Taylor v. Barker

Citations

• 30 S.C. 238
• 9 S.E. 115
• 1889 S.C. LEXIS 102

Syllabus

<p>1. It is the settled law of this State that in action to enforce a contract entered into by a married woman in 1881 and 1883, it is necessary to show that such contract was made with reference to her separate estate.</p> <p>2. The referee and Circuit Judge having differed in their findings of fact, the testimony was carefully examined by this court and the Circuit decree reversed.</p> <p>3. The purchaser of machinery from A gave three notes for the purchase money, all of which stipulated that the machinery should be A’s until paid for. B endorsed one of these notes and at maturity paid it. Holding this note as his own and another one of the notes, then past due, as attorney at law for A, B surrendered his note, taking a new note from the purchaser, secured by a mortgage of the machinery and also a mortgage of land belonging to the purchaser’s wife, and wrote to A that he had secured himself by a mortgage of land. This mortgage was duly recorded, but A having no actual notice of it, afterwards took new notes from the purchaser and a mortgage of the machinery, and marked the original notes “settled by making new notes.” Held, that A’s junior mortgage should be preferred to B's, because (1) B, as an attorney, could not secure himself at the expense of his client; and (2) when B took his mortgage, the mortgagor had no property in the chattels mortgaged.</p> <p>4. Equity requires an attorney to exercise towards his client the utmost good faith, and he cannot retain an advantage over his client which his position enabled him to acquire.</p>