Burkhart v. Christian

315 S.W.2d 668, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2185
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 31, 1958
Docket3577
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 315 S.W.2d 668 (Burkhart v. Christian) 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
Burkhart v. Christian, 315 S.W.2d 668, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2185 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

TIREY, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment denying appellants an injunction to restrain appellee from engaging in the practice of medicine in her home, which is located in Cavitt’s Woodland Heights Addition to the City of Bryan, Texas.

Appellants grounded their action on the allegation that the practice of medicine by appellee was a violation of the restrictions on the property purchased by appellee and her late husband. The cause was tried without the aid of a jury and in the judgment we find the following recitals:

“1. That the Plaintiffs are the owners of property in Cavitt’s Woodland Heights Addition No. 2 in the City of Bryan, in Brazos County, Texas, and maintained their residences upon the property so owned by them.
“2. The Defendant is the owner of Lot No. 11, in Block No. 6 in Cavitt’s Woodland Heights Addition No. 2 in the City of Bryan, in Brazos County, Texas, and maintains her residence thereon.
“3. That on or about October 11, 1940, the then owners of the property now constituting said addition established a general plan or scheme of building within its limits by placing thereon restrictions as to its use, which restrictions were duly recorded in the Deed Records of Brazos County, Texas, in Volume 104, page 539, and which restrictions included the following language :
“ ‘Sec. II, All lots in the tract shall be known and described as residential lots and no structure shall be erected, altered, placed or permitted to remain on any residential building lot other than one detached single family dwelling not to exceed two stories in height and a one, two or three car garage.’
“ ‘Sec. IV, No noxious or offensive trade shall be carried on upon lot or shall anything be done thereon which may become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood.’
“ ‘Sec. XIII, These covenants are to run with the land and shall be binding on all parties and all persons claiming to them until January 1, 1965, at which time said covenants shall be automatically extended for successive periods of ten years unless by a vote of the majority of the then owners of the lots, it is agreed to change the covenants in whole or in part.’
“4. The defendant acquired her property after the establishment of said restrictions and had both actual and constructive notice thereof.
“5. The plaintiffs are lawfully entitled to the benefits of said restrictions and to maintain an action to enjoin a breach thereof.
“6. The defendant, in the use of her property, is bound by said restrictions.
*670 “7. Since the date of the establishment of said restrictions they have been, and they still are, in full force and effect.
“8. The right of property owners in said addition to- enforce said restrictions have not been waived by permitting them to be broken, but, rather, the owners of property within said addition have exercised diligence in preventing their breach.
“9. The defendant is a widow, 65 years of age. She is a duly licensed Osteopath. She is semi-retired and limits her practice (except for emergency cases) to treatments, given by appointment only, on three afternoons a week. She does not now nor does she intend in the future to treat diseased people, but rather gives treatments consisting only of manipulation, massage and heat therapy. She does not now, nor does she intend in the future, to maintain any professional listing in the yellow sheets of the telephone directory nor any sign upon her said premises except a name plate of the type ordinarily used to designate the name of an occupant of residential property. The defendant occupies her said property as her residence and such treatments as she gives are given in one of the bedrooms in her house. There are two single beds in such room and the only equipment therein specially for use by her in the practice of her profession are one treatment table and one heat lamp. She does not have a waiting room for' her patients but when patients are required to wait for treatment they are seated in the den of the house. She usually treats from one to three or four patients per day on three afternoons a week. The defendant does not maintain an office elsewhere for the practice of her profession. Her patients park their cars in her driveway and on the street in front of her house. The parking of the cars of her patients does not interfere with the traffic nor constitute a traffic hazard.
“10. The present activities of the defendant do not constitute a violation or breach of the restrictions in question (as set forth in the above quoted Section II of said restrictions) .
“11. The evidence does not show any threatened violation or breach by the defendant of said restrictions set forth in said Section II.
“12. The present activities of the defendant do not constitute or threaten to become an ‘annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood.’ ”

and decreed that appellants take nothing, and they have appealed from said judgment.

The decree is assailed on what appellants designate as four points. They are substantially to the effect that the court erred (1 and 2) in holding that the practice of Osteopathy and the incidental coming and going of persons and the parking of cars connected therewith did not constitute a nuisance to the neighborhood and thereby violate the duly imposed restrictions upon the property, and in not granting injunctive relief because the evidence shows a violation of paragraph 4 of the recorded restrictions; (3 and 4) in holding that the establishment of the sole office and place of business of the appel-lee was the practice of Osteopathy in a dwelling house did not constitute a violation of the restrictions, and in failing to grant the injunctive relief, because the evidence shows a violation of paragraph 2 of the recorded restrictions.

Since this cause was tried without the aid of a jury, we are bound by the following rule: “ ‘The rule is well settled that the judgment of a trial court will not be set aside if there is atiy evidence of a probative nature to support it and a *671 court of civil appeals cannot substitute its findings of fact for those of the trial court if there is any evidence in the record to sustain the trial court’s finding.’ See Cavanaugh v. Davis, 149 Tex. 573, 235 S.W.2d 972, 977; Woodward v. Ortiz, 237 S.W.2d 286; see also cases collated under 4 Tex.Dig., Appeal & Error See Wilson, v. Teague Ind. School Dist., Tex.Civ.App., 251 S.W.2d 263, 268 (writ ref.). See also In re King’s Estate, 150 Tex. 662, 244 S.W.2d 660.

In Wisdom v. Smith, 146 Tex. 420, 209 S.W.2d 164

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Bluebook (online)
315 S.W.2d 668, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2185, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burkhart-v-christian-texapp-1958.