McRae v. Pope
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
311 Mass. 500, 42 N.E.2d 261 (1942)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Mr. and Mrs. McRae (plaintiffs) took a loan secured by a mortgage on their property. The McRaes subsequently conveyed a portion of their property to Robert Pope (defendant) in exchange for his assumption of the entire mortgage. Several years later, Mabel D. Pope (Mabel) (defendant), Pope’s mother, bought the mortgage. As assignee of the mortgage, which covered both the parcel of land conveyed to Pope and the parcel of land retained by the McRaes, Mabel planned to force the McRaes to pay the entire mortgage or forfeit their property. To effectuate this plan, Mabel first granted Pope a partial release from the mortgage and then demanded that the McRaes pay the entire mortgage, threatening to foreclose if they refused. The McRaes paid the amount due, but Mabel began foreclosure proceedings anyway. The McRaes sued to enjoin Mabel from foreclosing on the property and to compel Pope to repay them the amount they had paid Mabel. The trial court found for the McRaes and decreed that Mabel and Pope were jointly and severally liable to the McRaes for the full amount of the mortgage. Mabel and Pope appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cox, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
