Allen v. Payne

334 S.W.2d 607, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2160
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 22, 1960
Docket7151
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 334 S.W.2d 607 (Allen v. Payne) 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
Allen v. Payne, 334 S.W.2d 607, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2160 (Tex. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

DAVIS, Justice.

The opinion heretofore handed down in this case on November 3, 1959, is withdrawn and the following opinion is substituted in lieu thereof:

This suit was originally filed by Mrs. Lucille E. Allen, Guardian of the Person and Estate of her mother, Mrs. Annie F. Beamer, against Mrs. Elizabeth Payne and her husband, L. B. Payne. The suit was filed March 17, 1956. Mrs. Allen died April 9, 1956. Mr. Payne died on April 9, 1956. On March 4, 1957, W. P. Beamer, who had been appointed Guardian of Mrs. Bea-mer by the Probate Court of Marion County, was substituted as plaintiff in lieu of Mrs. Allen. Mrs. Annie F. Beamer died on December 14, 1957, and W. P. Beamer was substituted as plaintiff, along with Lane F. Beamer, Mrs. Nancy Beamer Dill, joined by her husband, W. Edwin Dill, Jr., and John R. Swenson and they alleged that 13 shares of stock in Franklin Life Insurance Company were assigned by Mrs. Beamer to Mrs. Payne on December 12, 1949, and that on October 15, 1955, Mrs. Beamer transferred to Mrs. Payne 82 shares of stock in the Franklin Life Insurance Company. They prayed that upon a final hearing they have judgment cancelling the assignment of said stock and that same be held to be void and of no effect, and that title to said stock certificates be adjudged to be in plaintiffs as heirs and devisees of Mrs. Beamer.

During trial of the case, it was learned that Mrs. Payne had sold the stock and the plaintiffs filed a trial amendment. In the trial amendment plaintiffs alleged that the defendant Mrs. Payne had sold and transferred the stock, a fact they did not know until during the progress of the trial. They then alleged that she had converted to her own use a total of 95 shares of stock and that this conversion was unlawful and that undue influence was used in procuring said stock by defendant, and that it was an overreaching of the trust relationship between defendant Mrs. Payne and Annie F. Beam-er in effecting the transfer. They then prayed for judgment for the highest market value of such stock at the time and for the value of all dividends either in stock or cash which have accrued to such stock since its transfer from Annie F. Beamer to Elizabeth Payne.

In their second amended original petition, plaintiffs alleged that Mrs. Beamer had been adjudged a non compos mentis in Van Zandt County and Mrs. Allen was appointed her Guardian. Then they alleged that Mrs. Allen had died and Mr. Beamer was appointed guardian for his mother, Mrs. Beamer, by the County Court of Marion County. Upon a trial of the case before a jury, there were numerous references made to the trial in Van Zandt County with reference to who testified and what the court did. Mrs. Payne objected to all of such testimony but the trial court overruled the objections. This was after the last transfer of any stock for which this suit was filed, and all the testimony with reference to the trial of Mrs. Beamer in Van Zandt County was hearsay and not even the judgment of conviction was ad *609 missible to prove the fact. Uecker v. Zuercher, 54 Tex.Civ.App. 289, 118 S.W. 149, wr. ref.; Joy v. Joy, Tex.Civ.App., 156 S.W.2d 547, wr. ref., w. o. m.; Smith v. Riviere, Tex.Civ.App., 248 S.W.2d 526, n. w. h.

A careful examination of their second amended original petition does not reveal that plaintiffs seriously contended that Mrs. Beamer was a person of unsound mind. They alleged that she was “mentally incapacitated to the extent that she did not know and understand the nature and character of the transactions, nor the nature and effect of her act in signing the transfer and that the same is of no force and effect.” They did allege that she was so “weakened and infirmed” that she was easily persuaded and was incapable of freely and voluntarily exercising her normal and usual functions of mind and body. They also alleged that Mrs. Beamer was subject to the suggestions and importunities of Mrs. Payne, and that Mrs. Payne was guilty of “gross fraud” in securing the assignments.

The case was tried before a jury. At the close of plaintiff’s testimony, Mrs. Payne made a motion for instructed verdict, which was overruled. Then, at the conclusion of all the evidence, she made another motion for instructed verdict which was also overruled. The trial court submitted a charge with special issues to the jury and the jury answered all the issues in favor of the plaintiff. The verdict was received and filed with the clerk. Plaintiff filed a motion for judgment and defendant filed a motion for a judgment non ob-stante veredicto. The motion was set for hearing December 1, 1958. The trial court refused the motion of plaintiff and granted defendant’s motion for judgment non ob-stante veredicto. Plaintiffs have appealed and bring forward 26 points of error which are grouped under eight sub-headings.

By their first four points the appellants take the position that the trial court erred in not rendering judgment on the verdict of the jury, but instead he rendered judgment for the appellee. From reading the record and the Statement of Facts, we can see that the trial court granted the judgment because there was insufficient evidence upon which he should have submitted the case to the jury. We think that is the sole issue for us to decide in this appeal. Although appellants offered testimony by witnesses of some abnormal acts on the part of Mrs. Beamer, there was no showing that any of these acts occurred at or near the time the stock certificates in the Franklin Life Insurance Company were transferred. In checking the Statement of Facts, we cannot help but notice that most of the witnesses who testified for the appellants that Mrs. Beamer was at times a very brilliant person. To quote from the testimony of Moss G. Allen, a son-in-law of Mrs. Beamer, he testified to her sanity as follows :

“Q. Now, wait a minute, did you form an opinion? A. I formed an opinion, yes.
“Q. All right. What was that opinion? A. Well, that opinion was that she wasn’t responsible for a lot of things, and, you know, she — her mind would come and go; now, at times she was very brilliant.”

He further testified that his wife, Lucille, during her lifetime and while Mrs. Beamer lived in the house with them shortly before the death of Mrs. Allen, that Mrs. Allen borrowed $1,800 from Mrs. Beamer. It was not a settled fact from the Statement of Facts that Mrs. Beamer was actually living with Mr. and Mrs. Allen on October 15, 1955. They did not produce any testimony as to the date the 82 shares of stock were actually assigned but they offered some testimony to the effect that on one occasion, while Mrs. Beamer was staying with the Allens, that Mrs. Payne came to their house for the purpose of seeing Mrs. Beam-er about a quotation from the Bible and while Mrs. Payne was in the room talking with Mrs. Beamer, Mr. Allen testified he saw Mrs. Payne put some papers in her *610 purse. He did not see Mrs. Beamer sign any papers and would not swear that the papers he saw Mr. Payne put in her purse were the papers pertaining to the 82 shares of stock. There is not one word of testimony as to any act of insanity as to Mrs. Beamer on or about October IS, 1955.

After Mrs. Beamer had been adjudged a non compos mentis and had a guardian appointed, and after Mrs.

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334 S.W.2d 607, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allen-v-payne-texapp-1960.