Blaine v. Blaine

207 S.W.2d 989, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 1062
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 11, 1947
DocketNo. 13805
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 207 S.W.2d 989 (Blaine v. Blaine) 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
Blaine v. Blaine, 207 S.W.2d 989, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 1062 (Tex. Ct. App. 1947).

Opinion

YOUNG, Justice.

The suit of Mrs. Eunice Blaine, plaintiff in trial court, was to correct the description in a deed dated March 11, 1939, and, upon a jury trial, judgment was rendered granting the relief sought, with consequence of this appeal.

As leading up to the instant litigation, plaintiff alleged that on date of said deed the parties had been husband and wife for many years, with two children born to the marriage, a boy and girl; that domestic troubles had arisen between them, and the deed was executed and delivered to plaintiff in complete and final settlement of all property rights; it being specially agreed, in consideration of the conveyance, that plaintiff would assume the burden of maintenance and education of the children, bearing all expense incident thereto and relieving defendant, M. H. Blaine, of all responsibility in such connection; she agreeing to pay off and discharge outstanding indebtedness against the property, including delinquent taxes. Of the lands conveyed pursuant to this understanding, only tract 9 is here involved, consisting of a Dallas County farm, originally some 265 acres in size; concerning which, the deed recited a conveyance of grantor’s “undivided one-half interest”; whereas, it was alleged that Mr. Blaine had intended to convey “all his right, title and interest” therein. Plaintiff charged that a mistake was made by the scrivenor drawing the 1939 deed, in this: That title to said tract had originally stood in D. B. and Mose H. Blaine, copartners. In a prior division of property between the two brothers, D. B. Blaine had conveyed his undivided one-half interest to Mose H. Blaine and, in drawing the deed in suit, the description of tract 9, as set forth in the previous partition, was used, resulting in a conveyance of merely defendant’s undivided one-half interest instead of all his interest in and to said land. It was further alleged that defendant, in a later court proceeding, testified that he owned no interest in the tract and it was not until November or December 1945, that plaintiff was advised by him to the contrary; also that plaintiff had maintained and educated the two children in accordance with said 1939 agreement; and was still in performance of the terms and conditions thereof.

To the above cause of action, defendant interposed as a bar the four-year statute of limitation; alleging further that the purpose of such 1939 deed was to protect the property described therein from embarrassment due to assertion of claims against defendant which he believed to be unfounded; and that, in executing the deed, he made known to plaintiff, his wife, the pend-ency of such claims; that he was deeding the property to her in order to place it beyond reach of these creditors; it being understood that at a later date they would meet and agree upon a more equitable partition; in the meanwhile maintaining that the deed constituted a settlement of property for support of children. It was further charged that the parties met after their divorce in November 1940, plaintiff submitting a plan of equitable partition of the property, which plan required defendant to supersede a certain Carl Lowery judgment of $4,000, which he was unable to do; and that by reason of this subsequent transaction plaintiff was in no position to ask a court for relief in equity.

The jury answered “Yes” to the two issues submitted, viz.: (1) “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that at the time the defendant, M. H. Blaine, executed the deed in question, it was his intention to convey to Mrs. Eunice Blaine, then his wife, all of the right, title and interest which he, the said M. H. Blaine, at that time had in and to the tract of land described in plaintiff’s petition, known as tract No. 9?”, (2) “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that one of the intentions of the defendant, Mose H. Blaine, in executing the deed of March 11, 1939, was in order to place the property in question beyond the reach of claimants that were then asserting claims against him?” Counsel for defendant had stipulated in connection with his argument before the jury that issue one above should be answered in the affirmative.

The premise of the 1939 deed in question, reads: “That I, Mose H. Blaine, of the County of Dallas, State of Texas, for and in consideration of the sum of Ten ($10.00) [992]*992Dollars, cash to me in hand paid by Eunice Blaine, out of her separate property, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, and for love and-affection, and other and further valuable consideration not herein expressed, but acknowledged and confessed, have granted, sold and conveyed, and by these presents do grant, sell and convey unto the said Eunice Blaine, to be a part of her separate estate, and to be for her full and special use, all those certain tracts of land lying and being situated in Dallas County, Texas, being described,” etc. Petition for divorce was filed by Eunice Blaine against defendant on May 23, 1940, divorce judgment rendered November 8, thereafter, she being granted custody of the two children, Mose, Jr., and Barbara, aged 17 and 11 years respectively; the decree further reciting “that the defendant has heretofore to wit, March 9, 1939 (true date March 1-1), made provision for the aid, maintenance, and education of said minor children by- transferring to the plaintiff properties for said purpose and the court finds that such provision so made is reasonable and just.”

It was not disputed that the amount of delinquent taxes against tract 9 since 1933 and current taxes due thereon, inclusive of 1945, paid by Mrs. Blaine, were in the sum of $2,110.61; and that on- November 21, 1941, she sold 50 acres off of tract 9 for purpose of clearing such acreage of debt, in- which connection'-Mrs. 'Blaine executed an indemnity bond to the Stewart Title Company, reciting that the latter was guaranteeing title to the purchaser and “has raised the question that the deed from Mose H. Blaine * * * (to tract 9) * * * does not possibly convey all of the interest then owned or now held by said Mose H. Blaine, and has required that it be indemnified against any loss it may suffer by reason of Mose IT, Blaine, or anyone claiming by, through or under him, recovering any interest in said property, and said company being liable on its certificate of guarantee,” etc.; Mrs. Blaine becoming further obligated “to bring a suit against Móse H. Blaine to determine whether or not Mose H. Blaine owns any right, title or interest in any part of the whole tract of land conveyed” by said March 1939 deed. The present action by plaintiff, styled “Suit to reform- description in deed,” was filed December 22, 1945.

At conclusion of evidence, defendant moved for peremptory instruction, then for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, also for judgment thereon, all of which being overruled, the court decreed that appellee, Mrs. Blaine, “do have and recover from the defendant the entire fee simple title in and to” the 265½ acres involved.

■Fairly summarized, appellant’s points of error are: (1-a) ' A suit filed December 22, 1945, for reformation of deed dated March 11, 1939, is barred by Art. 5529 Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats., not being brought within four years thereafter; and, in any event, where a title company called plaintiff grantee’s attention to the mistake in description on November 21, 1941, at which time grantee signed an indemnity agreement obligating herself to bring suit to clear title, the action was barred under Art.

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Bluebook (online)
207 S.W.2d 989, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 1062, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blaine-v-blaine-texapp-1947.