Castleberry v. Bussey

166 S.W. 14, 1914 Tex. App. LEXIS 614
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 25, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 166 S.W. 14 (Castleberry v. Bussey) 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
Castleberry v. Bussey, 166 S.W. 14, 1914 Tex. App. LEXIS 614 (Tex. Ct. App. 1914).

Opinion

LEVY, J.

This is an action by appellant against Mrs. F. R. Bussey and her husband, J. B. Bussey, in trespass to try title to a certain described tract of 1,500 acres of land out of the B. H. Simpson original survey located in Shelby county. The defendants answered by denial, plea of not guilty, and the statutes of limitation of three and five years, and ten years, under written memoranda specifying the boundaries. There was a judgment in favor of the defendants.

[1] The case was submitted to the jury upon special issues. In addition to the special facts found by the jury, the court made and filed findings of fact and conclusions of law. There being no statement of facts brought up with the record, the findings of fact made by the jury and the findings made and filed by the court must be taken as the facts of the case. It is needless to copy all the findings here, and the same may be looked to if necessary. Wo conclude that the real issues involved in the controversy are few, and un- • dertake to state only the findings of the jury and of the court deemed pertinent and conclusive of the rights of the parties.

The principal contention under the many assignments is that, under the findings of the jury and the evidence, the plaintiff was entitled, as a matter of law, to a judgment for the land sued for, and the decision of this question determines the appeal. It appears that on July 9, 1841, a patent to a league and labor of land was issued in the name of B. H. Simpson. As found by the jury, B. H. Simpson conveyed his interest in the land to James J. Cravens. The date of the conveyance is not given, but the court finds that James J. Cravens entered into possession of the land about May, 1841, and that date, or thereabout, may reasonably be the date of the conveyance. James- J. Cravens died in I860, leaving a wife and one child, named William J. Cravens. The wife died within a few days after the death of the husband, and the child died in a few days after the death of the mother. James J. Cravens left a large community estate in lands, and the inheritance in respect thereto, by reason of the death of the wife and child, was Gast upon collateral kindred, consisting of two brothers and one sister of Mrs. Cravens, and one brother and one sister of James J. Cravens. J. A. and L. C. Cunningham - and Sarah A. Castleberry, mother of the appellant, were the brothers and sister of Mrs. Mary A. Cravens, and Wm. Cravens and Mary Choate were the brother and sister of James J. Cravens. The plaintiff deraigns title through the patent to B. II. Simpson and conveyance by Simpson to James J. Cravens, and in virtue of his own heirship and conveyances to him from the other heirs of the Cravenses, and plaintiff would be entitled to recover on this prima facie title in him, unless defeated by the other findings of fact. The court finds that on March 22, 1838, Matthew Brin-son had a regular survey made of 1,700 acres under the Soose Rohus certificate; the same being a valid certificate and the property of Brinson. Under and by virtue of this location, Brinson continued to reside upon the land, cultivating several hundred acres, until his death in 1SG1. It is further found by the court that, after Matthew' Brinson had located and appropriated the 1,700 acres under and by virtue of the Rohus certificate, B. H. Simpson made application for and received from the board of land commissioners of the republic of Texas a certificate for a league and labor of land. But, as found by the jury, B. H. Simpson, prior to October 16, 1841, the date not given, sold this certificate to J. A. and L. O. Cunningham. J. A. and L. C. Cunningham, after purchase of the' certificate, then located this certificate on land the field notes of which covered and included the 1,700 acres located and appropriated by Matthew Brinson, thereby creating a conflict to the extent of 1,700 acres between their location and Brinson’s under the Rohus certificate, and 'it was under this existing condition that on July 9, 1841, a patent was issued in the name of B. H. Simpson, the field notes of which cover the 1,700 acres under the Brinson location. After the issuance of the patent, and on October 16, 1841, B. H. Simpson filed suit against A. McLemore, a brother-in-law and the tenant of Brinson, for the recovery of the 1,700 acres in conflict with the Simpson survey, and Matthew Brinson intervened -and made himself a party to the suit, and asserted ownership by virtue of his location. Upon verdict of a jury, the court finds, judgment in that suit was rendered in favor of Matthew Brinson, establishing “ownership of the 1,700 acres in Matthew Brinson.” And, on appeal of the case to the Supreme Court, the judgment was affirmed. And the jury made the finding that J. A. and L. C. Cunningham, after they purchased the certificate and located the land, never made conveyance to James J. Cravens of the land in controversy. In 1841, under deed from B. H. Simpson, James J. Cravens with his wife began residing upon a part of the land in conflict, at a point about 600 yards north of the residence of Brinson, claiming that the Simp *16 son áurvey was in conflict with. tRe Rohus survey. On May 12, 1843, MattRew Brinson filed suit in tRe district court of SRelby county against James J. Cravens for tRe title and possession of tRe 1,700 acres within tRe boundaries of tRe RoRus certificate. The-suit remained on tRe docket of tRe court un-disposed of until April 17, 1857, on wRicR date it was legally transferred to tRe district court of Panola county, wRere it remained until June 8,1872, wRen a final agreed judgment disposing of tRe controversy was entered. At tRe time tRe agreed judgment was entered A. McLemore, independent executor under tlie probated will of Matthew Brinson, was the plaintiff in the case in the place of MattRew Brinson, deceased, and D. 5. Cornaham, administrator of the estate of James J. Cravens, was the party defendant in the place of James J. Cravens, deceased. The court finds that no necessity existed for the appointment of an administrator of the estate of James J. Cravens, and by this is understood that the estate owed no debts. TRe agreed judgment in the case" was, as found both by the -court and the jury, but a formal act based upon and carrying into effect a written agreement respecting a settlement of the controversy, in fact, entered into between William Cravens, acting under and by authority of all the heirs of each, James J. Cravens, Mary, Ris wife, and William J. Cravens, the boy, and A. McLemore, independent executor of Matthew Brinson. TRe jury made the express finding that William Cravens had authority to act for all the heirs of William J. Cravens, deceased, at the' time Re made the written agreement the judgment was based on and carried into effect, and that all the heirs Rad actual notice of the agreement, and agreed to and received the benefits arising from the agreement, and recognized the rights accorded thereunder to each and all the parties interested. TRe court made the finding that the agreed judgment was, in fact, based upon and carried into effect a written agreement, of the date -of the judgment, between William Cravens and A. McLemore, independent executor under the probated will of MattRew Brinson, deceased, plaintiff in the suit.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
166 S.W. 14, 1914 Tex. App. LEXIS 614, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castleberry-v-bussey-texapp-1914.