Continental Fire & Casualty Ins. Corp. v. Drummond

220 S.W.2d 922, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1799
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 28, 1949
DocketNo. 2852
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 220 S.W.2d 922 (Continental Fire & Casualty Ins. Corp. v. Drummond) 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
Continental Fire & Casualty Ins. Corp. v. Drummond, 220 S.W.2d 922, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1799 (Tex. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

TIREY, Justice.

This is a compensation case. Robert H. Drummond died from an accidental injury sustained by him while in the course of his employment. His widow, Ruby Drum-mond, for herself and three minor children, were awarded damages against appellant on the verdict of the jury. The jury found substantially (1, 2 and 3) that Robert H. Drummond sustained fatal injuries on April 7, 1947, at which time there was in existence a partnership between Neatherlin & Yoakum, composed of J. R. Neatherlin and George Yoakum, and that Drummond [924]*924was their employee on said date, and that he was in the course of his employment when he received his fatal injuries; (4 and 6) that there was not such an employee of the same class as deceased who had worked substantially the whole of the year immediately preceding April 7, 1947, and that the sum of $44 weekly wage would be just and fair to all parties; (7, 8 and 9) that at the time Robert H. Drummond was injured George Yoakum, Sr., George Yoakum, Jr., John Yoakum, Vernon Yoa-kum and William H. Yoakum were not moving the Stubbs house as a partnership and that Drummond was not an employee of the partnership composed of George Yoakum, Sr., George Yoakum, Jr., John Yoakum, Vernon Yoakum and William H. Yoakum at the time he was injured, and that at the time Drummond was injured George Yoakum, Sr., J. R. Neatherlin, George Yoakum, Jr., Vernon Yoakum, John Yoakum and William H. Yoakum were not moving the Stubbs house as a partnership; (10) that Drummond was not an employee of the partnership composed of J. R. Neatherlin, George Yoakum, Sr., George Yoakum, Jr., John Yoakum, Vernon Yoakum and William H. Yoakum at the time he was injured; (11) that at the time Drummond was injured George Yoakum, Sr., was not moving the Stubbs house in question as an individual proprietor; and (12) that Drummond was not an employee of George Yoakum, Sr., an individual proprietor, at the time he was injured.

The first four points assail the judgment of the trial court substantially on the grounds (1) that the evidence shows as a matter of law that at the time Drummond sustained his fatal injuries there was not in existence a partnership composed of J. R. Neatherlin and George Yoakum, Sr., (2) that the evidence is insufficient to support such finding, (3) that the evidence shows as a matter of law that deceased was not an employee of such partnership at the time of his injuries, and (4) that the evidence is insufficient to support such finding. We overrule each of these contentions.

We have considered the evidence most carefully under each of the above points and we find that each of the issues complained of was tendered by the evidence, and, in our opinion, is ample to support such findings. We do not believe it would serve any useful purpose to set out the evidence. In 17 Tex.Jur. sec. 410 et seq., pp. 909, 910 and 911, we find this statement: “If, discarding all adverse evidence, and giving credit to all evidence that is favorable to the successful party and indulging every legitimate conclusion that is favorable to him, a jury might have found in his favor, then it is to be concluded that there is evidence to support the verdict.” We believe the foregoing statement is an accurate summation of the Texas cases with reference to the point in question and that it is applicable to the factual situation here. See cases collated on the above pages. See also Vol. 4 Tex. Dig., Appeal and Error, &wkey;930(1), for collation of authorities. Moreover, if there is any evidence of probative value to support a jury verdict, it is the duty of the appellate court to uphold it. See Young v. Fitts, Tex.Civ.App., 183 S.W.2d 186; Clark v. National Life & Accident Ins. Co., 145 Tex. 575, 200 S.W.2d 820. It is equally true that when the testimony is conflicting on a question of fact, the appellate court will not disturb the verdict of the jury when there is competent evidence to support the findings; and it is immaterial that the trial judge and the appellate court might have arrived at a different conclusion in passing upon the conflicting evidence. See 3 Tex.Jur. 1096, secs. 768, 769, ánd authorities there collated. See also Vol. 4, Tex.Dig., Appeal and Error, &wkey; 999(1) and 1001(2). See also Insurance Company of North America v. Cangelosi, Tex.Civ.App., 217 S.W.2d 888, points 1-3.

The appellant further contends that the court erred in rendering judgment for appellees because the evidence established as a matter of law that William H. Yoakum, George Yoakum, Jr., Vernon Yoakum and John Yoakum were partners of J. R. Neatherlin and George Yoakum, Sr., in the partnership of Neatherlin & Yoakum, and that since appellants insured Neatherlin & Yoakum, the partnership composed of J. R. Neatherlin and George Yoakum, and since appellant did not in[925]*925sure the employees of the alleged six-man partnership, the appellant would not be liable in this case. It necessarily follows from what we have said that we do not share this view, but if we should be mistaken in our view previously expressed we think that appellant’s position is without merit, because it did not plead or prove that its insured, namely the partnership of Neatherlin & Yoakum, was guilty of fraud in withholding the names of all the individuals comprising such partnership and but for such fraud it would not 'have issued its policy. See Southern Underwriters v. Shipman, Tex.Civ.App., 97 S.W.2d 370, points 1, 2 and 3; Traders & General Insurance Company v. Baker, Tex.Civ.App., 111 S.W.2d 837, points 4 and 5; Fidelity Union Casualty Insurance Co. v. Hammock, Tex.Civ.App., 5 S.W.2d 812, points 1 and 2; Southern Underwriters v. Cooper, Tex.Civ.App., 138 S.W.2d 563, writ dis. cor. judg., points 1 and 2.

Appellant’s fifth point is that the court erred in refusing defendant’s motion to permit the jury to take into the jury room fo'r use during its deliberations all of the exhibits that were admitted in evidence. This point requires a comprehensive statement.

At the conclusion of the argument and immediately after the jury had gone to the jury room, appellant filed motion to send the following exhibits to the jury room: Appellant’s Exhibits Nos. 2 and 3, same being the affidavit of George Yoakum, Sr.', and William H. Yoakum, respectively; Appellees’ Exhibit “A,” same being application for building permit No. 768, signed, Neatherlin & Yoakum by W, H. Yoakum; Appellees’ Exhibit No. B, same.being Policy No. 11270, Continental Fire & Casualty Insurance Corporation; Appellees’ Exhibit No. C, same being weekly payroll sheet from March 29, 1947 to April 5, 1947; Ap-pellees’ Exhibit No. D, same being weekly payroll sheet from April 5, 1947, to April 12, 1947. This motion was overruled and appellant seasonably excepted and the court approved the exception with the following qualification:

“1. Exhibit No. 2, being an affidavit of George Yoakum, Sr., and Exhibit No. 3, being a statement of William H.. Yoakum, were offered in evidence by Continental Fire & Casualty Insurance Corporation for the sole and limited purpose of -impeachment, and were admitted in evidence .by the court for the sole and limited purpose of impeachment, all as- is fully disclosed by the Statement of Facts in this case. ■

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Bluebook (online)
220 S.W.2d 922, 1949 Tex. App. LEXIS 1799, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/continental-fire-casualty-ins-corp-v-drummond-texapp-1949.