ENJohnson v. Thweatt
Metadata
Case Number: 2735
Location: SC00091
Court Term: 1851 January
Catalog Record: http://archives-alabama-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/01ALABAMA:default_scope:01ALABAMA_ALMA215682820002743
Collection Creator: Alabama. Supreme Court
Description: In the manuscript records, the defendant's surname is sometimes spelled "Thweat" or "Thweatte." This case is summarized in Alabama Reports, volume 18, pages 741 through 748. Excerpt from the report: This was an action of trespass to try title to a tract of land, described in the pleadings. Upon the trial, the plaintiff took a bill of exceptions, and the cause is brought here by writ of error. The title of both parties may be briefly stated. The plaintiff recovered a judgment against Robert Lawson, on the 8th day of November 1830, for a sum over two thousand dollars, on which an alias execution issued the 2d of April 1847, and the land in controversy was levied upon and sold by the sheriff, as the property of Lawson, and the plaintiff became the purchaser. On the same day that the judgment was rendered, to-wit, the 8th of November 1830, Robert Lawson conveyed the land and other property by deed of trust to Dill, to secure Joel Chandler in the payment of a note of one hundred and fifty dollars, and further to secure from loss said Chandler and Daniel Coleman, who, with others, had become security for Lawson for the payment of several debts, some of which were due and others running to maturity. Dill resigned the trust, and Baker, who was appointed trustee in his stead, sold the land in the year 1833 to Beavers, who, in 1835, sold it to the defendant. These sales appear to have been made for a valuable consideration, and without any actual fraudulent intent. This statement of the respective titles gives rise to two questions: First, whether the deed of trust from Lawson to Dill is fraudulent upon its face; and, secondly, whether the defendant is chargeable with notice of the fraud. The deed conveys the land in controversy, two female slaves, five horses, a stock of cattle and hogs, thirty thousand pounds of cotton, some lumber, all the grantor's house-hold and kitchen furniture, together with a stock of goods, and all the debts due the grantor by notes, and for the sale of goods, a schedule of which is attached to the deed, and amount to more than seven thousand dollars, in trust to secure Joel Chandler in the payment of his debt of one hundred and fifty dollars, and to protect Chandler and Coleman against liability, as the securities of Lawson on the debts enumerated in the deed, the judgment through which the plaintiff claims not being one of them. The deed then provides, that Lawson should remain in possession of all the property, both real and personal, as well as of the debts, and take the profits thereof to his own use, until default should be made in the payment of the debt due to Chandler of one hundred and fifty dollars, or until Coleman and Chandler, or one of them, should be compelled by law to pay any of the debts for which they were bound as Lawson's securities; and after such default in the payment of the debt due to Chandler, or after Chandler and Coleman were compelled by law to pay any of the grantor's debts for which they were bound. Dill was authorized to sell all the property, real and personal, together with all the debts named in the schedule, for cash, or such part thereof as he might deem sufficient, first giving twelve months notice of the time and place of sale, and from the proceeds thereof to pay all of said debt to Chandler of one hundred and fifty dollars, or so much thereof as remained unpaid, and also such sums as Chandler and Coleman, or either of them, had been compelled to pay, and the surplus, if any, was to be returned to the grantor, after defraying the expenses of executing the trust. Lawson, Dill, Chandler and Coleman signed the deed, but no one else, nor does it appear that any other creditors named in the deed ever assented to it. These are the material features of the deed, which present the question, whether it is fraudulent and void as against the creditors of the grantor.
Division: Northeastern Division
Language: English
Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History, 624 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36130
Rights: This material may be protected under U. S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) which governs the making of photocopies or reproductions of copyrighted materials. You may use the digitized material for private study, scholarship, or research. Though ADAH has physical ownership of the material in its collections, in some cases we may not own the copyright to the material. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in our collections.
Collection Title: Alabama Supreme Court case files
Subject - Topics: African Americans; Debtor and creditor; Forfeiture; Fraud; Real property; Slavery; Suretyship and guaranty
Subject - Places: Saint Clair County (Ala.)
Subject - People: Abbey, slave in St. Clair County, Ala., of Robert Lawson; Baker, Thomas M.; Beavers, Lavina; Beavers, Major; Chandler, Joel; Coleman, Daniel; Coleman, Phillip; Dill, John F.; Johnson, William; Lawson, Robert; Patsey, slave in St. Clair County, Ala., of Robert Lawson; Thweatt, William
Time Period: 1850-1859
Case: Johnson v. Thweatt
Upload Batch: SC00091_Johnson_Thweatt
Repository: Alabama Department of Archives and History
Source: From: Johnson v. Thweatt
