Eddleman v. Wofford

217 S.W. 221, 1919 Tex. App. LEXIS 1241
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 29, 1919
DocketNo. 8178.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 217 S.W. 221 (Eddleman v. Wofford) 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
Eddleman v. Wofford, 217 S.W. 221, 1919 Tex. App. LEXIS 1241 (Tex. Ct. App. 1919).

Opinion

RAS BURT, J.

At a former term of this court we reversed the judgment of the lower court because of the court’s refusal to grant appellants’ peremptory instruction. On motion for rehearing counsel for appellee assert that, while the record does show what is in form a peremptory instruction, it fails to show that the same was presented to or acted upon by the trial court, and that our attention was called thereto in appellee’s brief in tbe form of an objection to any consideration of tbe assignment. The record and briefs of appellee support the contention precisely and particularly. We therefore withdraw our former opinion and restate the ease and' our conclusions therein.

Prior to the execution of the indemnity contract presently referred to, the Western Company, a private corporation, owned a lot in the city of Dallas. Upon the lot the Texas Building Company, also a private corporation, was erectihg a building under the terms of a contract with the Western Company. The building being so erected was intended-for the use and occupancy of the Commonwealth National Bank of Dallas. The Texas Building Company was a customer or patron of the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth, which desired to loan the former $50,000 to be used in erecting the building, but, due to the fact that the Texas Building Company had borrowed from the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth as much as the bank was authorized to advance, the loan could not be made in the usual way. As an expedient the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth borrowed tbe money from the Commonweal th National Bank and in turn transferred same to the credit of the Texas Building Company on its books. The method, adopted by the Western National Bank in borrowing the money was to take the note of Texas Building Company indorsed by Eddleman, Coy, and Haney, respectively president, vice president, and cashier of the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth, and negotiate same with the Commonwealth National Bank, the proceeds of which were passed to its credit. As security for the payment of the note, the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth deposited of its funds with the Commonwealth National Bank a sum of money equal to the note. Upon such deposit it was allowed interest. As the note of the Texas Building Company so indorsed, and all renewals thereof, were reduced, the deposit required of the Western National Bank of Ft. AVorth was accordingly reduced; that bank attending to all renewals and issuing checks for all interest payments. The negotiations which culminated in the plan recited were between the officers of the Western National Bank of Ft. Worth, above named, and' appellee Wof-ford, who was an officer of the Commonwealth National Bank. Also the plan so *223 adopted, the evidence discloses, was a method commonly resorted to by bankers at that time to enable them to evade regulations against excessive loans. At or about the completion of the building and when there was in the hands of appellee Wofford, who also represented the owner of the building, $3,735.57 due under the building contract, certain parties claimed they were entitled to liens thereon for material which had been sold to the Texas Building Company and wrought into the building as result of which Wofford declined to pay over said sum.

Thereupon appellant Coy, vice president of the Western National Bank, negotiated with Wolford cpncerning the disposition to he made of the balance on the contract, pending the disposition of the claims of those who asserted a lien against the building, which sum the Western National Bank desired to be applied on its indebtedness to the Commonwealth National Bank. The matter was finally. solved by Coy securing the execution of an indemnity contract, signed by Texas Building Company as principal and W,.- H. Eddleman, Buíus C. Coy, and O. P. Haney as sureties, whereby they bound themselves, in consideration of the payment of said sum to the Texas Building Company, to reimburse Wofford for any liability for which the Western Company should be held on account of the claims so asserted, together with all costs, expense, and attorneys’ fees incurred in that respect. After the execution of the indemnity contract, Wofford paid the money to the Western National Bank of Et. Worth, which in turn applied the same to the payment of its debt to the Commonwealth National Bank. Subsequently Wofford was sued and held liable for said claims which, with costs, attorneys’ fees, etc., aggregated $4,273.83. Subsequently also the Western National Bank of Et. Worth went into liquidation. To recover said amount this suit was commenced' against W. H. Eddleman, Rufus C. Coy, and O. P. Haney, as sureties on said contract, and against R. J. Rhome, liquidating agent of the Western National Bank, and who it was also alleged had in his hands moneys due said Eddleman, Coy, and Haney as stockholders of said bank, and alleging that the Texas Building Company, the principal in said contract, was without assets, notoriously insolvent, and had ceased to exist as a corporate entity. In addition to declaring formally upon the contract, it was also alleged that, while said contract was in the name of Texas Building Company as principal,' it was in fact the contract of the Western National Bank of Et. Worth, which received the money paid thereunder and for and on behalf of whom the Texas Building Company was acting at the time. There was trial by jury to whom the court referred certain issues of fact in form of the usual interrogatories for special verdict. The answers found the facts we have recited, and the evidence will support the

findings. Upon the answers of the jury judgment was awarded appellee for the sum indicated. Erom that judgment this appeal is prosecuted.

[1-3] The contract of indemnity sued upon did not by its terms provide it should be performed in Dallas county where the suit was commenced. None of the appellants, defendants below resided in Dallas county. By statutory plea of privilege and appropriate special exception they presented their privilege of being sued in Tarrant county, where they resided. The issue so raised in the manner indicated is presented here. The record affirmatively shows that both the plea and the exception were not presented within the time required by the statutes and yules regulating dilatory pleas or those that do not 'go to the merits of the controversy, and no showing made why they were not disposed of, etc., which would excuse such failure. That such pleas and exceptions and the right they assert may be waived for failure to present them to the trial court within the time and manner required by law is too well settled to require discussion. Harris Millinery Co. v. Melcher, 142 g. W. 100. The plea of privilege was filed March 1, 1917. The judgment of the court nor any other portion of the record discloses any action whatever by the court upon the plea. As a consequence we assume it was waived. The special exception is shown in an amended answer filed' April 30, 1918, which purports to be in lieu of all former pleadings in the case, and is the only pleading of appellants shown in the record, save the plea of privilege just referred to. If the exception was filed for the first time in the amended pleading, it came necessarily after other and prior pleading and as a consequence was not filed in due oi'der. If filed prior to the amended pleading, it was waived, since several «terms of court passed after appellants appeared in the case, and since, as we have said, no showing is made why it was not disposed of at the first term of the court after it was filed.

[4, 5]

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Bluebook (online)
217 S.W. 221, 1919 Tex. App. LEXIS 1241, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eddleman-v-wofford-texapp-1919.