Savings & Loan Society v. McKoon

Citations

• 120 Cal. 177
• 52 P. 305
• 1898 Cal. LEXIS 731

Syllabus

<p>Statutory Construction—Penalties not Favoreb.—Penalties are never favored by courts of law or equity; and statutes imposing penalties or creating forfeitures must be strictly construed, and every intendment and presumption is against the person seeking to enforce a pen-ally or forfeiture provided for by such statute.</p> <p>In.—Construction of Code—Failure of Corporation to File Copy of Articles—Action to Foreclose Mortgage—Mortgagee Property not “Helb” by Mortgagee.—Section 299 of the Civil Code, which provides that any corporation failing to comply with that section by filing a certified copy of the copy of its articles of incorporation filed in the office of the secretary of state in any county “in which it holds any property,” except where the original articles are filed, shall not maintain or defend any action in relation to such property, “its rents, issues or profits,” until that section is complied with, does not apply to an action by a corporation to foreclose a mortgage in another county, which is simply and only an action for the collection of a debt, and to enforce a lien for its payment. The corporation does not “hold” the mortgaged property, within the meaning of that section.</p> <p>In.—Nature of Mortgage—Lien Incident of Secured Debt.—A mortgage, though a conveyance in form, and treated as a conveyance for certain purposes, passes no estate in the land, but only creates a lien upon it, which is an incident of the secured debt, and passes by a simple assignment of the debt.</p>