Wick v. Roop

Citations

• 253 Pa. 264
• 98 A. 555
• 1916 Pa. LEXIS 820

Syllabus

<p>Mortgages — Scire facias sur mortgage — Defenses—Payment—■ Evidence — Presumption.</p> <p>1. The possession by a debtor of a bond or other evidence of indebtedness raises a presumption of fact that the debt has been paid; such presumption may be rebutted by any other evidence. If possession can be accounted for on any other hypothesis than that of payment, the presumption is rebutted.</p> <p>2. In an action of scire facias sur’mortgage brought by tbe administratrix of a decedent’s estate, tbe defense was payment. It appeared that defendant- bad beld receipts purporting to be signed by decedent for tbe amount of tbe loan; tbe receipts were not produced, defendant contending tbat they were lost. Tbe plaintiff produced tbe evidence of a bandwriting expert wbo examined tbe receipts, to tbe effect that tbe signatures were forgeries. Tbe mortgage was not satisfied of record but tbe bond was in tbe possession of tbe defendant; there was, however, no payment endorsed on tbe bond. There was some evidence tbat defendant bad access to certain of the papers of decedent from which tbe inference was sought to be drawn tbat she bad abstracted tbe bond. Held, tbe case was for tbe jury and a verdict for tbe plaintiff was sustained.</p>