Black v. Danbom

459 S.W.2d 195, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 2527
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 23, 1970
DocketNo. 17139
StatusPublished

This text of 459 S.W.2d 195 (Black v. Danbom) 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
Black v. Danbom, 459 S.W.2d 195, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 2527 (Tex. Ct. App. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION

LANGDON, Justice.

This suit was brought by a group of the heirs of Robert Fleming Herring, deceased, for title to approximately sixty-three acres of land in Smith County, Texas. Certain other heirs were joined as involuntary plaintiffs. The defendants are Jewell Dan-bom, daughter of Robert Fleming Herring and Anna Lucille Herring, and her husband, M. E. Danbom, and the Estate of Mrs. R. F. Herring, deceased. The case was tried before the court without a jury. Findings of fact and conclusions of law were made and filed by the court. The appeal based upon four (4) points of error is from the judgment which is based upon such findings and conclusions.

We affirm.

We have examined the entire record in this case. The facts deemed pertinent to this appeal are summarized below:

Robert Fleming Herring and Anna Lucille Herring were married on June 4, 1906. Jewell Herring Danbom was born as issue of such marriage.

On May 19, 1919, Lot No. Eleven in Block No. Thirteen in South Park Height Addition to the City of Tyler, Texas, was conveyed to R. F. Herring (Robert Fleming) by A. W. Orr. This property will hereinafter be referred to as the “city lot.”

On September 20, 1922, the property here involved, consisting of approximately 63 acres, was conveyed by Mary Ola Bostick, a feme sole, to Mrs. A. L. Herring.

The above described deed recited that, "for and in consideration of the sum of One Thousand Dollars to me paid by Mrs. A. L. Herring And the further consideration that the said Mrs. Herring has assumed the payment of an indebtedness of about $1100.00 due the Federal Land Bank [197]*197and held against the land herein conveyed, * * *.

“And also the further consideration of $500.00 to be paid to me as evidenced by five notes of even date herewith for $100.00 each * * * have GRANTED, SOLD and CONVEYED, and by these presents do GRANT, SELL and CONVEY, unto the said Mrs. A. L. Herring of the County of Smith, State of Texas, all that certain tract or parcel of land towit: (description follows).

“TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the above described premises, * * * unto the said Mrs. A. L. Herring, her heirs and assigns, forever; and I do hereby bind myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, to WARRANT AND FOREVER DEFEND, all and singular the said premises unto the said Mrs. A. L. Herring, her heirs and assigns, against every person whomsoever lawfully claiming, or to claim the same, or any part thereof.

ft * * sjc

“WITNESS my hand at Tyler, Texas this 20 day of Sept. A.D. 1922.

“/s/ Mary Ola Bostick”

(Emphasis ours.)

The acknowledgment on the above deed was taken by I. N. Cross, Notary Public in and for Smith County, Texas, on September 20, 1922.

On the same date, September 20, 1922, the “city lot,” acquired from Orr, was conveyed to Mary Ola Bostick by Mr. and Mrs. Herring. The acknowledgments to this deed were also taken by I. N. Cross, Notary Public, on the same date, September 20, 1922.

The city lot conveyed to Bostick by the deed above described represented the $1,-000.00 consideration described in the first paragraph of the deed from Bostick to Mrs. Herring.

The five (5) promissory notes, each in the sum of $100.00, were signed by both Mr. and Mrs. Herring “of even date”, i. e., September 20, 1922.

September 20, 1927 — A release of the five $100.00 notes was executed. It recited that the. five (S) notes were originally signed by both A. L. Herring and R. F. Herring.

May 31, 1930 — A typewritten memorandum under this date was signed by Robert F. Herring. It makes no reference to the 63 acre tract by description or by reference to deed records. It was not offered for probate although it possessed some of the characteristics of a will.

June, 1931 — Robert Fleming Herring died.

January 23, 1934 — Mrs. A. L. Herring conveyed the 63 acres in question to Mrs. Jewell Danbom.

The deed by which Mrs. Herring conveyed the 63 acre tract to her daughter contained the recitation, “and being the same land conveyed to Mrs. A. L. Herring by Mary Ola Bostick by deed dated September 20th, 1922, recorded in Vol. 162, pp. 176-7, Deed Records of Smith County, Texas, and same being the separate property of the vendor herein.” (Emphasis ours.)

January 29, 1954 — The Federal Land Bank lien was released.

February 13, 1964 — Mrs. A. L. Herring died. She was the same person as Anna Lucille Herring.

The facts contained in the above summary are undisputed.

The record further reflects that although Mr. Herring died in 1931, the appellants did not file their original petition in this case until 1964. Their first amended original petition was not filed until 1968. These filings occurred some 33 years and 37 years, respectively, after the death of Mr. Herring. This delay is significant since neither Mr. nor Mrs. Herring would be around to give their version of what they had in mind on September 20,1922. The trial court was [198]*198thus placed in the position of judging this matter based upon events of record which took place on September 20, 1922. The original petition was not filed until a short time after Mrs. Herring died.

The court found among other things that the conveyance of the 63 acres in question to Mrs. A. L. Herring was done with the knowledge and consent of Robert Fleming Herring and concluded as a matter of law that:

1. On September 20, 1922, the time of acquisition and acceptance of the deed, Robert Fleming Herring intended for title to the 63 acres in question to vest in Anna Lucille Herring as her separate property. (There is no evidence in this record indicating a contrary intention on the part of Mr. Herring from the time of the September 20, 1922 transaction to the time of his death in June, 1931.)

2. That whatever interest Robert Fleming Herring could or would have had in the 63 acres in question was a gift to Anna Lucille Herring.

3. That at the time of acquisition, September 20, 1922, the 63 acres in question became the separate property of Anna Lucille Herring.

4. That plaintiffs inherited no interest in the 63 acres in question from Robert Fleming Herring, deceased.

“It is the established law in this state that where a case has been tried without a jury and there was ample evidence in the record to support the findings of the trial court, such findings have the same force and effect as a verdict of the jury on the facts found, and a reviewing court must affirm the trial court’s judgment in the absence of other substantial error. (Citing authorities.)” Carpenters and Joiners Union, etc. v. Ritter’s Cafe, 149 S.W.2d 694 (Galveston, Tex.Civ.App., 1941, ref.). To the same effect see Dixie Distributors v. Lane, 211 S.W.2d 581 (Galveston, Tex.Civ.App., 1948, ref., n. r. e.). See also 58 Tex.Jur.2d 168, § 76, under the heading “Sufficiency; Degree of proof.”

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Bluebook (online)
459 S.W.2d 195, 1970 Tex. App. LEXIS 2527, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/black-v-danbom-texapp-1970.