Buffalo Insurance Company v. McLendon

402 S.W.2d 559, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2770
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 19, 1966
Docket7705
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 402 S.W.2d 559 (Buffalo Insurance Company v. McLendon) 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
Buffalo Insurance Company v. McLendon, 402 S.W.2d 559, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2770 (Tex. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

FANNING, Justice.

The opinion of March IS, 1966, is withdrawn and the following opinion is rendered.

A workmen’s compensation case. In response to special issues a jury found to the effect that appellee was injured in the course of his employment resulting in the total and permanent incapacity to his right eye. Based upon the jury’s verdict and other facts which were undisputed, the trial court rendered judgment for plaintiff-ap-pellee for $35.00 per week for 100 weeks and allowed defendant-appellant credit for $744.10 theretofore paid plaintiff-appellee. Defendant-appellant’s motion for new trial was overruled and it has appealed.

Appellant contends that appellee did not perfect an appeal from the award of the Industrial Accident Board and that it had paid the Board’s award and that plaintiff-appellee had accepted the Board’s award. Appellant also contends to the effect that the trial court erred in denying it a jury trial on the questions as to whether the suit was timely instituted and prosecuted by plaintiff and as to whether plaintiff accepted the Board’s award by accepting and cashing the drafts hereinafter referred to.

The primary question involved on this appeal is whether the district court had jurisdiction to try the cause. The trial court held that it had jurisdiction as a matter of law and submitted no issues to the jury with reference to jurisdictional facts.

The award of the Industrial Accident Board was rendered Nov. 8, 1962. Appel-lee’s notice of appeal from the award was filed with the Board on Nov. 20,1962. Suit by plaintiff-appellee to set aside the award of the Board was filed with the District Clerk of Dallas County, Texas, on December 5, 1962. Citation was issued by the District Clerk on Jan. 2, 1963, and was served on defendant-appellant on Jan. 4, 1963. At the time of filing suit plaintiff-appellee’s attorney MacMaster made a $10.00 deposit for costs with the District Court. On Dec. 29, 1962, MacMaster received a letter from Rainwater, head of defendant-appellant’s claim department, in which were enclosed two drafts, one to Jimmy W. McLendon for $483.73 and one to attorney MacMaster for $85.00, the letter stating that it was “as ordered in the IAB’s award of November 8, 1962,” and that the enclosures were “forwarded, in view of the fact no appeal has been perfected within the time required following the filing of the notice of intention to appeal.” However, the drafts were not in accordance with the award of the Board inasmuch as the Board’s award provided for a stipulated portion of its award to be paid in weekly installments, while the drafts paid a lump sum. MacMaster, on Dec. 31, 1962, paid an additional $5.00 costs to the clerk, as required by the clerk, for the issuance of citation, and the citation was issued on Jan. 2, 1963, and served on defendant-appellant on Jan. 4, 1963-, On Feb. 1, 1963, the two drafts above described were deposited for collection by plaintiff-appel-lee and attorney MacMaster and were paid about 5 days later. The trial court did not in any way authorize a compromise settlement of the cause by the method of the payment of the drafts in question or in any other manner.

Article 8307, Sec. 5, Vernon’s Ann.Civ. St. reads in part as follows:

“ * * * Any interested party who is not willing and does not consent to abide by the final ruling and decision of said Board shall, within twenty (20) days after the rendition of said final ruling and decision by said Board, file with said Board notice that he will not abide by said final ruling and decision. And he shall within twenty (20) days after giving such notice bring suit in the county where the injury occurred to set aside said final ruling and decision, * * *.
*561 If any party to such final ruling and decision of the Board, after having given notice as above provided, fails within said twenty (20) days to institute and prosecute a suit to set the same aside, then said final ruling and decision shall be binding upon all parties thereto; *

In Ocean Accident & Guaranty Corporation v. May, Tex.Com.App., 15 S.W.2d 594 (1929) it was stated:

“The Court of Civil Appeals seems to lay stress on the provision of section 5 of article 8307, R.C.S.1925, which provides : ‘If any party to any such final ruling and decision of the hoard, after having given notice as above provided, fails within said 20 days to institute and prosecute (italics ours) a suit to set the same aside, then said final ruling and decision shall be binding upon all parties thereto,’ etc.
“In our opinion the filing of the petition with the clerk of the proper court, with the bona fide intention that process shall be issued and served at once, is all that is necessary to comply with the statute. It is true that the statute says that if the party fails to institute and prosecute the suit within 20 days the ruling and decision of the board shall be final; but we think that the party appealing from the rulings and decision of the board has complied with this statute when he files his petition in the proper court with the bona fide intent that citation shall issue and be served at once upon the defendants. Ricker v. Shoemaker, 81 Tex. 22, 16 S.W. 645. We think further that the word prosecute used after the word institute, in the statute means nothing more than as above held by us. This interpretation is fully justified and substantiated by the provisions appearing in the same article before the above-quoted provision, to the effect, ‘and he shall within twenty days after giving such notice bring suit in the county where the injury occurred,’ etc. In other words, the provision, ‘institute and prosecute,’ and the words ‘bring suit,’ as used in section 5 of article 8307, R.C.S.1925, mean the same thing. There is no showing that the Guaranty Corporation did anything to delay the issuance or service of citation herein.” (Emphasis added.)

In Powers v. Temple Trust Co., Tex.Com.App., op. adopted by Sup.Ct., 124 Tex. 440, 78 S.W.2d 951 (1935) it was stated:

“There is no evidence that plaintiff in error filed this suit without a bona fide intention that process be promptly issued and served, and no evidence that the delay in the issuance of citation was attributable to him. In the absence of proof it will not be presumed that the delay in the issuance of citation was at his direction. The suit was filed when the petition was filed with the clerk. The statute imposes upon the clerk the duty of issuing the citation promptly. Tribby v. Wokee, 74 Tex. 142, 11 S.W. 1089; R.S.1925, art. 2021.”

The case of Maryland Casualty Company v. Jones, Tex.Com.App., op. adopted by Sup.Ct., 129 Tex. 392, 104 S.W.2d 847 (1937), was a case where the trial court held that it had jurisdiction as a matter of law and submitted no issues to the jury with reference to the jurisdictional facts in a workmen’s compensation case involving jurisdictional questions similar to the questions raised in the case at bar. The principal facts in said case are as follows:

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Bluebook (online)
402 S.W.2d 559, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2770, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/buffalo-insurance-company-v-mclendon-texapp-1966.