E. A. LILES, ET UX.,
v.
F. R. SAVAGE

Fla. | 1935-09-25
Whitfield, C. J., and Brown, Buford, and Davis, J. J., concur.
121 Fla. 83 Florida Supreme Court (1935) Positive Treatment
Also reported at: 163 So. 399
Cited by 21 cases

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Synopsis

This case concerns whether filing a foreclosure lawsuit automatically declares an unmatured mortgage principal due, or if explicit notice is required. The court held that while filing the suit can constitute an election, the bill of complaint must sufficiently notify the mortgagor of the mortgagee's intent to accelerate the debt. The court also directed the lower court to amend its foreclosure decree to properly apportion amounts due on multiple mortgages.


Holding

The court held that while the institution of a foreclosure suit can amount to an election to accelerate, the bill of complaint must contain allegations sufficient to notify the mortgagor that the mortgagee intends to exercise the acceleration option. The allegations in this case were deemed sufficient for that purpose.


Key Quotes

“The rule is general and is approved in this State that the institution of a suit to foreclose amounts to the exercise of the option of the mortgagor to declare the whole of the principal sum and interest secured by the mortgage due and payable.”

Establishes the general rule regarding acceleration upon filing suit.

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Facts & Procedural History

The plaintiffs filed a bill to foreclose two mortgages on the same land, one of which had not yet matured. Both mortgages contained acceleration claus…

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Opinion of the Court
Terrell, J.

Terrell, J.

This appeal is from a decree foreclosing two mortgages. The first mortgage which was past due described a certain parcel of land, and the second mortgage, not maturing until January 1, 1936, described the same lands covered by the first mortgage with additional lands.' The bill was' filed September 18, 1934. Both mortgages contained acceleration clauses and were attached to and by appropriate words made part of the bill of complaint. The foreclosure decree found the sum of $9418.26 due on the first mortgage and the sum of $11,662.00 due on the second mortgage.

The sole question presented is whether or not a bill to foreclose under such circumstances must allege an election by the plaintiff to declare the unmatured mortgage principal due, by reason of default in payment of interest and taxes, or does the mere filing of the bill constitute such an election.

The rule is general and is approved in this State that the institution of a suit to foreclose amounts to the exercise of the option of the mortgagor to declare the whole of the principal sum and interest secured by the mortgage due and *85payable. Kreiss Potassium Phosphate Co. v. Knight, 98 Fla. 1004, 124 So. 751; Rehearing on Treb Trading Co. v. Green, 102 Fla. 238, 135 So. 512.

Notwithstanding the rule as thus approved it is required that the allegations of the bill be sufficient to put the defendant, mortgagor, on notice that the mortgagee, plaintiff, is exercising his right of acceleration. The real question here is whether or not the allegations of the bill are sufficient to do this.

The object of alleging or showing an election to declare the unmatured mortgage due is to put the mortgagor on notice that the mortgagee intends by the foreclosure to recover principal, interest, and all other amounts due and recoverable under the mortgage. No specific formula is required to do this. If the terms of the bill are sufficient for this purpose it meets the requirements of the rule.

The bill of complaint in this case had attached to and made a part of it both the matured and the unmaturedmortgage. It quoted from the unmatured mortgage the acceleration clause and followed this quotation with allegations that the principal, interest, and taxes were unpaid although long since due and that plaintiff had employed an attorney to bring this foreclosure suit and to collect the sums mentioned in the said promissory notes and the mortgage deeds being foreclosed, and had obligated to pay said attorney a sum equal to ten per cent, of the face of each of said notes for his services.

Our opinion is that such allegations were sufficient under the facts of this case to neutralize the assault on the bill and the answer shows conclusively that appellant understood that appellee purposed by the filing of the bill to exercise his option under the acceleration clause. The error complained of is, therefore, without merit.

*86We have not overlooked, in this disposition, a motion to vacate the supersedeas granted herein and a motion to quash the appeal filed by appellee under the statute. The cause was fully matured about the time these motions were filed so we have elected to dispose of it on the merits.

On September 21, 1935, appellants offered in this Court petition to be permitted to file additional assignment of error, predicated on the decision in Virginia L. Swann, et al., v. L. Maxcy, Inc., filed May 21, 1935, not yet reported. Said assignment is considered as filed.

In the last cited case we held that in a foreclosure suit embracing two mortgages' with facts similar to those existing in this case the final decree should separate the amounts due on each mortgage and apportion counsel fees between them and decree that the parcel covered by the first mortgage, be sold first to satisfy that mortgage, any surplus to be applied on the s'econd mortgage in order that the right of defendants to redeem from the lien of one mortgage without redeeming from the lien of the other should be preserved.

The decree of foreclosure in this case does not in all respects conform to the opinion in Swann, et al., v. Maxcy, Inc., supra, which is the law of this State with reference to foreclosures of this class. The proceeding below has not proceeded beyond the foreclosure decree.

On this point the judgment is reversed with directions to the chancellor to amend his decree of foreclosure to conform to the law as enunciated in Swann, et al., v. L. Maxcy, Inc., supra, and proceed to final disposition of the cause.

Affirmed in part, revers'ed in part.

Whitfield, C. J., and Brown, Buford, and Davis, J. J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Campbell v. Werner, 232 So. 2d 252 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970)
    …e to declare the whole of the principal sum and interest secured by the mortgage due and payable. Prince v. Mahin, (1917) 73 Fla. 525, 74 So. 696; Gus’ Baths v. Lightbown, (1931), 101 Fla. 1205, 1211, 133 So. 85, 135 So. 300; Liles v. Savage, (1935) 121 Fla. 83, 163 So. 399. And the filing of suit to foreclose operates as notice to the mortgagor of the election to accelerate, where the election to do so is declared in the complaint (as was done in this case) or, in the absence of such declaration, where th…
  • …ee to declare the whole of the principal sum and interest secured by the mortgage due and payable. Prince v. Mahin, (1917) 73 Fla. 525, 74 So. 696; Gus’ Baths v. Lightbown, (1931), 101 Fla. 1205, 1211, 133 So. 85,135 So. 300; Liles v. Savage, (1935) 121 Fla. 83, 163 So. 399. And the filing of suit to foreclose operates as notice to the mortgagor of the election to accelerate, where the election to do so is declared in the complaint ... or, in the absence of such declaration, where the complaint on its face…
  • Scarfo v. Peever, 405 So. 2d 1064 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
    …August Tobler, Inc. v. Goolsby, 67 So. 2d 537 (Fla.1953); Murray v. Stalnaker, 154 Fla. 64, 16 So. 2d 650 (1944); Seligmann v. Bisz, 123 Fla. 493, 167 So. 38 (1936); Van Huss v. Prudential Ins. Co., 123 Fla. 20, 165 So. 896 (1936); Liles v. Savage, 121 Fla. 83, 163 So. 399 (1935); Douglas Properties v. Stix, 118 Fla. 354, 159 So. 1 (1935); Stegemann v. Emery, 108 Fla. 672, 146 So. 650 (1933); Jaudon v. Equitable Life Assur. Soc. of United States, 102 Fla. 782, [*1067] 136 So. 517 (1931); Kreiss Potassium…

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