Bryan v. Bryan

262 S.W.2d 736, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 2082
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 29, 1953
Docket6710
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 262 S.W.2d 736 (Bryan v. Bryan) 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
Bryan v. Bryan, 262 S.W.2d 736, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 2082 (Tex. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, Justice.

Appellees Cardis W. Bryan and his sister, Margaret Humphreys, a feme sole, the plaintiffs below, are the children and only heirs of Minnie Bryan. Minnie, who married E. P. Bryan, their father, in 1900, died intestate, July 16, 1946. Their father and Lena Bryan, his present wife, were married July 19, 1949. No administration was had on the estate of Minnie Bryan. In the spring of 19S2, about 5½ years after her death, appellees filed this suit to cancel two conveyances of land theretofore executed by their father, which they alleged were community property of *738 Minnie and E. P. Bryan, for adjudication of their alleged interests in the lands involved in above mentioned conveyances and in other realty; for partition; and for an accounting and adjustment of equities. Among the realty interests described in their pleadings and which they alleged were community property of E. P. and Minnie Bryan, were an undivided 2%0 interest in the West half of Lot No. 11 in Block 22 in the town of Hawkins; a 320-acre tract in Wood County; the Junius Street residence or homestead and the Breezy Hill properties in Dallas.

E. P. and Lena Bryan together with R. D. Seaton and J. L. Cleveland were named as defendants. The latter two disclaimed any interest. E. P. and Lena Bryan, unless otherwise indicated, will be referred to as appellants. Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, also an appellant who was impleaded and who was denied a recovery on its action, will henceforth be referred to as Aetna.

Under their first point appellants assert that the trial court was without jurisdiction to enter any judgment for lack of necessary and indispensable parties. They direct their arguments and citation of authorities in support of this point solely to that portion of the judgment which adjudicated the title to the 2%o interest in the Hawkins lot to be community property and awarded appellees each an undivided interest of one-fourth in same, together with like interests in the bonus heretofore paid to E. P. Bryan for an oil and gas lease on it, and to the proceeds of oil theretofore run and thereafter to be produced from this oil producing interest. The attack for the first time is made on this appeal.

The owners of the remaining interests or the other 3%o interest were not parties to this suit. The validity of the outstanding leasehold estate held by the operator of such estate is recognized and is in nowise involved here.

In their pleadings appellees alleged that the 28/eo interest in the Hawkins lot and the entire 320-acre tract were both community property of their parents; that on January 11, 1950, their father executed a deed to defendant R. D. Seaton which purported to convey the Hawkins interest and the latter in turn had executed a deed which purported to convey this Hawkins interest to Mrs. Lena Bryan, “as her sole and separate estate”; that on January 4, 1951, their father, purporting to act as survivor of the community estate, had executed a deed which purported to convey the 320-acre tract to J. O. Cleveland, who in turn had conveyed the tract to Mrs. Lena Bryan “as her sole and separate estate”; that above four instruments were duly- recorded; that these conveyances were fictitious and simulated transactions, in an attempt on the part, of appellants to defraud appellees of their interests.

Appellees after alleging above facts with respect to the execution of the four deeds and their respective one-fourth interests in the properties prayed that these deeds be cancelled. They specifically alleged and prayed “for recovery of the title and possession of an undivided one-fourth interest each in and to the said 2%o interest in said lot * * * and for a recovery of a similar interest in the bonus money and proceeds of oil therefrom. Appellants specially denied the title and claims of appellees in this 2%o interest; denied it was any part of the community estate; asserted the validity of above deeds and further answered that this Hawkins lot interest, as will more fully appear in a discussion of the point that follows, was his separate property. It is unnecessary to detail the pleadings, evidence or decree as to the 320-acre tract except to note that appellants asserted that this tract had been sold to pay community debts; that the trial court found against appellants on such a claim; and found as to this 320 acres, it was susceptible of being partitioned in kind between appellants and appellees, the owners, and with appointment of commissioners ordered such a partition.

Based on ample evidence, the court can-celled and held for naught the four conveyances on the ground of fraud; adjudged the 2%o interest to be community *739 property and awarded to each appellee “the title and possession of one-fourth of said Tso interest, together with like interest in the oil and other minerals therein, subject to said oil and gas lease executed in favor of Earl Hollandsworth:” Mrs. Lena Bryan was awarded the other !%o interest or ½ of the 2%o interest. The decree further awarded appellees each ¾, of the amount of the lease bonus and of the proceeds of oil runs and to be run; and to Mrs. Lena Bryan the other half.

As appellants assert, “the rule seems to be well established that before property can be partitioned, all the joint owners or co-tenants must be made parties either plaintiff or defendant, in order that the court ordering partition may determine the interest each party has therein and make a proper distribution of the property,” citing Maxwell’s Unknown Heirs v. Bolding, Tex.Civ.App., 11 S.W.2d 814, which is quoted with approval in Blanchard v. Blanchard, Tex.Civ.App., 105 S.W.2d 302; Bowlin v. Freeland, 289 S.W. 721; 68, C.J.S. Partition, § 73.

If it be assumed or conceded that the suit with respect to the 2%o Hawkins lot interest be that for partition, above rule would not control the disposition of point one. As stated in Noble v. Meyers, 76 Tex. 280, 13 S.W. 229, 230: “As long as the pleadings or evidence fail to show, in a suit for partition, that there are persons interested in the title that is the subject of that suit who have not been made parties to it, the proceeding may properly be prosecuted to a final decree and execution.” (Italics ours.) Title to the 2⅜0 interest, whether it was the separate estate of E. P. Bryan or the community property of him and his deceased wife was the subject or issue litigated. The bulk of the evidence in this record was directed to this issue. The court in his findings of facts and conclusions of law specifically dealt with this title issue to the 2%o interest. Neither did the pleadings seek nor does the judgment in anywise adjudicate nor partition nor affect the title of the interest of any person not a party to the suit. Title to the whole of this Hawkins property was not before the court, and it was never intended to be and the court did not attempt to take the whole of such property within its jurisdiction.

Point one is overruled for the further reason that under this record, here-inbefore detailed, this suit as to the 2%o interest was for title. Hess v. Webb, 103 Tex. 46, 123 S.W. 111; Shell Petroleum Corp. v. Grays, 122 Tex.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
262 S.W.2d 736, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 2082, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryan-v-bryan-texapp-1953.