Clement v. Victoria Bank & Trust Co.

30 S.W.2d 434, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 715
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 25, 1930
DocketNo. 9473.
StatusPublished

This text of 30 S.W.2d 434 (Clement v. Victoria Bank & Trust 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
Clement v. Victoria Bank & Trust Co., 30 S.W.2d 434, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 715 (Tex. Ct. App. 1930).

Opinion

LANE, J.

One John Lingner leased from Misses Edith, Mattie, and Rowena Clement 240 acres of land belonging to them situated in Jackson county, Tex., a part of the Stephen P. Austin two-league grant, during the year 1927. He produced and harvested on and from said land 348 barrels of rice and placed it in a house at Ganado, Tex., in said Jackson county.

The Clement sisters held a valid subsisting lien on such rice on the 30th day of July, 1928.

During said year of 1927, the Red Bluff Irrigation Company was undertaking to produce on and harvest rice from about 1,094 acres of land, parts of the Stephen P. Austin and Patrick Scott grants, situated in said Jackson county, and on the 20th day of January, 1927, the Red Bluff Irrigation- Company, by its president, John Lingner, executed and delivered to the Victoria Bank ■& Trust Company, a corporation, a mortgage upon ¿11 of the crops of every character to be grown by it on any and all lands owned dy such company in Jackson county, Tex., consisting of 1,094 acres,'more or less, out of the Stephen P. Austin and Patrick Scott grants. Such mortgage was a valid subsisting lien on such crops on the 30th day of July, 1928. The rice grown upon and harvested from the land of the Red Bluff Company, or a part of it, was also placed in the warehouse at Ganado, with that upon which the Clement sisters had a lien.

The rice grown upon and harvested from the land of the Clement sisters was placed in large bags before being stored in the warehouse by Lingner, and that grown upon and harvested from the Red Bluff Company’s land was placed in small sacks before being placed in said warehouse.

In the summer of 1928 the rice in such warehouse was being damaged by weevils and rats, and Lingner advised the Victoria Bank & Trust Company that he thought it should be sold to prevent its total loss. The Victoria Bank & Trust Company agreed with Lingner that the rice should be sold.

On July 30, 1928, Lingner, through Pted Spencer, -a broker, sold- all the rice in the warehouse to the Gulf Coast Rice Mill, a corporation of Houston, Tex., at $1.50 per barrel, f. o. b. Ganado, weight to be determined by Houston weights, and the rice was to be graded at Houston against a sample furnished, by which the sale was made.

Upon the receipt of the rice at Houston by the Gulf Coast Rice Mill, it sent its draft, drawn in favor of Lingner and .the Victoria Bank & Trust Company for the sum of $920.-77, to the Victoria Bank & Trust Company!

On August 8, 1928, after it had received the check above mentioned, the Victoria Bank & *435 Trust Company wrote John Lingner as follows:

“August 8, 1928.
“Mr. John Lingner, Victoria, Texas.
“Dear Mr. Lingner: We are in receipt of a check for $920.77 from the Gulf Goast Rice Mills, Inc., in payment for rice sold them by you, which we are enclosing herewith.
“The check being made payable to your order and to ourselves, please endorse the check and return to us at your earliest convenience, advising disposition you wish made of these funds.
“lours very truly,
“G. B. Davidson, Cashier.”

The check was returned to the bank by Lingner, indorsed as directed, and was by the bank collected, and the proceeds thereof placed to the credit of the Red Bluff Irrigation Company.

On the 26th day of January, 1929, Edith Clement, Mattie Clement, and Rowena Clement, hereinbefore and hereinafter referred to as the Clement sisters, brought this suit against John Lingner, Victoria Bank & Trust Company, a corporation, and the Gulf Coast Rice Mill, a corporation.

Plaintiffs alleged that they leased to John Lingner 240 acres of land situated in Jackson county, Tex., for the year 1927,-at a rental of $5 per acre, a total sum of $1,200; that their lease contract was in writing and by its terms they became the landlords of Ling-ner for the year 1927 and held a landlord’s lien on all the crops produced by Lingner on said land during the year 1927, and that by such lease contract it was specially provided that these plaintiffs should have a lien on all of such crops, and that such written contract was promptly filed for record as required by law. They alleged that Lingner produced on the land leased to him by them during the year 1927 a certain 848 sacks of rice and placed them in a warehouse in the town of Ganado in Jackson county, Tex., where same was kept until on or about the 30th day of July, 1928, when without the permission or consent of these plaintiffs and without their knowledge, the several defendants wrongfully and unlawfully moved said rice out of Jackson county to Houston, in Harris county, Tex.;' that on or about the 8th day of August, 1928, without the permission or consent of these plaintiffs, the defendants, Victoria Bank & Trust Company and Gulf Coast Rice Mill, wrongfully and unlawfully converted to their own use the said 348 sacks of rice, which at the time of such convention was of the value of $2 per sack, a total value of $696; that by reason of such wrongful and unlawful conversion' of such rice by the defendants Victoria Bank & Trust Company and Gulf Coast Rice Mill, the location and identity of such rice is and since has been to plaintiffs unknown, and they thereby lost their security thereon for the payment of their aforesaid rent, wherefore by virtue of the premises the defendants Victoria Bank & Trust Company and Gulf Coast Rice Mill, and each of them became obligated and bound to pay plaintiffs and are now obligated and bound to pay them the amount of their damage occasioned by reason of such wrongful conversion, which amount they say is $696, together with interest thereon at the rate of 6 per cent, per an-num. from the 8th day of August, 1928, until paid, but to pay the same or any part thereof, though plaintiffs have frequently demanded payment thereof from defendants, such defendants failed and refused and still fail and refuse to do.

Plaintiff’s prayer was for judgment against John lingner for the sum of $1,200 and against the Victoria Bank & Trust Company and the Gulf Coast Rice Mill for the sum of $696.

Both Victoria Bank & Trust Company and Gulf Coast Rice Mill in due time,, manner, and form filed their respective pleas of privilege to be sued in the county of their respective residence.

The plaintiffs in a plea controverting the plea of privilege filed by Victoria Bank & Trust Company, the only appellee herein, repeated the averments of their petition, and further alleged that all the parties complained of on July 30, 1927, without plaintiffs’ knowledge or permission, wrongfully and unlawfully moved the rice upon which plaintiffs held their lien out of Jackson county to Houston,- in Harris county, Tex., and on the 8th day of August, 1927, without their consent or permission, Victoria Bank & Trust Company and Gulf Coast Rice Mill wrongfully and unlawfully converted said rice to their own use.

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Bluebook (online)
30 S.W.2d 434, 1930 Tex. App. LEXIS 715, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clement-v-victoria-bank-trust-co-texapp-1930.