Morton v. Rutherford
Wisconsin Supreme Court
APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Jefferson County. This action was brought in February, 1862, to foreclose a mortgage executed by the defendants Douglass Rutherford and Elizabeth, his wife, August 11, 1855, to secure payment of a note of the same date made by Douglass Rutherford to the plaintiff for $1,260 with interest at twelve per cent.
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APPEAL from the Circuit Court for Jefferson County. This action was brought in February, 1862, to foreclose a mortgage executed by the defendants Douglass Rutherford and Elizabeth, his wife, August 11, 1855, to secure payment of a note of the same date made by Douglass Rutherford to the plaintiff for $1,260 with interest at twelve per cent. The answer alleges, in substance, that the note and mortgage were executed in pursuance of a usurious agreement between the parties to the note, that the maker should pay and the payee should receive for the loan of the principal sum mentioned in the note,…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Cole, J.
However unconscionable tbe defense of usury may be in the light of morals and good conscience, yet it is very clear that courts have no duty but to enforce it when clearly established, so long as prohibitory laws upon tbe subject are enacted by tbe legislature. In this case, if the contract set forth in the answer was really made as therein stated, there cannot be a particle of doubt but it was usurious. The counsel for the respondent argues that because the contract to receive a greater rate of interest than 12 per cent, was not embodied in tbe note and mortgage,…
2Cited by8 opinions
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- Graham v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co.Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1881
- Woodruff v. ScruggsSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1871
- Austin v. BurgessWisconsin Supreme Court · 1874
- Ela v. ElaSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1903
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