Wickersham v. Whedon

Judgment — Former Recovery. — Where a party has recovered judgment for the amount of a promissory note with the interest thereqn, he is barred from again suing upon the same cause of action on the ground that there was a mistake in assessing the proper amount of interest due.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court. I. The note mentioned in the pleadings promises to pay the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, one year after date, with interest at the rate of ten per cent, per annum. The law of this State is that interest is collectable from the maturity of the principal sum and not from date. (Ayres v. Hayes, 13 Mo. 252, 261.) The suit brought on the note and for interest could therefore include only the principal sum, with interest on that from maturity. The interest from the date to maturity was left an integral sum, separate and independent from the principal and interest under our laws. The inferior courts interpret the case in 13 Mo. as deciding that interest is collectable only from maturity, upon a note which expresses simply that interest shall be paid, but does not express from what time, whether from date or maturity, and all judgments are granted upon that understanding. That the interest claimed constitutes an independent cause of action cannot be doubted. The law is express. (Dickinson v. Hams, 4 Price, 282; Atwood v. Taylor, 1 Man. & Gran. 306-7; Fakev. Eddy’s ex’r, 15 Wend. 76, 80; Stone y. Bennett, 8 Mo. 41, 43.) The subject of the cause of action is not ures adjudicata.” It did not in any manner come in question in the action or judgment in the former case. There could not be a judgment directly upon the point of interest from date to maturity in the first action, for the simple reason that under our law the point could not come up on the pleadings. On the point of “ the same matter in issue,” see 2 Parsons on Contracts, 234-238; Harvey v. Richards, 2 Gal. 229; Hibshman v. Dulleban, 4 Watts, 191; Wright v. Deklyne, 1 Pet. C. C. R. 202. By the laws of Iowa, interest on the note ran from date. (Horn v. Nash, Iowa, 1 Clark, 204.) I. If the court found that the interest now sued for was not recoverable at law, then the remedy of the plaintiff was by an appeal or a bill of exceptions showing the error of the court below in that respect.