Callaway v. Elliott

396 S.W.2d 242, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2124
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 21, 1965
Docket158
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 396 S.W.2d 242 (Callaway v. Elliott) 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
Callaway v. Elliott, 396 S.W.2d 242, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2124 (Tex. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

DUNAGAN, Chief Justice.

This is a summary judgment case. Ap-pellee, Loreta Elliott, joined by her husband, Kenneth C. Elliott, filed this suit to enforce the provisions of a judgment of the trial court in its prior cause No. 13,606, in which prior cause appellant Callaway was granted a divorce from appellee, Lor-eta Elliott, and in which judgment the property of the parties was partitioned. Appellant duly filed his answer and first amended original answer in which he contends that the portion of the property involved in this suit was not the home of the parties, nor any part of the community property of the parties and that the property agreement embodied in the judgment was not the agreement he entered into in that he never agreed to give or to convey to appellee, Loreta Elliott, the property here in controversy.

*243 On May 28, 1962, the trial court entered a judgment in its cause No. 13,606 styled Ramon W. Callaway v. Loreta Callaway and this judgment, in addition to granting a divorce to the plaintiff, Ramon W. Cal-laway, appellant here, recited that the parties had agreed upon a partition of their community estate, and such judgment then partitioned such community estate. No appeal was taken from this judgment and same became a final judgment.

The judgment in the prior cause No. 13,606 contains the following provisions in regard to the disposition of the property of the parties:

“ * * * Plaintiff and Defendant and their attorneys announced in open court that an agreement for settlement of the respective property rights of Plaintiff and Defendant had been agreed upon and the said agreement as follows was submitted to the Court for Approval: These parties agreed that Defendant (Appellee, Loreta Elliott, here) have as her part and share of all of the community property belonging to Plaintiff and Defendant: * * * the home of the Plaintiff and Defendant situated in the City of Crockett in Houston County, Texas, on North 7th Street, described in a Deed of Trust given by Ramon Callaway and Loreta Callaway to J. G. Beasley, Trustee, * * * which is dated the 20th day of December, 1948, and recorded in Book 51 at page 219 of the Deed of Trust Records of Houston County, Texas. * * * ”
The judgment in cause No. 13,606 further provided:
“The court being of the opinion that, having due regard to the rights of each party, a division of their community property in the manner above described and agreed upon by the parties will be just, right and equitable; it is, therefore, ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that the said agreement as above set forth is now here approved by the Court.
“It is further ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED by the Court that * * * the parties hereto, both Plaintiff and Defendant, execute and deliver to the other party any and all deeds, transfers, conveyances and other instruments which may be necessary or proper to vest title of the respective properties awarded to each of said parties by the aforesaid agreement and this judgment, in order that said agreement be complied with in every respect, and that same be done without undue delay; and it is further ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that any and all appropriate or necessary writs of execution or other legal writs issue for the enforcement of this judgment.”

On July 5, 1962, appellee, Loreta Elliott, in compliance with the prior judgment duly conveyed to Callaway certain parcels of land therein awarded to appellant Calla-way.

Appellant conveyed to Loreta Elliott by deed dated October 9, 1962, the land the prior judgment awarded to appellee, Loreta Elliott, save and except the North portion of the tract of land in question, which resulted in appellee instituting this suit to compel appellant to convey to appellee, Loreta Elliott, the entire tract as provided for in the judgment or in the alternative that she recover from Ramon Callaway such tract of land and that title be divested out of Ramon Callaway and be vested in Loreta Elliott.

The appellees then filed their motion for summary judgment based on the pleadings in this cause and the former judgment in cause No. 13,606. Appellant duly filed his affidavit in answer to appellees' motion for summary judgment and incorporated his first amended original answer therein by copying same into such affidavit. The court below, after a hearing on such mo *244 tion, entered a judgment enforcing the prior judgment in cause No. 13,606, ordering that all the right, title and interest of the appellant Callaway in and to such tract (the tract here involved) be divested out of him, and that all such right, title and interest in the same be vested in said Loreta Elliott and further provided for all necessary writs to enforce the judgment. From this judgment Callaway has appealed.

The appellant’s contentions are: (1) the North portion of the tract of land in controversy was not any part of the community property of the parties; (2) nor was it any part of the home of the parties; (3) that appellant never agreed to convey the North portion of the tract in question to the appellee and that each constitutes a fact issue that must be determined.

From a reading of the prior judgment in cause No. 13,606 entered on May 28, 1962, it is obvious that it awarded this entire tract of land to the appellee as her part of the community property pursuant to the property settlement agreement entered into between the parties and announced to the court, identifying the same as the home of the parties located on North 7th Street in the City of Crockett in Houston County, Texas, further identifying the tract of land as being the tract described in the Deed of Trust given by Ramon Cal-laway and Loreta Callaway to J. G. Beasley, Trustee, giving the date thereof and the volume and page of the Deed Records and County where it was recorded, which instrument describes the entire tract by metes and bounds. At any rate, the judgment definitely awarded the tract of land in controversy to appellee, Loreta Elliott.

If this entire tract were not in fact a part of the community property or home of the parties, or if the appellant did not agree to convey the entire tract to appellee, all as recited in the judgment, then it follows that the judgment would be erroneous.

As above pointed out, this suit is one to compel appellant to comply with the judgment in cause No. 13,606. This is not a suit seeking to set aside, modify or correct the prior judgment and the appellant has not sought any such relief by way of cross action.

Appellant in his supplemental brief says: “Appellant’s position is not that the judgment is void or in error, but that such judgment is a valid and binding judgment the scope and effect of which does not entitle the Appellees to the relief for which they are seeking in this action.”

However, we think the substance of appellant’s contentions is to the effect that the judgment is erroneous in that it recites that the property in controversy was a part of the community estate of the parties, that all of the tract constituted the home, that the agreement of the parties provided for the appellant to convey to the appellee, Loreta Elliott, all of the entire tract rather than merely the South portion of the tract here in controversy.

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Bluebook (online)
396 S.W.2d 242, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/callaway-v-elliott-texapp-1965.