Equitable Trust Co. v. Roland

721 S.W.2d 530, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 9088
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 26, 1986
Docket13-86-110-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 721 S.W.2d 530 (Equitable Trust Co. v. Roland) 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
Equitable Trust Co. v. Roland, 721 S.W.2d 530, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 9088 (Tex. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

SEERDEN, Justice.

Appellant Equitable Trust Company sued to have various conveyances set aside. Equitable alleged that Jon D. Roland had fraudulently conveyed his interest in Henze Farms Joint Venture to his mother, Miladie Fraser, to avoid subjecting it to execution under a judgment held by appellant against him. After a favorable jury verdict, the trial court set aside the conveyance of February 23, 1976, by which Roland conveyed away his Henze Farms interest; however, the court refused to set aside subsequent conveyances.

The lengthy history of this litigation has its roots in a 1966 transaction. Samuel R. Lyle, a partner in Henze Farms Joint Venture, caused a one-half interest in Henze Farms to be placed in the name of Jon D. Roland, at the request of Roland’s mother, Miladie Fraser. In 1974, Roland bought an apartment complex in which Equitable owned substantially all the furniture and fixtures. Roland and Equitable agreed that Roland would lease the furniture and fixtures by means of a promissory note in the amount of $102,068.18, payable in monthly installments. Roland experienced financial difficulties in the operation of the apartment complex and failed to make note payments. Equitable brought suit on the note on February 18, 1975. A judgment for $70,000 was rendered in favor of Equitable on February 9, 1976.

On February 23, 1976, Roland, Fraser, and Lyle executed the complained-of conveyance, which purported to assign all of Roland’s interest in Henze Farms to Fraser. Soon afterward, Fraser died. Equitable sued on March 26, 1976, in substance to collect on the judgment. An interlocutory order of foreclosure on Roland’s interest, if any, in Henze Farms was entered in December of 1976. A receiver sold Roland’s interest, if any, in Henze Farms to Equitable in satisfaction of $5,000 of the $70,000 judgment. Roland appealed the receiver’s sale to the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals, which dismissed the appeal. Roland’s application for writ of error to the Supreme Court of Texas was refused, no reversible error.

Although the case was first filed on March 26,1976, Equitable supplemented its pleadings in July 1976 and March 1977, adding parties and requesting additional relief. On October 13, 1980, after Equitable’s case in chief, the trial court directed a verdict for the defendants. Equitable, however, appealed to the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals, contending that some evidence existed of fraudulent conveyances by Roland and others. The cause *533 was reversed and remanded for trial in Equitable Trust Co. v. Roland, 644 S.W.2d 46 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1982, no writ). After trial, the jury found in answer to Special Issues Nos. 1-5 that, as to the February 23, 1976, conveyance, both Roland and Fraser intended to defraud Equitable. The jury also found that Roland furnished no consideration but that Fraser had furnished the consideration for the 1966 conveyance originally transferring title to the one-half undivided interest in the Henze Farms Joint Venture to Roland.

By four points of error, Equitable complains that, when the trial court entered judgment setting aside the February 23, 1976, conveyance, it did not obtain all the relief it requested. Appellees bring three cross-points, contending that Roland originally held the Henze Farms interest as trustee for Fraser in a resulting trust, and that no evidence supported the jury’s finding that the 1966 conveyance was intended as a gift from Fraser to Roland, or else such finding was against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence.

We first, consider appellees’ cross-points. They contend that, when title to the half-interest in Henze Farms was put in Roland’s name in 1966, Roland held the interest in a resulting trust for Fraser. Appellees point out that the jury found, in answer to Special Issue No. 6, that in 1966 Lyle placed the half-interest in the name of Roland for the use and benefit of Fraser. Appellees also contend that the evidence does not support the jury’s finding, in answer to Special Issue No. 9, that Fraser intended the transfer to Roland to be a gift. In considering a “no evidence” or “insufficient evidence” point of error, we will follow the well-established test set forth in Dyson v. Olin Corp., 692 S.W.2d 456 (Tex. 1985); Glover v. Texas General Indemnity Co., 619 S.W.2d 400 (Tex.1981); Garza v. Alviar, 395 S.W.2d 821 (Tex.1965); Allied Finance Co. v. Garza, 626 S.W.2d 120 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.); Calvert, No Evidence and Insufficient Evidence Points of Error, 38 Texas L.Rev. 361 (1960).

The appellate court reviews the evidence as presented. We do not substitute our judgment for that of the trier of facts, whether judge or jury. Gomez v. Franco, 677 S.W.2d 231, 236 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1984, no writ). The fact that testimony is that of an interested party merely presents the additional issue of credibility. Gomez, 677 S.W.2d at 236. The jury determines the credibility of the witnesses and weighs the evidence. Leyva v. Pacheco, 163 Tex. 638, 358 S.W.2d 547, 549 (1962); Tenngasco Gas Gathering Co. v. Fischer, 624 S.W.2d 301, 305 (Tex.App. — Corpus Christi 1981, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

Appellees had the burden of proving that the 1966 transaction gave rise to a resulting trust rather than a gift. Where the transfer is from parent to child, an advancement or gift is presumed. Bell v. Smith, 532 S.W.2d 680, 684 (Tex.Civ.App.—Fort Worth 1976, no writ); Ellsworth v. Ellsworth, 151 S.W.2d 628, 632 (Tex.Civ. App.—El Paso 1941, writ ref’d). Moreover, the law is suspicious of resulting trusts, and places a heavy burden on the party attempting to prove one. Grasty v. Wood, 230 S.W.2d 568, 572 (Tex.Civ.App.—Galveston 1950, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

Trial courts must reconcile apparent conflicts in the jury’s findings if this can reasonably be done in light of the pleadings and the evidence, the manner in which the issues were submitted, and the findings when considered as a whole. Ford v. Carpenter, 147 Tex. 447, 216 S.W.2d 558, 562 (1949); see also Bender v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co., 600 S.W.2d 257, 260 (Tex.1980).

Special Issue No. 6 inquires, “Do you find that in 1966 legal title to an undivided

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Bluebook (online)
721 S.W.2d 530, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 9088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equitable-trust-co-v-roland-texapp-1986.