Callihan v. Fort Worth Well MacHinery & Supply Co.

88 S.W.2d 1057
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 8, 1935
DocketNo. 13256.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 88 S.W.2d 1057 (Callihan v. Fort Worth Well MacHinery & Supply Co.) 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
Callihan v. Fort Worth Well MacHinery & Supply Co., 88 S.W.2d 1057 (Tex. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

BROWN, Justice.

On October 17, 1931, George Callihan, appellant, filed suit in the district court of Shackelford county, Tex., for debt against Geo. W. Price, a nonresident of this state, on a note in the sum of $683.06, and subsequently caused an attachment writ to be issued and placed in the hands of the sheriff of Callahan county, under which the said officer levied upon and seized a certain “model D. Fort Worth Spudder, one Case Tractor and all tools and equipment” connected therewith; the levy being made on October 23, 1931.

Appellant, on December 1, 1931, filed his amended petition in the said district court, in which he made Forth Worth Well Machinery & Supply Company, appellee, a party defendant, and in which pleading he sets up his note, the isstiance of attachment and lien thus acquired, and alleged that since taking such steps he has learned that appellee is claiming some character of lien on the attached property. He prays for judgment and for foreclosure of his attachment lien as against both said defendants.

Appellee filed its plea of privilege to be sued in the county of its domicile, Tarrant county, Tex., and, subject to such plea, answered to the merits, denying the allegations of the petition, and asserted a cross-action against Cecil A. Morgan, administrator of Price, who was then dead, to re *1058 cover a large indebtedness and to foreclose chattel mortgage liens on a large quantity of personal property, including that levied upon under the said writ of attachment. Appellee prayed for judgment for its debt and for foreclosure of its liens as against Price’s estate and appellant.

Appellee’s plea of privilege was overruled, exception taken, and the cause tried on the merits in the district court of Shackelford county, before a jury, and judgment rendered July 12, 1932, awarding appellant recovery, on his claimed debt against the said administrator of Price’s estate, and for foreclosure of the attachment lien as against both said administrator and appellee.

The only appeal taken from such judgment was by Fort Worth Well Machinery & Supply Company, and it gave no super-sedeas bond. The cause being heard before the Court of Civil Appeals (at East-land), it left undisturbed the judgment obtained by appellant against Price’s administrator, but decreed: “In so far as such judgment affects the'appellant, the same is reversed, and the cause remanded, ’with instructions to transfer the venue to Tar-rant county.”

We take it that the said appellate court remanded the cause for trial upon Calli-han’s action to foreclose his attachment lien as against the Machinery & Supply Company, as well as upon the cross-action asserted by the said company. The cause is reported in 62 S.W.(2d) 1005 et seq.

No supersedeas bond being given by 'the said company, Callihan caused the property to be sold under his judgment for debt and foreclosure. He bought the property at the sheriff’s sale.

After the reversal and remand, the suit was transferred to the district court of Tarrant county, as between appellant and appellee. In the meanwhile, appellee company had brought an independent suit in the district court of Tarrant county for debt and foreclosure of its chattel mortgage liens as against Price and Callihan.

On motion, the causes were consolidated and tried to a jury.

Before the cause was submitted to the jury on special issues, the .machinery company filed a statement reciting that it bases its “right of recovery in this case upon a conversion, of the property in controversy as of the date of its seizure and sale by the sheriff of Callahan County and its purchase by the plaintiff and it prays for the value of the property at that time plus interest at the rate of 6% from that time to the present time and all costs of suit.”

On January 4, 1934, the machinery company filed its second amended answer and cross-action in lieu of its answer “filed June 30, 1932” (in the district court of Shackelford county), and in its pleading sues Price’s administrator for the debt owing by Price and for a foreclosure of its chattel mortage liens on a large amount of personal property, including that levied upon by attachment writ and sold thereunder and purchased by appellant Callihan. and it prays that its lien be decreed to be superior to the said attachment lien. It prays further: “And it further prays for judgment against him (meaning Callihan) for the value of the-use, rents and revenues of said property, and it also prays for such other and further relief as it may show itself entitled to, and so it will ever pray.”

In the body of its said pleading, the machinery company sets out a history of the litigation, alleging that, subsequent to the institution of the suit, Callihan sued out the writ of attachment and that the sheriff of Callahan county on October 23, 1931, levied upon the spudder, motor, tools, etc., all of which were covered by its mortgage; that it filed its plea of privilege in the district court of Shackelford county which was overruled, and that the said district court rendered judgment on July 12, 1932, in favor of Callihan against Price’s administrator for debt with foreclosure of the attachment lien on the particular prop erty seized under the writ, and ordered same sold to satisfy the judgment; that a judgment was rendered for the said company for its debt with foreclosure of its chattel mortgage lien on the remainder of the personal property in which Callihan claimed no interest, as against Price’s administrator; that it excepted to the judgment and appealed, but gave no superse-deas bond; that after the appeal Callihan caused an execution to issue on the judgment under which the property attached by him was advertised and sold,, Callihan being the purchaser at the sale; and that Callihan “thus acquired possession of said property and he is holding it, using it and claiming it as his own ever since he so purchased it, and he yet claims it adversely to this defendant”; that the Court of Civil Appeals at Eastland reversed the judgment and remanded the cause, sustaining its plea *1059 ■of privilege and ordered the cause transferred to the district court of Tarrant county. It alleges that Callihan purchased the property on September 10, 1932, and began using it and has continued to do so; that the use of the machinery has reduced its value until it is worth not more than $1,000; that the rental value of the same during the time Callihan has been using it is $1,500. It further alleged: “Said property so attached by plaintiff at the time of its attachment and at the time of the sale thereof and the purchase of same by the plaintiff, as above stated, as defendant verily believes and charges, was of the value of $2,000.00.”

On October 4, 1934, said company filed a “supplemental answer” in which it alleges : “This defendant further says that the plaintiff, by his action in attaching said property and causing same to be sold and in purchasing it at such sale and in'using it, as set out .in this defendant’s second amended answer herein filed, has converted same to his own .use and benefit, to this defendant’s great damage in the sum of $2,000.00, with legal interest thereon from the date of such conversion to the present time.

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Bluebook (online)
88 S.W.2d 1057, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/callihan-v-fort-worth-well-machinery-supply-co-texapp-1935.