Commercial Music Company v. Klag

288 S.W.2d 168, 1955 Tex. App. LEXIS 2369
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 28, 1955
Docket12915
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 288 S.W.2d 168 (Commercial Music Company v. Klag) 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
Commercial Music Company v. Klag, 288 S.W.2d 168, 1955 Tex. App. LEXIS 2369 (Tex. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinions

W. O. MURRAY, Chief Justice.

This suit was instituted by Daniel A. Klag against Commercial Music Company, a corporation, seeking to recover the title and possession of six coin operated bowling machines, sometimes referred to as shuffle board machines, together with damages for the loss of use of the machines, and depre[170]*170ciation .in value of the same,’ and in the alternative for damages caused by the conversion of the machines, together with interest.

The trial was to a jury and, in keeping with the answers of the jury to the 'special issues submitted; the trial court rendered judgment in favor of plaintiff and against defendant for the'recovery of the title and possession of the six machines, and a money judgment in the sum of $5,355, with interest, from which judgment Commercial Music Company has prosecuted this appeal.

Appellant’s first point is'that the court erred in overruling its motion, made after all the • evidence was in, to require the appellee to elect which of his two alternate remedies he would pursue. ’The trial judge properly held that appellee could not have satisfaction under both remedies and required him to elect which he would follow, but he did not do so until after the jury had rendered their verdict. The trial court did not commit reversible error in failing to ..require such election of remedy before the •charge was submitted to the jury. As to just what- time the. election of remedies would be required was more or less a matter addressed to the discretion of the trial judge and no abuse of that discretion is .shown. Appellant has not shown that it was materially injured by the trial court’s requiring the appellee to make an election of remedies after the verdict was in rather than before the cause was submitted to the jury. Wood v. Williams, Tex.Civ.App., 46 S.W.2d 332; Rule 434, Texas Rules of "Civil Procedure.

The record shows that appellant filed a suit in Dallas to which appellee was not a party, and secured a writ of sequestration for the purpose of seizing some forty or fifty shuffle board machines located in different places. Appellee contends that the deputy sheriff of Hildalgo County, in executing this writ of sequestration, picked up six shuffle board machines belonging to him. Appellant admitted that it picked up three such machines belonging to appellee, but denied picking up the other three. Special Issues Nos. 1, 2 and 3 related-to the three machines which appellant denied picking up. Appellant in this connection contends that the court erred in submitting these three , issues to the jury, because there was no evidence to show that it had picked up these machines. It appears that some of the machines had two numbers on them, and this fact led to some confusion as to the numbers which were on the machines picked up, but, regardless of this, we are of the opinion that the evidence is sufficient to 'support the jury’s answers to these issues, to the effect that appellant acting through its agent, did pick up the three machines in dispute. The three machines bearing the serial numbers, 10056, 2814 and 2146, are the three machines in dispute. The deputy sheriff Stansbury testified that the writ of sequestration under which he picked up the machines did not have these three numbers and his return did not show that he had picked up machines bearing these numbers, that he checked each number very carefully and therefore knew that he did not pick up machines bearing the above numbers. Appellee heard that the deputy sheriff, Homer Stansbury, and a Mr. Chat-tam were picking up his machines so he went over and talked to .Mr. Chattam, who told appellee that he, Chattam, had a writ and the deputy sheriff with him, and that there was nothing appellee could do to prevent the machines from being picked up. Appellee protested but finally agreed to cooperate and tell them where all the machines were located. He went along with them and would take the money out of the machines before they were picked up. He had a key for each machine for this purpose. Appellee was present when two of the machines in dispute were picked up, but he was not'present when the third was picked up. This third one was located at Bena-vides’ Place in Edcouch. They went there, but the place was locked up and they could hot get in. Appellee gave Chattam, who was appellant’s agent, a note to the proprietor of the place and the key to the machine, and left for the purpose of keeping an engagement in Harlingen. Later appel-[171]*171lee learned that this machine had been pickr ed up. This evidence was sufficient to show that appellant, acting through its agent Chattam and the deputy sheriff Homer Stansbury, picked up the three machines in dispute. It is true that this evidence is in conflict with the officer’s return to the writ of sequestration, but appellee was not a party to the suit out of which the writ of sequestration was issued, and this return was not in any way binding upon him.

Appellant next complains because the court, in Issues Nos. 4 through 15, used the word “value” and not “market value.” Appellant’s objection to each of these issues was as follows:

“Further Defendant objects to the submission of the issue for the reason that it does not present the proper measure of damages or value of the said machine in that such value should be set forth as the market value of said machine.”

This objection was overruled by the court, and his action in so doing is assigned as error. The fact that appellee ultimately elected to accept a return of the machines, plus such other remuneration as he was entitled to for their loss' of use, renders the answers of the jury as to value of the machines immaterial and therefore if there was error in the manner in which the issues were worded it is now immaterial error.

Appellant next contends that Issues '4 through 15, and Issues 16 through'21, should have been submitted alternatively and that the court’s failure to so do unduly emphasized appellee’s cause of action, resulting in prejudice to appellant. This point is. closely related to appellant’s .first contention to the effect that the court erred in not requiring appellant to elect which of his two inconsistent remedies he would pursue before the charge was read to the jury. As we have heretofore 'held this was a matter addressed to the discretion of the trial court, and no abuse of that discretion is shown. The point is overruled.

The trial court refused appellant’s specially requested Issue No. 3, and such action of the court is assigned as error. This requested issue was intended-to inquire of the jury whether appellant, seized the three machines which- it admitted seizing,- under the mistaken belief that the machines belonged to one Joe Gathings, and that it held a chattel mortgage on such machines which created a first, lien upon them. Appellant was permitted to prove that it seized these, machines under such mistaken belief in mitigation of damages, but no useful purpose would be served by submitting such issue to the jury, as it did not constitute an ultimate issue. Again, inasmuch as appellee elected to recover the machines, together with compensation for loss of their use, the question of damages became immaterial.

Appellant next contends that the court erred in submitting to the jury the value of.the use of the machines per week and then multiplying this sum by forty-fiv-e, being the number of weeks found by the court that such loss of use would have continued.

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Commercial Music Company v. Klag
288 S.W.2d 168 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1955)

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Bluebook (online)
288 S.W.2d 168, 1955 Tex. App. LEXIS 2369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commercial-music-company-v-klag-texapp-1955.