Achille v. Baird

361 S.W.2d 439, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 1877
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 11, 1962
Docket13987
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 361 S.W.2d 439 (Achille v. Baird) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Achille v. Baird, 361 S.W.2d 439, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 1877 (Tex. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

WERLEIN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment in a trespass to try title suit in favor of appellees, the record owners, who brought the suit against appellants, Nick Achille and wife, to recover an undivided one-half interest in Lot 324, Section 1 of the Trimble & Lindsey Survey of Galveston Island, Galveston County, Texas. Appellants pleaded not guilty, a general denial and the five and ten year Statutes of Limitation. To appellants’ affirmative defense of limitations, appellees filed their first supplemental petition alleging that appellants were estopped to dispute appellees’ title because the relationship of landlord and tenant existed between them.

Appellants assert in their one point that the court erred in granting appellees’ motion for summary judgment since there are material disputed fact issues in the case.

The undisputed evidence shows that on December 13, 1934 one W. Wern, who had previously enclosed Lot 324 and six other lots within his fences, and who was in possession of all of such lots, executed and delivered to J. T. Allison, under whose will appellees claim title as sole beneficiaries of an undivided ½ interest in Lot 324, an acknowledgment of tenancy covering said lot, which acknowledgment was filed for record on December 13, 1934 and duly recorded on December 31, 1934 in Vol. 510, pp. 284, 285, of the Deed of Trust Records of Galveston County.

On December 15, 1937 appellants purchased from said Wern Lots 276 and 292 in Section 1 of said Survey. These two lots, each containing ten acres, which Wern owned, had been enclosed by him with ten-acre Lots 324, 313, 308, 297 and 281, forming a pasture of some 70 acres. Lot 281, which was quitclaimed to appellants by Wern on December 15, 1937, lies between Lots 276 and 292 in the east portion of the 70 acre pasture, and Lot 324 is the extreme westerly lot in the tier of parallel lots, each fronting approximately 330 feet or more on “S” Road and running back in a northerly direction approximately 1250 feet or more for depth.

Appellant, Nick Achille, testified by deposition with reference to the 70 acres, that Wern sold him everything that was under fence — fence and all; that he acquired whatever improvements there were on all the lots; that when Wern sold him Lots 276, 281 and 292, he, Wern, was living in the house located on Lot 276, and at such time Wern was in possession of Lot 324, and was using all seven lots for pasture and farming; that Wern turned over to him possession of all the lots, including Lot 324; and that he did not know J. T. Allison or any of the appellees and never gave actual notice to any of them that he was claiming Lot 324.

The affidavits of Wern show that he bought Lots 276 and 292 in August, 1929 and that when he bought such lots, he enclosed them and the other lots with a barbed wire fence and commenced and continued to use them for grazing of live stock until he sold to Nick Achille; that he was in possession of and used Lot 324 and signed the acknowledgment of tenancy to J. T. Allison about 1934; that he sold out and gave a deed to Nick Achille in Decern- *442 ber, 1937, to Lots 276 and 292, and a quitclaim deed to Lot 281, together with improvements and fences, and turned over possession to him of all seven Lots that he, Wern, had enclosed; and that he at no time repudiated or disaffirmed his tenancy under his acknowledgment of tenancy dated December 13, 1934, nor did he at any time thereafter give said J. T. Allison or any of appellees notice of any kind or character that he was holding or intended to hold possession of said Lot 324 under a claim of right inconsistent with and hostile to their title; and that while in actual possession of said lot he did not claim title to it adverse to the title of Allison or ap-pellees.

There can be no question that appellants’ possession was adverse to appellees and that they may claim the property in question under the 10 year Statute of Limitation unless estopped to do so because of the tenancy relationship relied upon by appellees. It is equally clear that at the time of the execution of the deeds hereinabove mentioned to three of said lots, Wern turned over to appellants possession of all the lots, including Lot 324, which were enclosed within a fence, and that appellants entered into possession under him and with his permission. After taking possession under Wern, appellants continued to graze live stock on the land just as had been done by Wern.

The law in this State with respect to the relationship of landlord and tenant is well expressed in the case of Houk v. Kirby Petroleum Co., Tex.Com.App. 1933, 65 S.W.2d 496, 499, as follows:

“The law of this state exacts from tenants the exercise of the utmost good faith in carrying out the tenancy relationship when once established. This rule also applies to persons acquiring title and possession whether by inheritance or by purchase from the tenant. Nothing short of an open, positive, and visible repudiation of that trust will suffice to start the running of the statute of limitation. Because Kirby Petroleum Company had no notice of the agreement between Houk and Collier under the facts here stated, will not be sufficient to take the case from under the well-established rule and set the statute in motion in its favor. The courts of this state, as well as the courts of other jurisdictions, have not drawn any fine distinctions upon this question. They rest their decisions upon the broad ground that where the relation of tenant and landlord is once established, it takes a plain, positive, and clear-cut repudiation to break that relationship, and until that is done, the tenant is estopped to deny the title of the owner. Benskin v. Barksdale [Tex.Com.App., 246 S.W. 360], supra; Buford v. Wasson, 49 Tex.Civ.App. 454, 109 S.W. 275, 278 (writ denied) ; Mattfeld v. Huntington, 17 Tex.Civ.App. 716, 43 S.W. 53 (writ denied); Udell v. Peak, 70 Tex. 551, 7 S.W. 786; 2 C. J. page 134.”

It is appellants’ contention that fact issues have been raised as to repudiation of the tenancy relationship and as to appel-lees having constructive notice thereof. The evidence shows that appellants, after they went into possession of Lot 324 and up to 1943, used the same for the grazing of live stock and that they made no use of the property different from that made thereof by Wern. In 1943 the United States Government took over much land that was located north and east of Lot 324 and close thereto for the purpose of making an army air field. The United States also took appellants’ Lots No. 276, 281, and 292 which were included in the same pasture with Lot 324. At the same time an official of the government advised appellant Achille that the government would have to take and condemn all of the land that was included in the pasture and that he would have to get off the property. Appellants left and remained out of the pasture, including Lot 324, until May, 1944, at which time they were informed that the government would *443 not need any portion of the property except the three lots in the eastern portion of the 70 acre pasture for which appellants had been paid. Upon being so advised, appellants moved back into possession of the pasture, including Lot 324. They have remained in possession thereof ever since, using it for the grazing of cattle and keeping it enclosed with a fence.

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Bluebook (online)
361 S.W.2d 439, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 1877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/achille-v-baird-texapp-1962.