Brady v. Richey Casey

202 S.W. 170, 1918 Tex. App. LEXIS 253
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 6, 1918
DocketNo. 5979.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 202 S.W. 170 (Brady v. Richey Casey) 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
Brady v. Richey Casey, 202 S.W. 170, 1918 Tex. App. LEXIS 253 (Tex. Ct. App. 1918).

Opinion

SWEARINGEN, J.

This cause was reviewed and reversed by this court upon a former appeal. The opinion is reported in 187 S. W. 508. The pleadings and evidence are for all practical purposes the same as appeared in the record upon the first appeal, except that by a trial amendment appellees made the following allegations:

“That the said R. C. Hill as agent for these plaintiffs carried on negotiations for several months, by which he procured W. J. Lytle to *171 lease defendant’s said property, with the full knowledge, consent, and approval of defendant, and said services and the benefits thereof were accepted by defendant with the understanding, express or implied, that defendant would pay plaintiffs the reasonable value thereof; that said services so rendered were and are of the reasonable value of $5,400, wherefore defendant became and is indebted to plaintiffs in the sum of $5,400 with interest thereon from and after September 10, 1014, at 6 per cent, per annum, and plaintiffs pray 'for judgment therefor as in their second amended original petition”

—and except that appellant by a 'third amended answer set up a plea in abatement, alleging that R. C. Hill was the owner of one-third interest in the claim sued for, and alleged a conspiracy to defraud appellant by concealing from him the intention to charge a commission for services until Mr. Brady signed the lease contract. Because the record before us is the same as that presented on the appeal from the first trial, we adopt the statement of the nature and result of the suit, the statement of the pleadings, with the exceptions above mentioned, and the findings of facts expressed in the opinion heretofore rendered by Mr. Justice Moursund, and for convenience quote them herein:

“R. A. Richey and L. A. Oasey, composing the firm of Richey & Casey, sued Thos. F. Brady for $5,400, with interest thereon at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, alleging: That plaintiffs were engaged in the real estate rental and brokerage business in the city of San Antonio and in order to properly conduct the same were compelled to employ many agents; that defendant Brady is the owner of a certain building, a portion of which is adapted and intended for use as a theater; that ‘on or about February 1, 1914, plaintiffs, acting by and through one of their said agents and employes, to wit, R. O. Hill, were duly employed by said defendant, as his agent, by directly soliciting their services, by approving and participating in all negotiations and by agreeing to, acquiescing in, and accepting the benefits of said services and negotiations, to secure a responsible tenant under contract of lease for said theater, said lease to cover a period of 15 years, at a monthly rental of $1,500, payable in advance, the yearly rental of said theater being the, sum of $18,000, or for a total amount of $270,000 for the full term of said 15 years; that in pursuance of said employment by said defendant, plaintiffs acting by and through their said agent and employé, R. O. Hill, immediately proceeded to carry out the terms and conditions of their said employment by energetic negotiations for securing a tenant for said theater, under the terms and conditions and for the period of time for which the same was to be leased, said defendant participating in said negotiations, instructing said plaintiffs by and through said Hill how such negotiations should be conducted, said negotiations being directed at and confined to one W. J. Lytle, until on or about July 21, 1914, when plaintiffs, acting by and through said Hill, succeeded in successfully closing a contract in writing for the lease of said theater, the same being made and entered into by and between the defendant and the said Lytle, un.der the terms and conditions heretofore set out, to wit, at the rate of $1,500 per month for the full term of 15 years, said contract of lease being prepared by said plaintiffs, acting by and through said Hill, under the instructions and at the special instance and request of said defendant; that in pursuance of the provisions, conditions, and terms of said contract, on or about September 10, 1914, a formal lease was prepared by said Hill and signed by, and between said Lytle and. said defendant, Brady, embodying substantially the terms of said contract, whereby the said Lytle agreed and bound himself to lease said theater and did lease the same for a period of 15 years at an annual rental of $18,000, payable monthly in advance at the rate of $1,500 per month, and said lease since said date and now is in full force and effect.’
“Plaintiffs further alleged that ‘in addition to and irrespective of the solicitation, approval, acquiescence in, and acceptance of said services of plaintiffs as aforesaid, it is the usage and custom in transactions of the nature and character herein set out, to wit, in the rental, lease, or sale of real property, buildings, or otherwise by an agent or broker, that his commission or compensation therefor shall be paid by the owner of such property so rented, leased, or sold, unless by special agreement or understanding the same shall be paid by the lessee or vendee thereof, and plaintiffs specially allege that no such contract, agreement, or understanding was had in this instance by or with either said defendant or the said W. J. Lytle;’ that by reason of' said services so rendered by the plaintiffs the defendant became liable to pay the fair and usual commission and compensation for such services, and that the usual, reasonable, and customary fee is and was 2 per cent, of the amount due for the full period, namely, 2 per cent, of $270,000. Defendant’s answer consisted of a general demurrer, special exceptions, and denials of the material allegations of the petition. The trial resulted in a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiffs for $5,400, with interest thereon at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum. * * *
“In deference to the verdict of the jury, we find that Brady, knowing Hill to be an employé of Richey & Oasey, who were engaged in the real estate and insurance business, expressly agreed to avail himself of Hill’s services for the purpose of procuring a lessee for the theater portion of his building for 15 years; that the conversations between them were of such character as to reasonably charge Brady with notice that Hill expected compensation for his services; that no inquiry was made by Brady with regard to the amount of compensation he would be expected to pay, nor was any statement made by Hill in regard to compensation until after the preliminary contract was signed; that Hill prepared the preliminary contract, which was approved by Brady and Lytle, and a meeting was then had at which it was signed by them; that the preliminary contract provided for various things to be done by Brady in preparing the theater for use and fixed September 19, 1914, as the last day upon which a final contract should be executed; that the final contract was prepared by Brady, who on September 10, 1914, reminded Hill that the final contract must be signed and asked him to bring Lytle to Brady, and Hill did so, whereupon the final contract was signed.

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Bluebook (online)
202 S.W. 170, 1918 Tex. App. LEXIS 253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brady-v-richey-casey-texapp-1918.