Stephen Johnson Field

“ It is not necessary to express any opinion as to the authority of a trustee to release property conveyed to him at any time, where no such restriction, as in the present case, is in terms placed upon his power. We confine our language to the precise point before us. Here there was no authority on the part of the trustee to execute the deed until payment of the notes was made. ”

“ To prevent misapprehension, it is proper to state that we do not wish to intimate any opinion upon the general question, whether a purchaser of property may not rely upon a release of a previous mortgage or trust-deed found upon the official records of the district where the property is situated, without further inquiry, where he has no knowledge of the non-payment of the indebtedness secured ”

“ As to the position that the complainant is barred of the relief he asks by laches in asserting his claim, we do not think there is any force in it. The company, as already stated, must be deemed to have known of the want of power in the trustee to release the property from the Coburn deed, and it does not lie in its mouth to object that the complainant did not sooner seek to set aside the priority of lien thus gained ”