El Paso Development Co. v. Berryman

729 S.W.2d 883, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 6717
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 18, 1987
Docket13-86-573-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 729 S.W.2d 883 (El Paso Development Co. v. Berryman) 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
El Paso Development Co. v. Berryman, 729 S.W.2d 883, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 6717 (Tex. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

OPINION

NYE, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from the issuance of a temporary injunction restraining appellant mortgagee from foreclosing a deed of trust on 667 acres of undeveloped real property located in San Patricio and Nueces Counties. In 1978, appellee and others contracted with appellant to purchase 1,620 acres of land, 1377 acres of which were originally secured by a deed of trust. Through a series of reinstatement agreements and lien releases, approximately 710 acres have been sold, leaving only 667 acres burdened by the lien. In August, 1986, appellee filed suit against appellant alleging that the original contract was usurious. Appellant then posted the property for foreclosure. On October 3, 1986, the trial court issued a temporary restraining order stopping the sale. A hearing was held on appellee’s application for a temporary injunction, after which the trial court issued the injunction enjoining the sale until a final resolution of the usury claim.

In February, 1978, the parties entered into a contract whereby appellee was to purchase the property for cash. The contract was conditioned on appellee obtaining financing from other sources, which he was unable to do, and the contract terminated. The sales price of this contract was $4,500 an acre, or approximately $7.2 million.

In July, 1978, the parties re-negotiated and executed a contract for a credit sale of this same property. There is evidence in the record that, in order to finance the sale, appellant required that it make twenty-six percent profit on its land and money, before taxes. The purchase price for the same property was then set at $10 million, or $6,172.84 per acre. Appellee paid $1.5 million cash and executed a note for $8.5 *885 million at eight percent interest, with ten percent after maturity until paid. The payout period under the contract was four years.

It appears from the record that appellee at least partially defaulted on its payments. At each instance, the parties executed modification and/or reinstatement agreements. In March, 1988, appellee executed a note for approximately $4.5 million to appellant, which was a renewal of the July, 1978 note, and which was secured by the remaining 667 acres. Appellee is now in default under that note in excess of $6 million including accrued interest. Appellee asserts that he has paid over $9 million in cash and credits on the property and notes from the outset to date.

Appellee bases his usury claim on the $2.8 million difference between the February and July sales prices. He argues the sales price was inflated to allow appellant “interest” in excess of double the amount allowed by law (ten percent). He asserts that the contract did not disclose the addition of $2.8 million to the sales price. This he contends is usury for which appellant must forfeit interest and principal under the law in effect at that time. See footnote 2.

Appellant first argues that appellee is not entitled to equitable relief until he first does equity. Here, according to appellant, appellee has not tendered, or demonstrated an ability to pay, the amount of debt appellant asserts he owes. Appellant cites cases which hold that under fundamental principles of equity a debtor seeking equitable relief from foreclosure must first tender the full sum of the admitted debt. 1 In each of the cited cases, however, the mortgagor admitted, or did not contest, owing some part of the debt in question. In the instant case, the mortgagor (appel-lee) affirmatively alleges that the transaction is usurious in that the “interest” charged is in excess of double the amount allowed by law. If appellee prevails on this allegation, appellant would forfeit all principal as well as interest. In other words appellee would owe appellant nothing.

Appellant characterizes appellee’s testimony as an admission that he owes an outstanding balance on the note and is unable to pay it. On cross-examination appel-lee stated that, “we are not current on our note payment to El Paso.” He also added, “[W]ell, under this note, it is our contention 1 owe nothing.” Nowhere in this record does appellee admit any debt beyond the scope of his usury claim.

Appellant contends that appellee would still owe the principal of the note regardless of whether the contract is usurious, citing First State Bank v. Miller, 563 S.W.2d 572, 577 n. 7 (Tex.1978) as authority. That case is not on point because it involved a usury claim for less than double the amount of interest allowed by law under Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 5069-1.06 § l. 2 Section 1 provides for a forfeiture of twice the amount on interest, not of any principal. Appellee brought his usury claim under Article 5069-1.06 § 2. Section 2 speaks for itself. Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

*886 By its second point of error, appellant argues the trial court abused its discretion in issuing the injunction. A trial court is clothed with broad discretion in determining whether to issue a temporary injunction to preserve the status quo pending final trial of the case on the merits. State v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 526 S.W.2d 526, 528 (Tex.1975); Swanson v. Grassedonio, 647 S.W.2d 716, 718 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1982, no writ); Peoples Trust Co. v. Rivera, 355 S.W.2d 267, 268 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston 1962, no writ). The granting or denial of a temporary injunction will not be disturbed absent a clear abuse of discretion. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 526 S.W.2d at 528; Peoples Trust, 355 S.W.2d at 268. To invoke a trial court’s discretion to issue a temporary injunction, an applicant need only produce evidence tending to prove a probable right to recovery on the merits and a probable injury if the injunction is not granted. Irving Bank & Trust Co. v. Second Land Corp., 544 S.W.2d 684, 687 (Tex.Civ.App.— Dallas 1976, writ ref’d n.r.e.). In reviewing the issuance or denial of a temporary injunction, we view the evidence in a light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment. Canales v. Borg-Wamer Acceptance Corp., 663 S.W.2d 677, 679 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1983, no writ); Diesel Injection Sales & Service, Inc. v. Renfro, 619 S.W.2d 20, 21 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

Appellant contends appellee has not established a probable right of recovery on his usury claim. Appellant argues the July transaction included both a cash sale and a credit sale of the 1,620 acres. According to appellant, appellee bought 243 acres for $1,500,000 cash and 1,377 acres for $8,500,-000 on a credit sale. According to appellant, there was no add-on charge because both the cash price and the time price were the same per acre ($6,172.84).

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Bluebook (online)
729 S.W.2d 883, 1987 Tex. App. LEXIS 6717, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/el-paso-development-co-v-berryman-texapp-1987.