Summary
applying the "general rule which [the court] has frequently followed: Liability for a tort depends on the law of the place of the accident"
Summary of this case from Nasser v. WhitePages, Inc.Opinion
37339
March 10, 1938
Present, All the Justices
1. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — By What Law Governed — In General. — Ordinarily, the validity and effect of a conditional sale, as regards both the parties and third persons, are governed by the law of the State in which the contract was made and where the property was then situated.
2. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — By What Law Governed — Where Removal by Vendee Not Contemplated by Contract. — When a contract of conditional sale does not contemplate removal of the property by the vendee, but later the vendee nevertheless removes the property to another State, in which the contract is not filed or recorded, the rights of the vendor are generally determined by whether or not he has consented to the removal of the property.
3. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — By What Law Governed — Removal to State Having Local Statute Requiring Recordation. — If, by the law of the place where a conditional contract of sale is made and where the property is then located, the reservation of title in the vendor is valid as between the parties and effective as against third persons, the vendor's title is good and will be enforced, as against innocent purchasers from, or creditors of, the conditional vendee, or persons having similar rights, who purchase, or levy upon, the property after its removal to another State. This is true although the contract is not recorded or registered in that State in accordance with a local statute — not expressly or by clear implication applicable to contracts made out of the State, in respect of property subsequently brought into the State — at least if the removal of the property is not contemplated at the time the contract is made, and the removal is without the knowledge or consent of the vendor.
4. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Contracts — Lex Loci Contractus Governs. — The nature, validity and interpretation of contracts are governed by the law of the place where made, unless the contrary appears to be the express intention of the parties.
5. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Statutes without Extraterritorial Effect. — State statutes ex proprio vigore operate only within the limits of their several States.
6. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Comity — When Foreign Statutes Given Effect. — Frequently, by courtesy or comity, statutes are given effect in a foreign jurisdiction when they do not contravene public policy, are not immoral and violate no positive law of the forum.
7. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Recordation — Section 5189 of the Code of 1936 — Applicable Only to Intrastate Movements of Property. — Section 5189 of the Code of 1936, providing that reservations of title to, and liens on, goods and chattels sold, are void as to creditors and purchasers for value, unless in writing and recorded in Virginia, applies to intrastate movements of property only and does not cover conditional sales contracts which need not be recorded in Virginia, if duly recorded elsewhere.
8. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Recordation — Section 5189 of the Code of 1936 — Inapplicable to Automobiles in Transit. — Section 5189 of the Code of 1936, providing that reservations of title to, and liens on, goods and chattels sold, are void as to creditors and purchasers for value, unless in writing and recorded in Virginia, does not apply to automobiles in transit.
9. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Recordation — Section 5197 of the Code of 1936 — Conditional Sale Not an Encumbrance within Statute. — A conditional sale is not an encumbrance within the meaning of section 5197 of the Code of 1936, providing that "no mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance created upon personal property while such property is located in another State shall be a valid encumbrance upon said property after it is removed into this State," unless recorded in this State.
10. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Recordation — Section 5197 of the Code of 1936 — Chattel Mortgages Are Encumbrances within Statute. — Chattel mortgages are encumbrances within section 5197 of the Code of 1936, providing that "no mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance created upon personal property while such property is located in another State shall be a valid encumbrance upon said property after it is removed into this State," unless recorded in this State. To cover them was one of the reasons for the enactment of the statute.
11. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Distinction — Interest Sequestrable in Attachment Proceedings. — One who owns a chattel covered by a mortgage is its sole and unconditional owner, but where title is retained, he has in it only a beneficial or equitable interest, and only this interest can be sequestrated in attachment proceedings, unless there is failure to comply with some registration or recordation statute.
12. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Recordation — Section 5197 of the Code of 1936 — Automobile Traveling through State Not "Removed" Thereto — Case at Bar. — In the instant case a citizen of South Carolina purchased an automobile under a reserved title contract which was duly recorded in that State and assigned to plaintiff in error. The purchaser, without the consent or knowledge of the vendor or its assignee, brought the car into Virginia en route to Baltimore and had a collision with another car. There was no appearance for the purchaser and to satisfy judgment against him a sale of the automobile was ordered in the trial justice court. Plaintiff in error intervened, but the judgment was confirmed, and on appeal to the circuit court the automobile was again ordered to be sold.
Held: That the automobile was not "removed" to Virginia within the meaning of section 5197 of the Code of 1936, providing that "no mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance created upon personal property while such property is located in another State shall be a valid encumbrance upon said property after it is removed into this State," unless recorded in this State.
13. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Recordation — Section 5197 of the Code of 1936 — "Removed" Implies Gaining of Situs. — The word "removed," as used in section 5197 of the Code of 1936, which provides that "no mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance created upon personal property while such property is located in another State shall be a valid encumbrance upon said property after it is removed into this State," unless recorded in this State, implies not only the taking of the property into Virginia, but also the allowing of the property to come to rest therein — the gaining of a situs therein.
14. AUTOMOBILES — Registration — Section 2154(64) of the Code of 1936 — Conditional Sale an Encumbrance. — A conditional sale is an encumbrance within the meaning of the Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia, section 2154(64) of the Code of 1936.
15. AUTOMOBILES — Registration — Not Required of Non-Residents on Casual Visit. — Under the Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia, registration cards and certificates of title issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, and the liens thereon appearing, are sufficient notice to creditors and purchasers and do not have to be recorded locally. This registration is required of residents and of non-residents who operate in the State, but it was never intended to place the burden upon non-residents who are never in Virginia except upon some casual occasion.
16. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Comity — Recognition of Foreign Non-Penal Statutes in Enforcing Contracts. — Non-penal statutes of other States are by comity recognized in the enforcement of contracts. They are incorporated into and become a part of them.
17. STATUTES — Construction — Catchline of Section Indicative of Legislative Intent. — While the caption and headlines of a section are not a part of an act, they are valuable as indicative of legislative intent.
18. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Extraterritorial Operation of Laws — Statute Regulating Running of Motor Vehicles — Case at Bar. — In the instant case a citizen of South Carolina purchased an automobile under a reserved title contract which was duly recorded in that State and assigned to plaintiff in error. The purchaser, without the consent or knowledge of the vendor or its assignee, brought the car into Virginia en route to Baltimore and had a collision with another car. There was no appearance for the purchaser and to satisfy judgment against him a sale of the automobile was ordered in the trial justice court. Plaintiff in error intervened, but the judgment was confirmed, and on appeal to the circuit court the automobile was again ordered to be sold. Defendant in error relied on Laws of S.C., Act 1912, 27 Stat. at Large, p. 737, providing that damage done to person or property by the unlawful operation of a motor vehicle shall constitute a lien next in priority to the lien for state and county taxes upon such motor vehicle, and giving the person damaged the right to attach the automobile.
Held: That the South Carolina act was intended to regulate the running of motor vehicles in South Carolina and was a police regulation designed to promote the safety of its inhabitants, and there could have been no intention to give to it extraterritorial effect.
19. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Comity — Statute Intended to Be Local in Operation. — Comity does not require the recognition of a statute intended by the legislature of its enactment to be local in its operation.
20. CONFLICT OF LAWS, DOMICILE AND RESIDENCE — Torts — Liability Depends on Law of Place of Accident. — Liability for a tort depends upon the law of the place of the accident.
21. CHATTEL MORTGAGES AND CONDITIONAL SALES — Automobiles — Priority between Conditional Sale Executed in Another State and Judgment — Case at Bar. — In the instant case a citizen of South Carolina purchased an automobile under a reserved title contract which was duly recorded in that State and assigned to plaintiff in error. The purchaser, without the consent or knowledge of the vendor or its assignee, brought the car into Virginia en route to Baltimore and had a collision with another car. There was no appearance for the purchaser and to satisfy judgment against him a sale of the automobile was ordered in the trial justice court. Plaintiff in error intervened and filed a petition praying that its lien be established as a superior lien, but its petition was dismissed and the judgment affirmed on appeal to the circuit court. Held: Error. Out of the proceeds of the sale of the car there should be paid to plaintiff in error the amount of its debt, plus a fifteen per cent attorney's fee, together with costs incurred, and if anything be then left, it should be applied on the judgment of the defendant in error.
Error to a judgment of the Circuit Court of Mecklenburg county. Hon. Needham S. Turnbull, Jr., judge presiding.
Reversed.
The opinion states the case.
Hodges Dortch, for the plaintiff in error.
No appearance for the defendants in error.
This case deals with the lien of a conditional sales contract.
On May 19, 1936, Pierce Duco Shop of Spartanburg, South Carolina, sold to Harry H. Zaglin, a resident and citizen of that State, an automobile. To secure an unpaid balance of the purchase price, title was reserved. The contract of reservation was duly recorded in South Carolina and shortly thereafter, for value, was assigned to C.I.T. Corporation. On July 26, 1936, Zaglin, the purchaser, without the consent or knowledge of this vendor or its assignee, started in his car on a trip to Baltimore. On his way, and in Mecklenburg county in this State, he came into collision with another car owned and driven by Amy A. Guy, plaintiff below. She was injured and sued out before the trial justice of that county a foreign attachment, claiming damages therefor. It was duly matured, there was no appearance for the defendant, and judgment went for the sum of $1,000. To satisfy it, a sale of the automobile was ordered. On the 16th of October following, plaintiff in error, proceeding under Code, section 6407, appeared, and by a petition asked that this sale by stayed and that it be permitted to intervene. This the trial justice permitted. There was a hearing, the prayer of the petition was denied, and the judgment first entered was confirmed. There was an appeal to the circuit court which on December 23, 1936, dismissed the petition and again ordered the automobile to be sold. From that order comes this appeal.
Conditional sales of automobiles is a practice widely adopted and are often financed by corporations organized for that purpose. That, as we have seen, was done in this case, and its good faith is not questioned.
In our approach, certain general principles of law, not novel but important, are to be remembered.
"Ordinarily, the validity and effect of a conditional sale, as regards both the parties and third persons, are governed by the law of the State in which the contract was made and where the property was then situated." 11 Am. Jur. p. 362.
[2, 3] "The problem is complicated when the law of the State to which the property is removed requires filing or recording of such contracts as against third parties. When the contract of conditional sale does not contemplate removal of the property by the vendee, but later the vendee nevertheless removes the property to another State, in which the contract is not filed or recorded, the rights of the vendor are generally determined by whether or not he has consented to the removal of the property. Assuming that by the law of the place where a conditional contract of sale is made and where the property is then located, the reservation of title in the vendor is valid as between the parties and effective as against third persons, the vendor's title is good and will be enforced, as against innocent purchasers from, or creditors of, the conditional vendee, or persons having similar rights, who purchase, or levy upon, the property after its removal to another State, although the contract is not recorded or registered in that State in accordance with a local statute — not expressly or by clear implication applicable to contracts made out of the State, in respect of property subsequently brought into the State — at least if the removal of the property is not contemplated at the time the contract is made, and its removal is without the knowledge or consent of the vendor." 11 Am. Jur. p. 364, Am. Law Inst. Restatement, Conflict of Laws, section 275.
The nature, validity and interpretation of contracts are governed by the law of the place where made, unless the contrary appears to be the express intention of the parties.
State statutes ex proprio vigore operate only within the limits of their several states.
"Statutes derive their force from the authority of the Legislature, and as a necessary consequence their effect will be limited to the boundaries of the State." Sutherland on Stat. Constr., sec. 218; Richmond Standard Steel, etc., Co. v. Dininny, 105 Va. 439, 53 S.E. 961.
Frequently, however, by courtesy or comity, they are given effect in foreign jurisdiction when they do not contravene public policy, are not immoral and violate no positive law of the forum. Nelson v. Chesapeake, etc., R. Co., 88 Va. 971, 14 S.E. 838, 15 L.R.A. 583; 5 R.C.L., p. 911.
In McComb v. Donald's Adm'r, 82 Va. 903, 5 S.E. 558, it was held that a sub-vendee from a purchaser under a conditional sales contract could acquire no rights superior thereto although without notice of it, and in Craig v. Williams, 90 Va. 500, 18 S.E. 899, 44 Am.St. Rep. 934, it was held that a chattel mortgage executed in another State, located there and duly recorded, need not be recorded in Virginia upon a removal of property to this State, and that, under comity, the lien of this foreign chattel mortgage could be enforced here.
If plaintiff below is to prevail, it must be because of some present Virginia statute.
Very much in point is the case of Osmond-Barringer Co. v. Eva A. Hey, from the Law and Equity Court of the city of Richmond, 7 Va. Law Reg.(N.S.) 175. G. C. Short on March 15, 1920, purchased from the Osmond-Barringer Company of Charlotte, North Carolina, an Essex touring car under a conditional sales contract. A down-payment was made and notes executed for the balance of the purchase money. This contract was duly recorded at Charlotte. Short then brought the car to Richmond and sold it to Hey, a resident of that city. Detinue proceedings were instituted by the vendor. There the plaintiff prevailed.
Judge Crump, after discussing the law laid down in McComb v. Donald's Adm'r, supra, and in Craig v. Williams, supra, analyzes the provisions of our statutes written into the Code of 1919 as sections 5189 and 5197. Section 5189, as amended by Acts 1923, Ex. Sess., ch. 159, is in part as follows:
"Every sale, or contract for the sale of goods and chattels, wherein the title thereto, or a lien thereupon, is reserved, until the same be paid for, in whole or in part, or the transfer of title is made to depend on any condition, where possession is delivered to the vendee, shall, in respect to such reservation and condition be void as to creditors of the vendee who acquire a lien upon the goods and as to purchasers from the vendee, for value, without notice, from such vendee * * *" unless duly executed and recorded in Virginia.
[7, 8] It was held that this section applied to intrastate movements of property only and did not cover conditional sales contracts which need not be recorded in Virginia, if duly recorded elsewhere. Obviously it could not be made to apply to cars in transit.
Section 5197 was enacted to meet the ruling in Craig v. Williams. It reads:
"No mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance created upon personal property while such property is located in another State shall be a valid encumbrance upon said property after it is removed into this State as to purchasers for valuable consideration without notice and creditors unless and until the said mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance be recorded according to the laws of this State in the county or corporation in which the said property is located in this State."
[9, 10] Judge Crump was of opinion that a conditional sale was not an encumbrance and so did not fall under the ban of the statute. Chattel mortgages are encumbrances and to cover them is one of the reasons for its enactment.
It is perfectly true that this decision of Judge Crump is not controlling authority, but it is the considered opinion of a great judge, who afterwards became president of our Special Court of Appeals.
The distinction between chattel mortgages and conditional sales is pointed out in our own decisions. In Exposition Arcade Corp. v. Lit Bros., 113 Va. 574, 75 S.E. 117, Ann. Cas. 1913d 335, it was said that retention of title was but a chattel mortgage in short form. Judge Chichester, however, in Virginia Fire Marine Ins. Co. v. Lennon, 140 Va. 766, 125 S.E. 801, 38 A.L.R. 186, pointed out that this was not necessarily true as to third parties. One who owns a chattel covered by a mortgage is its sole and unconditional owner, but where title is retained, he has in it only a beneficial or equitable interest. Only this interest can be sequestrated in attachment proceedings, unless there is failure to comply with some registration or recordation statute. Seward Co. v. Miller Higdon, 106 Va. 309, 55 S.E. 681.
Unless recordation is required by our Virginia statute, it is unnecessary even as against creditors or purchasers. 11 C.J. p. 510. We have seen that it was not.
Moreover, Zaglin's automobile was not "removed" to Virginia.
The Supreme Court of North Carolina had occasion to consider this particular statute ( W. H. Applewhite Co. v. Etheridge, 210 N. C. 433, 187 S.E. 588, 590) and said:
"It should be noted that the statute under consideration refers to encumbrances on property 'after it is removed' into the State of Virginia, which would indicate that it was not intended to include encumbrances on property which was only transitorily or temporarily in the State. The word 'removed,' as used, implies not only the taking of the property into Virginia, but also the allowing of the property to come to rest therein — the gaining of a situs therein." W. H. Applewhite Co. v. Etheridge, 210 N.C. 433, 187 S.E. 588; Hare Chase v. Tomkinson (N.J.), 129 A. 396; Forgan v. Smedal, 203 Wis. 564, 234 N.W. 896.
Is there any South Carolina statute operating by comity in Virginia which requires us to reach a different conclusion?
[14, 15] In addition to the statutes noted, the Motor Vehicle Code of Virginia also deals with this subject. Acts 1932, ch. 342, p. 613; Acts 1934, ch. 265, p. 380. Within its definition, a conditional sale is an encumbrance. Piedmont, etc., Corp. v. Commonwealth, 146 Va. 287, 135 S.E. 673. Registration cards and certificates of title are issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles. They and the liens thereon appearing are sufficient notice to creditors and purchasers and do not have to be recorded locally. This registration is required of residents and of non-residents who operate here. Obviously it was never intended to place the burden upon non-residents who are never in Virginia except upon some casual occasion.
Since there is no Virginia statute which can be successfully relied upon to defeat the finance corporation's claim, its priority must be protected unless some South Carolina statute, operating by comity, necessitates a different conclusion.
This is relied upon to produce that result.
"An act to further regulate the running of motor vehicles in this State.
"(1) When a motor vehicle is operated in violation of the provisions of law, or negligently and carelessly, and when any person receives personal injury thereby, or when a buggy or wagon or other property is damaged thereby, (2) the damage done to such person or property shall be and constitute a lien next in priority to the lien for State and county taxes upon such motor vehicle, (3) recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction, (4) and the person sustaining such damages shall have a right to attach said motor vehicle in the manner provided by law for attachments in this State: (5) Provided, that this act shall not be effective in case the motor vehicle shall have been stolen by the breaking of a building under a secure lock, or when the vehicle is securely locked." Laws of S.C., Act 1912, 27 Stat. at Large, p. 737.
Non-penal statutes of other States are by comity recognized in the enforcement of contracts. They are incorporated into and become a part of them. Such, for example, are those which impose a double liability upon stockholders. Cook on Corporations (6th Ed.), vol. 1, p. 585. This principle is general in its application, but has no application to the facts before us.
While the caption and headlines of a section are not a part of an act, they are valuable as indicative of legislative intent. Chambers v. Higgins, 169 Va. 345, 193 S.E. 531; Wooding v. Leigh, 163 Va. 785, 177 S.E. 310.
[18, 19] This act was intended to regulate the running of motor vehicles in South Carolina. It is a police regulation, designed to promote the safety of its inhabitants. Merchants' Planters' Bank v. Brigman, et al., 106 S.C. 362, 91 S.E. 332, L.R.A. 1917E, 925. There could have been no intention to give to it extra-territorial effect. Comity does not require the recognition of a statute intended by the legislature of its enactment to be local in its operation.
In Cherwien v. Geiter (1936) 272 N.Y. 165, 5 N.E.2d 185, 187, it appears that a minister living in Pennsylvania visited his son in Brooklyn, and while there loaned him his car which the son drove into New Jersey, where an accident occurred. In an action brought in New York, this statute was invoked:
"Every owner of a motor vehicle or motorcycle operated upon a public highway shall be liable and responsible for death or injuries to person or property resulting from negligence in the operation of such motor vehicle * * * in the business of such owner or otherwise, by any person legally using or operating the same with the permission, express or implied, of such owner." (Vehicle and Traffic Law, Consol. Laws, ch. 71, section 59.)
The court said:
"That statute has no extraterritorial effect. The liability, if any, arising from the negligent operation of the car sounds in tort. Henry v. Hudson Manhattan R. R. Co., 201 N.Y. 140, 94 N.E. 623."
If it has no extraterritorial effect, then none should be given to that of South Carolina.
In Young v. Masci, 289 U.S. 253, 53 S.Ct. 599, 601, 77 L.Ed. 1158, 88 A.L.R. 170, it appears that one in New Jersey lent his car to another who drove it into New York and suffered an accident. It was held that the New York statute should be applied since it was enacted to make safe New York highways and to protect inhabitants of that State. There the court in the course of its opinion restated this general rule which we have frequently followed: "Liability for a tort depends upon the law of the place of the accident." Sutton v. Bland, 166 Va. 132, 184 S.E. 231.
The car attached must be sold and out of the proceeds of sale there should be paid to the finance corporation the amount of its debt, $538.78, plus a fifteen per centum attorney's fee, together with costs incurred. If anything be then left, it must be applied on the judgment of the attachment creditor.
For reasons stated, the judgment of the trial court should be reversed, and it is so ordered.
Reversed.