Anderson v. Wickliffe

SLOSS, J.

The defendants executed a mortgage of real property to secure a promissory note made by them to Security Building Company, a corporation. The plaintiff, alleging that he was the assignee of the note and mortgage, brought this action of foreclosure. The defendants denied

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the assignment to plaintiff, and set up affirmative defenses, which need not be considered here. At the close of plaintiff’s ease, the court granted the defendants’ motion for non-suit, and judgment was entered accordingly. The plaintiff appeals from the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

The motion for nonsuit was based on the grounds that the assignments under which plaintiff claimed had not been proven, and that there was no consideration for the alleged assignments, if such there had been.

The plaintiff introduced testimony that one Yeager was the secretary of Security Building Company, and offered in evidence a writing, purporting to assign to Nátional Building Company the note and mortgage in question. Proof was made that this instrument, which bore the impress of the corporate seal of Security Building Company, was signed, in the name of said Security Building Company, by Yeager as its secretary. Subsequent assignments from National Building Company to E. M. Smith, and from Smith to the plaintiff, were also offered. All these papers were excluded on the ground that there was no proof of the authority of Yeager to execute the first of the assignments. The rulings are assigned as error. There can be no doubt that the claim is well founded. The fact that the corporate seal was affixed afforded a

prima facie

showing that the officer executing the paper had due authority to execute it. (10 Cyc. 1018; Thompson on Corporations, sec. 5105;

Southern California Colony Assn.

v.

Bustamente,

52 Cal. 192;

Schallard

v.