Branham v. Hallam

191 S.W. 158, 1916 Tex. App. LEXIS 1256
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 20, 1916
DocketNo. 5751.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 191 S.W. 158 (Branham v. Hallam) 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
Branham v. Hallam, 191 S.W. 158, 1916 Tex. App. LEXIS 1256 (Tex. Ct. App. 1916).

Opinion

SWEARINGEN, J.

Tbis is a suit by ap-pellee, M. S. I-Iallam, against appellants, Mrs. Ruth Branham and husband, H. H. Bran-ham, to recover reasonable compensation for services rendered unto appellants in connection with the partition of the estate of Valentine Weiss, valued at $1,500,000. The services were rendered in pursuance of an express employment. Appellants admitted the employment for services in connection with the partition, but averred the value thereof was only $1,500. The cause was tried with a jury, to which was submitted the single issue of the value of the services rendered in connection with the partition. The jury found the value to be $7,750, for which amount judgment was rendered against appellants, with the addition of interest on $7,750 at 6 per cent, from the date after payment was due and refused, August 1, 1914, up to date of the judgment.

Appellee alleged that he was employed by appellants, as their attorney: (1) To enforce and protect the rights of the said Mrs. Ruth Branham in her father’s estate; (2) to obtain a partition thereof; and (3) to recover for her the share or portion of said estate to which she was legally entitled. For the purpose of showing the nature and extent of the services, and consequently the value of same, appellee alleged: That Valentine Weiss died, leaving an estate consisting of real and personal property of the value of $1,500,000; that Valentine Weiss left, surviving him, his son, Percy H. Weiss, and his daughter, Mrs. Ruth Branham, and his second wife, Mrs. Laura Weiss, the stepmother of his two children ; that some of the estate was acquired by Valentine Weiss during his marriage with his first wife, and part of it during his marriage with Mrs. Laura Weiss, the second wife; that property, valued at $97,000 was 'included in the estate, which had been vested in Mrs. Ruth Branham as her portion of the community estate of her deceased mother, but had been conveyed by Mrs. Branham to her father, Valentine Weiss; that the boohs of the estate showed a large sum of money had been received by Mrs. Ruth Branham from her father, charged as advances, but claimed by her as a gift. And, for the same purpose, the said petition further alleges collusion to defraud appellant; and an effort to retain possession of appellant’s property and portion of the estate by virtue of a trust deed; and further alleges a collusion to force appellant to allow an exorbitant value for the life estate of the second wife in one-third of the deceased’s estate.

Appellants, in their second amended answer, deny all of the cause of action alleged, except it is expressly admitted that appellee was employed by them as their attorney in connection with the partition of the estate. The said admission is in the following words:

“Defendants say it is true that plaintiff rendered unto them of Ms time and services in connection with partition of the estate of V. Weiss; that said services were for the benefit of the separate estate of the defendant Ruth Branham, and that defendants are obligated to pay plaintiff a reasonable fee or compensation for the services he so rendered. Defendants say they are entirely willing to justly perform their obligation to plaintiff, but they affirm that plaintiff is not in any event entitled to recover of them or either of them more than $1,500 as reasonable compensation for Ms said services.”

The said answer denies that such services were of the value of $15,000, as alleged by ap-pellee, but avers that the value of said services was not more than $1,500.

There was testimony in proof and disproof of all of appellee’s allegations except those admitted, viz. that appellee was employed and under such employment rendered services as attorney in connection with the partition.

The court, without objection, submitted to the jury the following special issue:

“Question No. 1. What was the reasonable value of the services of the plaintiff, rendered unto the defendants, in connection with the partition of the estate of V. Weiss? State in dollars.”

Upon which issue the jury returned the following verdict:

“Pursuant to the instructions given us in the charge of the court, we, the jury, find from the evidence and make answer to question propounded to us in said charge, as follows, to wit: To question No. 1, we answer: $7,750.00. Seven thousand and seven hundred and fifty dollars.”

The evidence shows the facts, concerning the character and value of the estate, the heirship, and the various interests in the property, substantially as alleged by appellee.

Appellants in the first five assignments urge as error that the court refused to submit to the jury five special instructions requested by appellants.

The requested issues are as follows:

“Did the defendants, or either of them, employ plaintiff as their attorney about the month of January, 1914, to obtain a partition of her father’s estate, .and to recover for her the share or portion of said estate to which she was legally entitled?
“Did the plaintiff, by rendering his services, recover for the defendant Mrs. Ruth Branham the portion of the estate of Valentine Weiss, deceased, to which she was entitled?
“Did Mrs. Laura Weiss, Percy Weiss, and George C. O’Brien claim and insist that the property inherited by the defendant Mrs. Ruth Branham from her deceased mother, which was deeded by said Mrs. Branham to her father, Valentine Weiss, during Ms lifetime, was the absolute property of the estate of said Valentine Weiss, deceased, and a part of the community property of the said Valentine Weiss and Mrs. Laura Weiss, and did they, the said Mrs. Laura Weiss, Percy Weiss, and George O. O’Brien, endeavor to partition the same as if it had been the absolute property of the deceased, Valentine Weiss, and refuse to return said property to the defendant Mrs. Ruth Branham?
“Did Mrs. Laura Weiss and George C. O’Brien refuse to agree to any kind of a partition unless a large sum of money was given Mrs. Laura *160 Weiss for a life estate or interest in tlie estate of Valentine Weiss, deceased?
“Did Mrs. Laura E. Weiss and George O. O’Brien claim and insist that all sums of money that Valentine Weiss, deceased, had given to or expended for the different members of the family, should be considered and treated as advancements, and that they should each pay back into the estate what each had drawn prior to his death, or that such sums of money should be considered in the division of the estate and deductions made from the share of each, according to the amounts drawn respectively?”

The first requested issue was immaterial, and properly refused, because it was admitted that appellee was employed to obtain a partition of the Valentine Weiss estate, which is the first part of the question, and an answer, either yes or no, to the second part, could not affect the verdict in response to the special issue actually given.

The second requested issue is a virtual repetition of the second part of the first question.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
191 S.W. 158, 1916 Tex. App. LEXIS 1256, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/branham-v-hallam-texapp-1916.