Casas v. Knorbin

218 S.W.2d 289, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1585
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 3, 1949
DocketNo. 12047
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 218 S.W.2d 289 (Casas v. Knorbin) 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
Casas v. Knorbin, 218 S.W.2d 289, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1585 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

CODY, Justice.

For the purposes of this appeal it is sufficient to state that this was a suit by appellant to recover the cost price of $4.75 per case on approximately 1048 cases of “Nor-teña” beer, which arose out of a lease contract, by the terms of which appellant [290]*290leased from appellees the “Old Mexico Tavern” which is located at 120 Gray Avenue, in the City of Houston, and is a restaurant at which Mexican foods were chiefly served. The term of the lease was for three years, beginning July 1, 1944, and ending June 30, 1947. ¡The dispute has arisen under paragraph 14 of the lease which reads as follows:

“It is agreed that upon termination of this lease, regardless of how it is terminated, Lessee, his heirs or assigns are obligated and promise to sell to Lessor, their heirs or assigns, and Lessors, their heirs and assigns are obligated and promise to buy from Lessee, his heirs or assigns, all of the merchandise, including curios, owned by Lessee and located on the leased premises at such time at cost price of such merchandise but Lessors shall not be obligated to buy more than $7,000.00 worth at cost price of such merchandise. In the event the lease terminates because of the death of David Casas or because of his physical disability to further operate said business or because of its term termination on June 30th, 1947, then Lessors obligate themselves and they promise to pay for same within thirty days after such termination but if the lease terminates for any other reason, as provided for herein, then Lessors promise to make such payment in monthly installments of as much as $1,000.00 a month, the first monthly payment being due within thirty days from the date of such termination. To better secure such purchase money payment, Lessee shall have a lien on said merchandise then on hand, subject to sale in due course of trade, however, as well as upon the items listed on ‘Exhibit A' attached hereto. In the event Lessee is indebted to Lessors at the time of termination of this lease, then Lessors may offset such amount against any amount due Lessee.”

For the purpose of understanding the pleadings of the parties and the issues made thereby, the following brief statement is made of the undisputed facts. Prior to the date of the lease the appellant had been an employee of appellees, managing the restaurant business. By the terms of the lease appellant was to pay appellees the sum of $1300.00 per month. At the expiration of the lease, it was undisputed that appellees were going to conduct the restaurant business on said premises; and that appellant was going to open and conduct a competing business. And it is further undisputed that a few days before the expiration of the lease, appellant caused to be delivered upon the premises of the Old Mexico Tavern 752 cases of Norteña bottle beer which constituted a part of a shipment which he had imported from Mexico some 10 months previously. It was further undisputed that during the year 1946 there was a scarcity of domestic brands of beer available in the City of Houston, and that there were shipped from Mexico, consigned to appellant, some 6000 cases of Nor-teña beer. It was also not disputed that beer greatly aids in the sale of Mexican food and that, as the business had been conducted by appellees, and while appellant had managed it as their employee, beer had been obtained in lots to last from 10 days to 2 weeks and that this had amounted to about 42 cases to cover said period of time.

Appellant’s petition, insofar as it sought a recovery for the beer, alleged, among other things, the terms of paragraph 14 quoted above and in effect plead that the beer in question had been delivered to ap-pellees within the purview thereof and that appellees were bound by the terms thereof to pay therefor, which they had failed and refused to do, etc.

Appellees’ answer on the merits consisted of a general denial, and they answered specially that: During the year 1946, appellant had imported several thousand cases of Norteña beer from Mexico for the purpose of speculation during the period of the scarcity of domestic beer. That the beer in question was a brand unknown to the public and of inferior qualify and did not come in uniform cases or bottles and was unpalatable. That the beer had been stored in a garage for almost a year and had deteriorated in quality and could not be sold and that appellant had conceived the fraudulent scheme of removing the beer from the garage where it was stored and placing same on the premises of the restaurant just prior to the expiration of the lease in order to try to collect therefor from appellees under the terms of the lease. [291]*291Appellees further alleged that the beer was not - merchandise within the meaning of paragraph 14, that it was unfit for human consumption, was not salable and was worthless. Appellees also filed a cross-action -but the matters covered thereby are not in issue on appeal.

No exceptions or objections were made to the court’s charge by either of the parties, and we are on appeal concerned only with Special Issues Nos. 1, 3, and 4. Said special issues and the answers thereto are as follows:

Special Issue No. 1 reads: “Do you find from the preponderance of the evidence that the plaintiff herein, David Casas, purchased the Norteña beer in question solely for the purpose of selling it at retail at his place of business known as the ‘Old Mexico Tavern?’ ” Which was answered, “We do not.”

Special Issue No. 3 reads: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the Norteña beer located on said premises at the expiration of such lease was - not merchantable?” Which was-answered “It was not merchantable.”

In connection with said Special Issue, the following definition was given, “By the term ‘merchantable’ as used in connection with this charge is meant capable of being sold to the public in the normal course of such restaurant business”.

Special Issue No. 4 reads: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the placing of such ‘Norteña beer’ on the leased premises by David Casas was done by him in bad faith?” Which was answered “Yes”.

Appellant seasonably filed and presented a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

Upon the jury’s answers to the foregoing issues, and upon stipulations and other matters not before us on appeal, the court rendered an over-all judgment that appellant take nothing, and that appellees recover from appellant the sum of $836.89, and costs.

Appellant has -predicated his appeal on five points. His points 1, 3, and 5 present, respectively, that the court erred in rendering judgment refusing appellant recovery on the “N-ortena”- beer insofar as such judgment may have been based on the jury’s 'answers, respectively, to Special Issues Nos. 3,-1, and 4, because there was no evidence to authorize the submission thereof, respectively, and no evidence to support ,the jury’s answer thereto, respectively, and because the evidence was not sufficient to support the jury’s answers to said Special Issues, respectively, and because said answers, respectively, 'were not in accordance with the preponderance of the evidence.

Appellant’s points 2 and 4 complain, respectively, that Special Issues Nos. 1 and 4 presented no ultimate issue of fact either as a ground of recovery for appellant, or ground of defense for appellees, and were wholly immaterial to any issue in the case.

We overrule appellant’s point 1.

It is apparent that Special Issue No.

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Bluebook (online)
218 S.W.2d 289, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1585, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/casas-v-knorbin-texapp-1949.