Casey v. Oldham

248 S.W.2d 531, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 2099
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 18, 1952
DocketNo. 6201
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 248 S.W.2d 531 (Casey v. Oldham) 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
Casey v. Oldham, 248 S.W.2d 531, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 2099 (Tex. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

MARTIN, Justice.

On January 21, 1952, an opinion was rendered herein affirming the judgment of the trial court. Appellant duly filed his motion for rehearing and in such motion, as in the original cause, presents a somewhat unusual proposition. As a basis for recovery of a broker’s commission, appellant pleaded a realty sales contract as constituting a written memorandum of his parol brokerage contract. This sales contract was drawn for execution by five persons named as owners but was signed by only two of such named owners. Although only the two parties executing the sales contract could be compelled at law to deliver their undivided interest, appellant seeks to recover from said two parties the full 5 per cent commission on the total sale price of all the ranch on the theory that he had a purchaser who was ready, able and willing to buy the entire ranch.

The principles of law as originally cited in sustaining the trial court’s judgment in the cause are relied upon here but a withdrawal of the original opinion and, substitution of the following opinion will more specifically clarify and adjudicate the issues presented by appellant’s original points and by his motion for rehearing.

A sales contract was drawn as the joint contract of ranch owners, Marielle H. Oldham, Jack J. H. Oldham, Fred Marshall and Marielle Oldham Slaughter and husband, George Slaughter, and blanks were provided on the contract for the signatures of all five parties as sellers. Only Marielle Oldham and Jack J. H. Oldham signed this sales contract as sellers. The proposed purchaser of the ranch did not sign the contract and Glen L. Casey signed the same merely as brokerage agent. It is alleged that following execution of this contract the Oldhams purchased Fred Marshall’s undivided one:half interest. The Slaughters retained their interest in so far as revealed by the record:

The sales contract above mentioned contains the following specific provision as to payment of a commission, “9. Should the buyer fail to consummate this contract according to its terms, except for title defects, the Sellers shall have the right to retain said cash’ deposit as liquidated dam7 ages for breach of this contract, and shall pay to Glen L. Casey, the effective broker [532]*532herein, 5% of the total price as commission, or' the Sellers may enforce specific performance of this contract, and in the event the sale is consummated^ Glen L. Casey will be paid 5% of the total sale price as commission.”

Appellant sued appellees for $12,413.50 alleging this sum was 5 per cent of the total sales price of the ranch due him as commission under the provisions of the sale contract hereinabove outlined. Appellant pleaded that he had procured a buyer, Walter B. Mills, who was ready, willing and able to comply with the contract but the defendants (appellees) refused to complete the sale. One condition to recovering the broker’s commission is that appellant must bring his parol brokerage agreement within that provision of Article 6573a, Sec. 22, Vernon’s Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, as follows: “the promise or agreement upon which action shall be brought, or some memorandum thereof, shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith”. Appellant pleaded the sales contract executed by only two of the parties named, as sellers as a written memorandum of his parol brokerage contract. No direct authority is cited by appellant on the issue of sufficiency of such sale contract as a memorandum of his parol brokerage contract.

The trial court sustained appellees’ motion to dismiss appellant’s first amended original petition, and upon appellant’s refusal to amend, dismissed the suit. -The issue is whether appellant has pleaded a sufficient cause of action under Article 6573a, Sec. 22 and other provisions of the law governing his suit to recover the brokerage commission. A discussion of appellant’s two points will follow.

It must be 'borne in mind that -the written sales contract is not the contract sought to be enforced here but the same serves only as a memorandum of the appellant’s parol brokerage contract. The issue here is not whether a joint owner signing the sales contract may be compelled to deliver his interest as in Ward v. Walker, Tex. Civ.App., 159 S.W. 320, cited by appellant. This is not a suit between the sellers ancl the purchaser. This is a suit by a broker on an alleged parol agreement purportedly made with him by two of five parties signing the written sales contract. As cited by appellant, “it is the oral contract that is enforced, and not the memorandum by which such contract is proved.” Simpson v. Green, Tex.Com.App., 231 S.W. 375, 378.

Appellant’s First point of error is that the trial court erred in dismissing his cause of action in that he had alleged full and complete performance of all conditions precedent to his right to recover the total broker’s commission from two of the parties. Under this point, appellant cites and predicates his cause of action on the principle announced in Radford v. McNeny, 129 Tex. 568, 104 S.W.2d 472, by pleading that he had a purchaser who was ready, able and willing to purchase the ranch on the terms specified by the appellees. Although appellant could not complete a sale of all the lands as stipulated in the sales contract, as some of the owners did not execute the contract, he contends that the two signers of the contract are obligated to pay the full commission of 5 per cent on the sale price of all the lands as he had procured a purchaser who was ready, able and willing to purchase all the land.

The parol commission' contract was not severable, as hereinafter discussed, but in no event can it be regarded as a sound principle of law, at least ho authority is found therefor, that under a contract to sell all of a tract of land for a 5 per cent commission on the full sale price a broker can sell an undivided interest therein and collect the full commission stipulated to be paid for selling all-of the land. If it be conceded that appellant can collect a commission for effecting a sale of an interest in the land under his brokerage agreement to sell all the land, at least, he should be permitted to recover his commission only in proportion to the land interest as actually sold.

Further, if the parol brokerage contract, and memorandum thereof, are conceded to be severable whereby the broker may sell only an undivided interest in the land, then,, under Radford v. McNeny, supra, and like [533]*533authorities cited by appellant, sound principle dictates that appellant must likewise plead that he has a purchaser who. is ■"ready, able and willing” to accept and pay for only an undivided interest in the ranch. Since delivery of only an undivided interest in the ranch can be compelled at law, appellant has not pleaded a cause of action for any part of the commission by merely pleading that he has a' purchaser who is ready, able and willing to accept .and pay for all of the ranch. The purchaser might have been ready, able and willing to buy all the ranch, but wholly unready and unwilling to buy only an undivided interest in the ranch. On this phase appellant’s pleadings are silent and are insufficient.

Under the issue above discussed, in any event, appellant’s purchaser must, under settled authority, buy upon the terms fixed by the .sellers who could only bind themselves to sell and deliver their undivided interest. English v. William George Realty Co., 55 Tex.Civ.App. 137, 117 S.W. 996, Sec. 5.

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Bluebook (online)
248 S.W.2d 531, 1952 Tex. App. LEXIS 2099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/casey-v-oldham-texapp-1952.