Burrow v. Davis

226 S.W.2d 199, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1890
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 21, 1949·No. No. 5945·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

PITTS, Chief Justice.

Appellants, C. R. Burrow, Ray Cole, Glen McGahey and J. Redmond Hand, filed suit against appellees, I. Clyde Davis and wife Maxine Davis, John L. Hammond and wife Florence Hammond, and the City of Canyon, Texas, a municipal corporation, seeking the cancellation of a deed and a prohibitory and mandatory injunction to restrain appellees perpetually from proceeding further with the construction of a tourist court that encroached upon two public streets in the City of Canyon and to require said appellees to remove from the said streets that part of the said tourist court building then already partly constructed upon the said streets. Appellants sued as property owners -abutting the streets in question and appellees defended upon the grounds that they were protected under the rules of law and equity governing such matters.

The case was tried to a jury which found that the streets in question still had width enough to provide adequate space for use by the public; that appellants sustained no special damages by reason of the erection of the tourist court as alleged and that such construction of the tourist' court did not create a traffic hazard. Judgment was rendered upon the jury verdict denying the relief sought by appellants who have perfected their appeal.

We shall dispose of appellants’ assignments o’f error in the order that seems most logical to us. Appellants contend that they were entitled to a peremptory instruction of the jury and that since such was not given they were then entitled to have judgment for the relief sought notwithstanding the jury verdict. They further contend that they were entitled to such because the evidence established conclusively that the tourist court extended into Third Avenue and 22nd Street and that they had previously purchased their land abutting the said Avenue -and Street, across such from the land upon which the tourist court was being constructed, and that they purchased their said land according to recorded plats which clearly showed a dedication -of Third Avenue 80 feet wide -and 22nd Street 60 feet wide. They further contend that they examined and relied upon the said plats before buying their land adjacent to the said Avenue and Street and that the width of the said Avenue and Street constituted a p-art of the consideration that induced them to purchase the land abutting such Avenue and Street. They complain that appellees, Davis and Hammond, with the approval and sanction of appellee, the City of Canyon, have partially constructed their tourist court so as to encroach upon Third Avenue 9½ feet and so as to encroach upon 22nd Street 2½ feet, thus denying appellants the benefit of the full- width of the said Avenue and Street as dedicated, to their special damages in the premises.

Appellees resist appellants’ contentions and complaints and claim they have acted within their legal and equitable rights. Appellee, City of Canyon, filed a separate answer in the case, alleging, in effect, that the said City had acted for the best interest of the public without damaging appellants’ property or encroaching upon their rights in the matter. They further pleaded that the small strips only slight in width were parts of parkways located on a part of the dedicated Avenue and Street and that such strips of land had never been -appropriated and used for vehicular use and that the remainder of the said Avenue and Street was amply sufficient for all public -purposes. [202] They further pleaded that: “ * * * said alleged encroachment, if any there be, is of so slight a nature that it is not worthy of notice 'by the law, and that under the principal of law, ‘De Minimis Non Curat Lex’ (The Law does not concern itself with trifles) .the equitable relief sought should not be granted.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Burrow v. Davis, 226 S.W.2d 199, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1890 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

226 S.W.2d 199 (Burrow v. Davis) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Louisiana & Arkansas Railway Co. v. Capps
766 S.W.2d 291 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Caldwell v. City of Denton
556 S.W.2d 107 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1977)
Weaver v. City of Sunset Valley
535 S.W.2d 12 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1976)
Twin City Fire Insurance Company v. Gibson
488 S.W.2d 565 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1972)
Blythe v. City of Graham
327 S.W.2d 800 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1959)
Dyer v. Hardin
323 S.W.2d 119 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1959)
Associated Employers Insurance Co. v. Burris
321 S.W.2d 112 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1959)
Roark v. Rogers
316 S.W.2d 325 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1958)
Ellison v. Patton
303 S.W.2d 855 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1957)
TEXAS EMPLOYERS'INSURANCE ASSOCIATION v. Hadley
289 S.W.2d 809 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)
Holt v. City of San Marcos
288 S.W.2d 802 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)
Grieger v. Vega
271 S.W.2d 85 (Texas Supreme Court, 1954)
Atmar v. Magee
264 S.W.2d 507 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1954)
Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n v. Thames
252 S.W.2d 228 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1952)
Minyard v. Kennedy
241 S.W.2d 767 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)