Crowder v. Crowder

111 S.W.2d 1161, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1370
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 17, 1937
DocketNo. 8534.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 111 S.W.2d 1161 (Crowder v. Crowder) 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
Crowder v. Crowder, 111 S.W.2d 1161, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1370 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

BAUGH, Justice.

At the time this suit was filed by the ap-pellee, Mollie Crowder, plaintiff in the trial court, she and J. J. Crowder were living together as husband and wife on 238 acres of land in Coleman county, which constituted their community homestead. Living in that home with them was Minnie Crowder, their daughter, who was then 35 years of age. Also occupying the same premises were a son and his wife. Minnie Crowder was there with the permission and consent, and at the request, of her father, J. J. Crow-der, ‘who was 79 years of age and afflicted with rheumatism, for the purpose not only of having a home for herself, but to help care for her father in his decrepit condition. It appears that the father had caused to be given a written notice to the son who lived with them to vacate the premises. Shortly after such notice was so given to such son, the mother, Mollie Crowder, filed this suit against her daughter, Minnie Crowder, in which she joined as defendant, her husband, J. J. Crowder, “to the end that he may assert such rights in connection herewith as he may be entitled to assert under the law and in equity. * * *»

*1162 The suit was in trespass to try title as against Minnie Crowder and for injunction in effect to eject Minnie Crowder from the premises and to prevent her return to the household, on the ground of such obnoxious conduct towards her mother and the use of such threats, vile and profane language toward her as to deprive the mother of the peaceful use and enjoyment of her homestead rights in the premises. Plaintiff alleged that her husband, J. J. Crowder, with whom she then lived on the premises, refused to join her in said suit. . The trial court granted a temporary injunction as prayed for. Trial was to a jury in a hearing upon the merits, but at the close of the evidence the court instructed a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, Mollie Crowder, rendered judgment against Minnie Crowder for title and possession of the entire 238 acres, and enjoined Minnie Crowder from using vile and abusive language toward her mother on said premises; from using any personal violence toward her mother thereon ; and from disturbing the peaceable and quiet possession and enjoyment by her mother of the residence and the immediate surroundings thereof. From this judgment J. J. Crowder and Minnie Crowder have appealed upon a joint affidavit of inability to pay costs.

The record presents several anomalous situations. The plaintiff, Mollie Crowder, a feme covert, was awarded a judgment for costs of suit against her husband, J. J. Crowder, while living with him as his wife, in a suit wherein she asked no relief against him. A judgment in trespass to try title was rendered in favor of Mollie Crowder against Minnie Crowder, though Minnie Crowder is not shown to have ever made any claim of any title to any part of said property, was present on the premises with consent and at the request of her father, J. J. Crowder, who was, under the statutes, entitled to have the control and management thereof. The record also shows that he.had rented to Minnie Crowder, for farming purposes, a part of said premises.

It also appears that the joint affidavit of J. J. Crowder and Minnie Crowder of their inability to pay the costs of appeal, or to give security therefor, was contested by appellee, but the contest was denied, and tlie appeal allowed on such affidavit, though the record in this suit discloses that J. J. Crowder possessed a community estate with appellee, Mollie Crowder, of "238 acres of land, free of debt, and from which he received oil royalty payments, the number and amount 'of which were not shown.

Appellants make two contentions on. this appeal: First, that under the facts and circumstances of this case, the appellee, Mollie Crowder, was not authorized, as a matter of law, to prosecute this suit without being joined by her husband; and, second, that if she were, the evidence on the issues drawn by the pleadings was sufficient to go to the jury, and consequently that the trial court erred in directing a verdict for the plaintiff.

Unquestionably the wife has the right by suit to preserve and protect her rights in the homestead, whether the homestead be her separate property or community property; and in some cases where it is the separate property of the husband. And where the husband has abandoned her, has refused to support her, acted with another in fraud of her rights, or has refused to protect her homestead rights, it has been repeatedly held that she can assert such homestead rights without his joining her in a suit for that purpose, or even against him as defendant. In practically all of such cases, however, the suits have been brought to prevent alienation of title to the homestead, or to invalidate attempted in-cumbrances thereon. The law with regard to her rights in such cases appears now well settled. 23 Tex.Jur., § 286, p. 326. She may likewise sue alone for alienation of her husband’s affections, or for assault upon her person committed jointly by her husband and a third party. Evans v. Ball, Tex.Civ.App., 6 S.W.2d 180. But such rights to sue alone appear to be grounded on the proposition that in such case the interests of the husband himself are antagonistic to her own. We think there can be no doubt but that in case the husband should undertake to bring a woman into the household for. immoral purposes, or for illicit relationship with himself, the wife, in order to protect the peaceable enjoyment of her homestead, would have the right to eject such person by suit, if necessary, without the joinder of her husband, though no such case has been cited to us, nor have we found any. After a discussion of the instances in which the wife is authorized to sue alone in protecting homestead fights, Judge Speer, in his Law of Marital Rights, 3d Ed., § 517, p. 636, says: “The author ventures to suggest another instance in which the wife alone might sue concerning the" homestead. It is for her damages per *1163 sonally for being wrongfully deprived of its possession or enjoyment, as distinguished from an injury to the property itself.”

Nowhere in her petition did the wife charge any misconduct on the part of her husband toward her; nor any mismanagement by him of the community homestead; nor any purpose or intention on his part to bring insults or hardships upon her; 1 nor any failure to support; in brief, any ground which would authorize her to take as against him control and management of the community property. It is true, she did allege, in effect, that he was senile or mentally incompetent to manage such property, and not competent to realize the misconduct of their daughter and its affect upon the plaintiff. But such allegations appear to have been abandoned upon the trial. On the other hand, in his answer, he charged that her suit was for the purpose, in conjunction with a conspiracy between her and their sons who were living on the premises, to take from him the management and control of the premises. Manifestly, in so far as her action in trespass to try title to recover community property, she was not authorized to bring such suit alone. But as no issue as to title was made, this probably becomes immaterial.

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Bluebook (online)
111 S.W.2d 1161, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crowder-v-crowder-texapp-1937.