Greengard v. Katz

Complainant brought a suit to foreclose a trust deed executed by Louis Katz and his wife, on a 99-year leasehold given to secure their promissory notes in the aggregate sum of $65,000, some of which notes had been paid. The defense interposed was that the transaction was usurious in that the defendants had received only $50,000 for the notes aggregating $65,000. The case was referred to a master who found that the defense of usury was unavailable, and recommended a decree of foreclosure as prayed for in the bill. The amount he found to be due, which included principal, interest, insurance…