Cozby v. Edwards

203 S.W.2d 569, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 1006
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 30, 1947
DocketNo. 14831
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 203 S.W.2d 569 (Cozby v. Edwards) 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
Cozby v. Edwards, 203 S.W.2d 569, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 1006 (Tex. Ct. App. 1947).

Opinion

SPEER, Justice.

On April 4, 1947, we handed down an opinion in this cause. Upon motion for rehearing, we have again gone carefully into the record and concluded to withdraw our original opinion and substitute this one in lieu of it.

Mrs. Willie Mae Edwards, for herself and as trustee for an estate, sued Mrs. Grace Cozby for the cancellation of a lease contract, and sought injunctive relief to restrain Mrs. Cozby, her agents and employees, from entering upon and removing gravel from a described tract of land in Tarrant County, Texas.

Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Cozby will bear the same designation in this court as they did below. They are both widows and no question of parties or coverture is involved.

On or prior to February 23, 1946, plaintiff was the owner of a tract of land in Tar-rant County. She and defendant thought it perhaps had valuable gravel deposits thereunder. Defendant was engaged in the business of acquiring, selling and using gravel suitable for road and concrete purposes; she wanted to locate and purchase such materials. On said date last above written the parties entered into a written contract, embracing the rights of defendant to explore the premises and ascertain if [571]*571such deposits were on the premises, and if satisfied with the quality and quantity, to lease the land. Those parts of the contract pertinent to this appeal are substantially as follows: Defendant was to make such tests and explorations on the land as she thought necessary within 30 days from the date of the contract, to determine if it contained such materials as she desired for the construction work in which she was engaged; if upon such investigation the materials were not found in paying quantities, she would promptly refill all holes and excavations made by her and restore the surface as nearly as possible, and the whole contract should be fully terminated. But if it be ascertained by defendant that there were deposits of such materials of the quality and in quantity as would justify defendant in removing same, she should have a lease on the premises for the purposes intended by the parties, for a primary period of two years from the date mentioned; that she would begin the removal of said materials within 60 days of the date of the contract; that she should have the right to erect and maintain on the premises such washing, batching, or ready-mixing plants together with houses and other equipment as may be necessary or convenient to her uses. Defendant could also erect telephone and water lines and remove by pump, water from a stream on the premises, and to have necessary ingress and egress for all purposes. That she was to pay plaintiff 20 cents per cubic yard for road gravel and 35 cents for concrete gravel taken out, In this connection, defendant obligated herself to keep an accurate record of the amount and quality of gravel so taken, which record should be subject to inspection by plaintiff, and would furnish to plaintiff a weekly report showing the quantity and quality of gravel so taken. That on or before the 15th day of each month defendant would furnish to plaintiff an itemized statement of amount and quality of the materials so removed during the preceding month and would with such statement pay plaintiff for all such materials. That if defendant failed to pay plaintiff for any materials removed by her, within 30 days from date of removal, plaintiff should have the right and option to cancel the contract. Defendant further obligated herself (a) to be financially responsible for all loss or damage to livestock belonging to plaintiff or her tenants, caused by defendant’s acts or those of her employees or assigns, (b) To remove a sufficient amount of gravel from the premises within a year from the date of the contract, that plaintiff’s royalty would not be less than $4,000 and should she not remove a sufficient amount to meet that obligation she would pay to plaintiff at least $4,000 within said 12 months period, “which sum will apply as a payment on the royalty which may be due, or become due seller”, (plaintiff).

Plaintiff was to have the right to maintain a representative on the premises who should be entitled to full information at all times from defendant of the quantity and quality of the gravel being removed by her.

Simultaneously with the execution of the instrument above referred to, an instrument in form of a letter, addressed to plaintiff and signed by defendant passed between the parties. It was undated but both parties pled it and contend that it constituted a part of the “contract”. In such circumstances, it becomes our duty to treat the letter as have the parties. Omitting formal parts, the letter reads as follows:

“Dear Mrs. Edwards: This will confirm my verbal agreement made with you that I will obtain and furnish you with a written guarantee satisfactory to you, insuring the payment of any and all sums of money which may become due you under the terms and provisions of a gravel contract this day entered into between you and me, covering the Childers place owned by you near Ben-brook, Texas, and that I will not remove any gravel from said premises until said guarantee has been furnished to and accepted by you.”

There were two other instruments executed at the same time, yét they apparently have little to do with the controversy between these litigants, except that one of those instruments was an agreement between plaintiff and defendant on one side and a Mr. Burkett on the other, by the terms of which each, plaintiff and defendant, obligated herself to pay him $200 to [572]*572cover losses to be sustained by him as the holder of a grass lease from plaintiff, by reason of the gravel lease between the parties. The other instrument was one between defendant and a Mr. Bateman, an attorney and brother-in-law of plaintiff, by which defendant agreed to pay him for his services in negotiating the deal between the parties. It is sufficient to say that both plaintiff and defendant have paid Burkett the amount promised, and that defendant has settled in full with Mr. Bateman. Neither of these instruments require any further attention.

The case was tried below upon plaintiff’s First Amended Petition, in which she pled the contract between the parties substantially as stated by us above. She charged that the provisions contained in that part of the contract found in the letter from defendant to plaintiff, stating in substance that defendant would execute and deliver to plaintiff an acceptable “guarantee” of the performance of the contract before she removed any gravel from the premises, constituted a condition precedent to any right of defendant to remove gravel. Plaintiff alleged several other provisions of the contract which she claimed to have been breached by defendant. The trial petition charged that defendant had failed to present to her a guaranty of any kind for the performance of the contract which would entitle defendant to remove gravel from the lands, and she, therefore, had no authority whatever to so take gravel but was a trespasser on plaintiff’s premises. She alleged that defendant did in fact on about April 21, 1946, without the knowledge and consent of plaintiff, remove from said premises 100 cubic yards of gravel and had not reported same to plaintiff, nor rendered statement thereof nor paid for same as provided in the contract.

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Bluebook (online)
203 S.W.2d 569, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 1006, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cozby-v-edwards-texapp-1947.