Economy Filling Station v. Humble Oil & Refining Co.

3 S.W.2d 832
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided January 26, 1928·No. No. 614.·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

BARCUS, J.

This suit was filed by appel-lee against Economy Filling Station, a corporation, and its directors, T. C. Morrow, T. F. Morrow and Blake Smith, to recover $3,174.53 which the Economy Filling Station owed appellee on open account for goods, wares, and merchandise sold and delivered. Each of the parties filed separate answers. The court instructed the jury to return a verdict for Blake Smith, about which no complaint is made. The cause was submitted to-the jury on special issues and resulted in judgment being rendered in favor of appellee against Economy Filling Station, T. C. and T. F. Morrow, jointly and severally. Each of said parties has filed a separate brief in this court.

Appellant Economy Filling Station alleged that Wallace Adams, the agent of appellee, who it alleged had guaranteed all of said account except $200, had paid same with the exception of said $200, and that for said reason appellee was not entitled to recover more than $200 against it. The issue of payment by Wallace Adams of said account was not submitted to the jury, and no request was made for the submission of. said issue. The evidence is sufficient to authorize the finding of the court that said account had not been paid.

Appellant Economy Filling Sltation further contends that its general demurrer to appellee’s petition should have been sustained, because appellee alleged that it had attached to its petition and made a part thereof the verified sworn account on which suit was based, when as a matter of fact said account was not attached but same had been filed with and attached to the original petition and not to the amended petition on which appellee went to trial. We overrule this assignment. It is not as a matter of law necessary for an exhibit to be actually attached to a pleading in order for same to become a part thereof. If the petition refers to any papers filed and makes same a part thereof, as against a general demurrer it is sufficient. City Nat. Bank v. Young (Tex. Com. App.) 237 S. W. 243; Gunter v. Lillard, 1 Tex. Civ. App. 325, 21 S. W. 118.

Economy Filling Station further complains of the action of the trial court in admitting said sworn itemized account in evidence, because two or three items in the long account as filed, 'appellant contends, were not intelligible. We overrule this contention. Wallace- Adams, the agent of appellee, testified in detail with reference to said account, and testified that the same was true and correct and that there was still due and unpaid the total amount as called for in said account. Appellant T. F. Morrow, agent and general manager of the Economy Filling Station, in effect testified that said account was true and correct. It therefore became immaterial as to whether said account was properly verified or not.

Appellant T. F. Morrow, in addition to the assignments filed by appellant Economy Filling Station, complains of the action of the trial court in overruling a number of. special exceptions, which he filed to appel-lee’s petition, especially with reference to the misrepresentations which appellee claims T. F. Morrow as president, general manager and one of the directors of the Economy Filling Station, made to appellee. Appellee alleged in detail' the various .representations which it claimed were - made to it by T. F. Morrow as a director, president, and general manager of the Economy Filling Station, a corporation, as a basis for credit, and alleged specifically that said representations were false and fraudulent and were made by said Morrow at the time for the purpose of obtaining credit, and that it did extend credit on the strength of and relying on said representations. We think the trial court did not commit error in overruling said special exceptions.

Appellee seeks to hold T. F. Morrow liable for the account on the theory that he made false and fraudulent representations as a director and officer of the Economy Filling Station with reference to the financial status of the Economy Filling Station, with the purpose, design, and intent on his part of obtaining credit from. appellee, and that appellee, on the strength of said representations, did sell and deliver said goods, wares, and merchandise to the said Economy Filling Station on open account. The jury found that T. F. Morrow made certain representations with reference to the financial status of the Economy Filling Station, which were relied upon by appellee at the time it sold the merchandise to it,' and that said representations were false. Appellant T. F. Morrow contends that the findings of the jury to the special issues were not supported by the evidence. We overrule all these assignments. We think the evidence was amply sufficient to support said findings. As *834 revealed by the record, appellant T. P. Morrow in effect admitted the making of the various and sundry financial statements which the jury found appellee relied on in extending credit to the Economy Pilling Station, and, without controversy, said reports were highly inflated and grossly overestimated and manifestly inaccurate.

T. P. Morrow further complains of the action of the trial court in permitting ap-pellee to offer in evidence over its objection the various items and accounts which it owed at the time the financial statements were made to R. G. Dunn & Co., and a published statement which T. P. Morrow as president of said company published in a paper, stating that a 10 per cent, dividend would be paid on the stock. We have carefully examined all these assignments, and same are overruled. All of said testimony with reference to the indebtedness was admissible under the allegations made by appellee as tending to show that at the time the financial statements were made with reference to the indebtedness owed by the Economy Pilling Station, the same were false and untrue. Appellant T. P. Morrow himself testified that he had published the notice in the paper that he would pay the dividend of 10 per cent., and that he did pay a .10 per cent, dividend to a number of the stockholders. It seems to be the well-settled principle of law in this state that a director or officer of a corporation who knowingly makes false and fraudulent representations as to the financial status of a corporation thereby makes himself liable for the debts and obligations made by said corporation to parties who have knowledge- of said representations and who rely thereon. Sugarland Industries v. Parker (Tex. Civ. App.) 293 S. W. 609; Seale v. Baker, 70 Tex. 283, 7 S. W. 742, 8 Am. St. Rep. 592; Cameron v. First Nat. Bank (Tex. Civ. App.) 194 S. W. 469; Durham v. Wichita Mill & Elevator Co. (Tex. Civ. App.) 202 S. W. 138.

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Economy Filling Station v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 3 S.W.2d 832 (Tex. Ct. App. 1928).

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