Alvarez v. Smith

417 S.W.2d 292, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2719
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 14, 1967
DocketNo. 5890
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 417 S.W.2d 292 (Alvarez v. Smith) 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
Alvarez v. Smith, 417 S.W.2d 292, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2719 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

[293]*293OPINION

CLAYTON, Justice.

This case arose from the importation from Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico for sale in El Paso, Texas of 112 head of Mexican cattle. The suit began when one Emilio Alvarez, a resident of Juarez, Mexico, filed, on April 17, 1965, in the District Court of El Paso County, an application for writ of attachment on the cattle, then in El Paso, naming Carlos Lightbourne, a custom broker, and B. C. Cline, manager of R. L. Zeigler Union Stock Yards, who were alleged in the application to have custody of the cattle in El Paso belonging to plaintiff Alvarez, and also naming as defendant one Jack Smith who was alleged to be indebted to Alvarez in the amount of $5,550.48, purchase price of the cattle, and stating further that Smith was about to remove the cattle from El Paso to another state in defraud of Alvarez, the said Smith having refused to secure his debt to Alvarez. Lightbourne and Cline were subsequently dismissed from the cause. Plaintiff Alvarez was the principal in an attachment bond dated the same date, and T. A. Merrill and F. A. Hernandez were his sureties. The writ of attachment was issued and the cattle were seized by the sheriff of El Paso County the same date. On April 20, 1965 the said Jack Smith filed in said cause his cross-action against Alvarez and the sureties on his attachment bond, alleging the above facts and that the issuance of the writ of attachment and seizure were wrongful in the following particulars:

(a) that Alvarez was not a citizen of the United States;
(b) that Smith was not indebted to Alvarez in any sum whatever; and
(c) that the affidavit for attachment was false in that Smith had purchased no cattle from Alvarez.

The cross-action further alleged the false affidavit which caused the levy and seizure of the cattle was knowingly and maliciously made by Alvarez to Smith’s damage in reputation, credit and standing as a cattle buyer and trader in the amount of $5,000.00, and resulted in the depreciation of the cattle in the amount of $1,120.00, plus exemplary damages of $10,000.00. The cross-action prayed that the writ of attachment be vacated and that the cattle be decreed to belong to Smith and that he recover actual damages of $6,120.00 and exemplary damages of $10,000.00.

On April 21st Alvarez filed what he termed his “Original Petition” alleging that he had sold the cattle to Smith on or about April 15, 1965 for $7,890.75, the cattle to be delivered to the custom broker Light-bourne, who was to pay all custom and brokerage charges and upon receipt of the total amount of the balance due on the sales price from Smith, to deliver the cattle to him. That Smith did pay $2,254.50 as brokerage and custom fees but failed and refused to pay the balance of the purchase price of $5,236.25 (amended to $5,636.35), but nevertheless the custom broker gave instructions to Cline, in charge of the stock yards, to deliver the cattle to Smith. That because of this, Alvarez claimed he was forced to bring the application for attachment at a cost of $1,500.00 and court costs, which, with the amount still owing on the cattle, amounted to the sum of $7,136.25, plus court costs, plus attorney’s fees of $750.00, for which he prayed judgment or foreclosure on the cattle and a deficiency judgment, plus exemplary damages against Lightbourne in the amount of $10,000.00.

On April 23rd the court, after a hearing and posting of $8,500.00 bond by Alvarez and his sureties, issued an order of sale and the cattle were sold by the sheriff for $8,750.00, which after costs, left a balance of $8,662.25 which was deposited in the registry of the court.

On April 27, 1965, Jack Smith filed his first amended cross-action in which he stated that he had bought the cattle from Mr. Stan Swauger of Phoenix, Arizona, and that he had paid the American custom [294]*294duties on the cattle, plus $181.39 Mexican custom charges, for a total of $1,220.27. That he had also issued his draft to Swau-ger for $6,670.48, the balance of the purchase price of the cattle, but because of their seizure he caused this draft to be refused at the bank, but he had been out the custom duties, plus other expenses and attorney’s fees in addition to his expected profit on the cattle, in a total amount of $7,000.00, above the $5,000.00 damage to his reputation and $10,000.00 exemplary damages, for which he prayed judgment against Alvarez and his sureties, jointly and severally.

Also, on April 27th, Stan Swauger filed his petition in intervention, complaining of Alvarez and his sureties and alleging that he had purchased from a Mexican company known as Ganado y Carnes, and one Enrique Romay, reportedly the General Manager or President of the company, various lots of cattle including the cattle here involved, which he had sold to Jack Smith. Thereafter he had been contacted by Alvarez, who had represented himself as an agent of Enrique Romay, and informed him (Swauger) that the Mexican duties and expenses in the amount of $1,350.00 had to be paid before the cattle could be shipped to El Paso. Swauger alleged that he had wired this amount to Alvarez and directed that the cattle be shipped to the purchaser, Jack Smith. That the latter had issued his draft to Swauger in the amount of the balance of the purchase price, $6,670.48, but that this draft was dishonored after the cattle were seized under the falsely-obtained writ of attachment. In addition to this loss, intervenor claimed other expenses, attorney’s fees and damage to reputation totaling $13,020.48, plus $10,000.00 exemplary damages.

Trial was to a jury that answered, in response to three special issues, the following:

(1)that Emilio Alvarez had not sold the cattle to Jack Smith;
(2) that Jack Smith was entitled to $4,-500.00 for loss of expected profits, had not the writ of attachment been issued; and
(3) that Stan Swauger had incurred $750.00 expenses occasioned by the issuance and levy of the writ of attachment.

On this verdict the court entered the following judgment, after overruling motions for judgment'by Alvarez and his sureties, and Smith and Swauger:

By agreement of counsel, dismissed Cline and Lightbourne from the case.

That Emilio Alvarez take nothing in his suit against Smith.

That Jack Smith recover from Alvarez, Merrill and Hernandez, jointly and severally, the sum of $1,220.27, representing U. S. Customs duties plus $4,500.00 as found by the jury in answer to Issue No. 2, with interest on the total amount of $5,720.27 at 6% from April 17, 1966.

That Stan Swauger recover from Alvarez the sum of $6,670.48 representing the draft that was not paid, $1,350.00, representing Mexican Customs duties, plus $750.00 as found by the jury in answer to Issue No. 3 with interest on the total sum of $8,770.48 at 6% from April 17, 1966; that Swauger receive the $8,662.25 from the registry of the court derived from the sale of the cattle and an execution for the deficiency of $108.32 plus interest provided for above.

Appeal was taken by Alvarez, Merrill and Hernandez.

Appellants present five points of error. The first point complains of the action of the court in ordering the clerk to issue its check to intervenor Stan Swauger for the amount of the proceeds from the sale of the cattle, in violation of Article [295]*295291, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. This Article reads:

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Bluebook (online)
417 S.W.2d 292, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2719, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alvarez-v-smith-texapp-1967.