsion of' undue influence of her husband, she must allege such to he the fact in her answer. .An allegation that she did not acknowledge it freely and voluntarily is not sufficient.</p> <p>Avoiding Mortgage Given by Wife.—The execution and acknowledgment by the wife of a mortgage, under compulsion and undue influence of the husband, do not render the mortgage void, hut only voidable; and if the mortgage is given to secure an antecedent debt, and the mortgagee has no notice of such compulsion and undue influence, the mortgage cannot be avoided on that ground.</p>