Chain v. Pye

429 S.W.2d 630, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2353
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 16, 1968
Docket6962
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 429 S.W.2d 630 (Chain v. Pye) 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
Chain v. Pye, 429 S.W.2d 630, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2353 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

PARKER, Justice.

Summary judgment was rendered and entered on the 28th day of August, 1967, for the plaintiffs, James K. Pye, et al., and against defendants, Glenn A. Chain and Neil Chain, cancelling and holding for naught and removing as clouds upon plaintiffs’ title to a 95.1 acre tract of land and a 2.6 acre tract of land a power of attorney dated August 21, 1964, from Andrew Jackson to Glenn Chain, recorded in Vol. 205, page 35, of the Deed Records of Polk County, Texas, and the purported assignment of an interest therein dated May 14, 1965, from Glenn A. Chain to Neil Chain, recorded in Vol. 209, page 45, Deed Records of Polk County, Texas. Such judgment further provided that plaintiffs take nothing upon their claim for damages, as prayed for in their petition, and that the defendants’ claim for damages, as prayed for in their cross action, be dismissed. Defendants have appealed. The parties will be designated as in the trial court.

On July 31, 1967, a “Partial Summary Judgment” was rendered and entered, can-celling and removing as clouds upon plaintiffs’ title to such lands the instruments above identified, which was incorporated in the final judgment rendered and entered August 28, 1967. In such July 31, 1967 partial summary judgment, the court found an absence of any genuine issue as to any material fact, except as to the amount of damages.

Defendants’ second point of error is:

The error of the trial court in refusing defendants’ motion to clarify the partial summary judgment.

The partial summary judgment is clear and unambiguous. This partial summary judgment for plaintiffs specified:

It is further ORDERED that plaintiffs’ claim for damages as prayed for in their original petition and defendants’ claim for damages as prayed for in their cross-action remain on the docket of this Court for trial on the merits, and that the trial of this cause be limited to a determination of liability of the respective parties for damages and the amount thereof.

Defendants’ “motion to clarify” has as its only argument that defendants could not tell whether “the Court has already concluded that said claim for damages cannot be sustained.” The claim for damages would not have been retained for trial on the merits if the issue of liability and damages had been foreclosed.

In the final judgment, rendered and entered on the 28th of August, it is recited:

Plaintiffs in open Court announced that they would not offer evidence in support of their said claim for damages, and the defendants in open Court announced that they would not further prosecute their said claim for damages, and moved for nonsuit.

This is followed by the order, judgment and decree that plaintiffs take nothing upon *632 their claim for damages and that the defendants’ claim for damages is dismissed. The partial summary judgment and the final judgment comply with the provisions of Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 166-A. The matters of liability for and the amount of damages are not before this court. Defendants’ second point of error is overruled.

Defendants’ first point of error is:

The error of the trial court in rendering summary judgment for cancellation of the agreement.

Omitting the description of the lands and the acknowledgements, the power of attorney, dated August 21, 1964, is as follows:

THE STATE OF TEXAS' COUNTY OF POLK KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:
WITNESSETH;
THAT this agreement, by and between Glenn Chain, Party of the First Part, hereinafter called “Developer”, and Andrew Jackson, Party of the Second Part, hereinafter called “Owner”.
In consideration of the mutual promises herein contained and other good and valuable consideration, be it agreed;
That Owner agrees that Developer shall have the exclusive and irrevocable right to develop the lands as described in Exhibit “A” attached hereto and made a part hereof for all purposes and does grant to Developer full and complete power for such development in its planning, general layout, or scheme, advertising, and hypothecating the land, if necessary; Developer, shall if he deems it advisable, incorporate this development, [sic] It is further agreed by owner that Developer shall have a full power of attorney to convey portions of these lands as sales are made, however, it is understood that Developer will pay to owner one-half (½) of the net profit after all expenses for such development have been deducted from the sales price. By this instrument, Owner hereby grants, sells and conveys an undivided one-half (½) interest in and to all the net proceeds from any and all sales of the land described in Exhibit “A”.
That Developer shall pay all expenses of the development of these lands including the following; surveying, engineering, street layout, paving, advertising, legal expenses and any other expenses incident to the development of these lands. It is agreed that Developer shall be totally and fully reimbursed for all of his expenditures from the proceeds of the sale of these lands and the net amount shall be equally divided between the Developer and Owner.
That this Contract shall terminate and become null and void only after the last parcel of these lands have been sold or disposed of.
This Contract contains the entire agreement by and between the parties and any amendments hereto must be in writing and signed by both parties.
WITNESS our hands this the 21st day of Aug. 1964.
OWNER DEVELOPER
Andrew Jackson Glenn Chain

*633 Plaintiffs, Pye, et al., in their first amended original petition, alleged that prior to August 21, 1964, Andrew Jackson, since deceased, was the owner of 97.7 acres and that on that date, Glenn Chain induced him to sign the foregoing agreement; that Chain fraudulently represented to Jackson that the agreement was one whereby the Jackson land would be held, developed and sold as a unit with land claimed to be owned by Chain, and that such a joint project would' be of mutual advantage to the parties; that Jackson executed such instrument relying on such representations; that no consideration or thing of value was paid or given by Chain to Jackson for the signing of the instrument; that on or about October 13, 1964, before the performance of any service under the agreement, Jackson discovered the true nature of the instrument, and that it gave Chain one-half of the net profit derived from any sale of any part of the land; that upon such discovery, Jackson filed in the Deed Records an instrument revoking the “purported power of attorney.”

The petition further alleged that plaintiffs had acquired Jackson’s title, that Glenn Chain had assigned an interest in the instrument to Neil Chain and that the assertion of claims under the “instrument had hampered and delayed plaintiffs’ plans for development and sale of such lands,” to plaintiffs’ damages in the amount of $750,000.

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Bluebook (online)
429 S.W.2d 630, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chain-v-pye-texapp-1968.