Elder v. Byrd-Frost, Inc.

110 S.W.2d 172, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1236
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 22, 1937
DocketNo. 5412.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 110 S.W.2d 172 (Elder v. Byrd-Frost, Inc.) 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
Elder v. Byrd-Frost, Inc., 110 S.W.2d 172, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1236 (Tex. Ct. App. 1937).

Opinion

JOHNSON, Chief Justice.

Relator Mrs. Trip Elder, administratrix of estate of Trip Elder, deceased, and other parties at interest,' have filed application as an original proceeding in this court praying for issuance of a writ of prohibition to respondent Byrd-Frost, Inc., its president and secretary, and to Katie Mauldin and husband, Fred Mauldin, and to the attorneys of record for said corporation and individuals, and to the honorable Clarence McGaw in his capacity as judge of the district court for the 124th judicial district of Texas.

Relators’ application seeks to restrain respondents from further prosecuting a petition, in the nature of a bill of review (which petition will be referred to as the bill of review1), filed by respondents (except Judge McGaw) in said district court July 14, 1937, and docketed cause No. 11290 — B. The bill of review, cause No. 11290 — B, seeks to vacate a judgment entered in said district court on September 17, 1934, in cause No. 416 — B and to relitigate the matters determined by that judgment. A history of the litigation in cause No. 416 — B is recorded in former opinions of this court reported in Elder v. King, 69 S.W.2d 479, and in 92 S.W.2d 1134. We shall restate only such facts as are deemed essential to an understanding of the matter now under consideration.

Cause No. 416 — B was filed January 21, 1932, by Trip Elder in trespass to try title to 13.5 acres of land in Gregg county, against Byrd-Frost, Inc., J. A. (Joe) King, and a number of other parties. The land was conveyed by Joe King and his wife, Katie King (now Katie Mauldin), to Trip Elder by deed dated February 16, 1927, registered February 17, 1927. October 29, 1930, Joe King and wife executed an oil and gas lease on the land to J. E. Bagwell. This lease was assigned to D. H. Byrd and by Byrd assigned to Byrd-Frost, Inc. Byrd-Frost, Inc., answered and alleged that the deed from J. A. (Joe) King and wife, Katie King, though in form an absolute deed, was by the grantors and grantee intended as. a mortgage. Joe King answered and disclaimed any interest in the land. Katie King Mauldin, joined by her husband, intervened in the suit and set up the same ground of defense as that interposed by Byrd-Frost, Inc. As to whether or not said deed was intended as a mortgage was the sole ultimate issue in the case. In the first trial of the case the jury found that the deed was intended as a mortgage. Upon appeal, after reviewing the record, this court found that the evidence introduced in the trial of the case failed to support said finding of the jury and reversed and remanded the cause. 60 S.W.2d 479. In the last trial the jury found that the-deed was not intended as a mortgage, and judgment was entered for plaintiff September 12, 1934. Defendants Byrd-Frost, Inc., and Katie King Mauldin appealed. Upon a review of the evidence this court found that the defendants had again failed to show that the deed was intended as a mortgage. Based upon this finding we held that the trial court should have peremptorily instructed a verdict for plaintiffs — which would have resulted in a like judgment as that entered upon the findings of the jury — hence rendered immaterial the alleged errors assigned by appellants. These assignments of error were based upon alleged improper argument of counsel for Trip Elder and alleged improper admission of testimony introduced by Trip Elder. Accordingly the judgment of the trial court in favor of Trip Elder was affirmed. 92 S.W.2d 1134. Writ 6,f error applied for was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

■ On July 14, 1937, Byrd-Frost, Inc., and Katie King Mauldin, joined by her present husband, Fred Mauldin, filed their said petition in said district court cause No. 11290 —B, against Mrs. Trip Elder, administra-trix of the estate of Trip Elder, deceased, and others interested in the subject matter, seeking vacation of the judgment and retrial of the subject matter in cause No., 416 — B. Relators now seek) to restrain prosecution of that bill of review.

The purpose of respondents’ bill of review as shown by their petition, a certified copy of which is attached to relators’ application for writ of prohibition, is to vacate the judgment in cause No. 416 — B and relitigate the identical subject matter or issue concluded by that judgment, namely, whether the deed from J. A. King and *174 wife, Katie King (now Katie Mauldin) to Trip Elder was intended as a mortgage. Affirmance by this court of the trial court’s judgment in cause No. 416 — B had the effect to make that judgment the judgment of this court. A Court of Civil Appeals has jurisdiction to hear and determine applications for and to issue writs of prohibition or such other proper writs as may be shown necessary to protect its judgments of affirmance against unwarranted attack. Houston Oil Co. v. Village Mills Co., 123 Tex. 253, 71 S.W.2d 1087, 1089; City of Palestine v. City of Houston (Tex.Civ.App.) 262 S.W. 215; Yount-Lee Oil Co. v. Federal Crude Oil Co. (Tex.Civ.App.) 92 S.W.2d 493; Halbrook v. Quinn (Tex.Civ.App.) 286 S.W. 954; Browning-Ferris M. Co. v. Thomson (Tex.Civ.App.) 55 S.W.2d 168; Life Ins. Co. v. Sanders (Tex.Civ.App.) 62 S.W.2d 348; Texas Nat. Bank v. Zellers (Tex.Civ.App.) 75 S.W.2d 890. The rule here applicable is stated by Judge Harvey in Houston Oil Co. v. Village Mills Co., supra: “The question arises as to the jurisdiction of this court to issue the writ of prohibition sought by relators. The affirmance of the trial court’s judgment in the McCarthy Case has effect to make that judgment the judgment of this court. Where rights are established by a judgment of this court, the court has undoubted power to secure, by any proper writ necessary to the end, the enjoyment of the rights so established. Where a suit is brought in an inferior court, by any of the parties or privies to such judgment, against those in favor of whom the judgment was rendered, or their privies, and the suit directly involves the relitigation of rights established by the judgment, and is of such nature that, if successfully prosecuted, will result in a judgment which will purport the divesting of those rights, the prosecution of such suit will be prohibited as being an interference with the enforcement of the judgment of this court. Conley v. Anderson (Tex.Sup.) 164 S.W. 985; Hovey v. Shepherd, 105 Tex. 237, 147 S.W. 224; City of Palestine v. City of Houston (Tex.Civ.App.) 262 S.W. 215.”

It is not to be understood that a trial court is without jurisdiction to entertain a petition or suit, in the nature of a bill of review, based upon sufficient grounds of fraud, accident, or mistake, to vacate a judgment rendered at a former term of its court, and relitigate the subject matter, even though the judgment has on appeal been affirmed and thus made the judgment of the appellate court.

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Bluebook (online)
110 S.W.2d 172, 1937 Tex. App. LEXIS 1236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/elder-v-byrd-frost-inc-texapp-1937.