Express Publishing Company v. Gonzalez

326 S.W.2d 544, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2004
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 7, 1959
Docket13434
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 326 S.W.2d 544 (Express Publishing Company v. Gonzalez) 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
Express Publishing Company v. Gonzalez, 326 S.W.2d 544, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2004 (Tex. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinions

W. O. MURRAY, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal by Express Publishing' Company from an order of the District Court of Starr County, Texas, overruling its plea of privilege to be sued in Bexar County, the county of its domicile.

This suit was instituted in the District Court of Starr County by Enrique G. Gonzalez, seeking to recover damages for the publication of an article by the Express Publishing Company alleged to be libelous of him. The article was published in the San Antonio “Sunday Express and News” on December 22, 1957, and reads as follows:

“Sisters Win Oil Land Suit
“Ninety-nine-year-old twin sisters, perhaps the oldest twins in the United States, Saturday had won their suit for 13^ acres of oil-rich land in Starr County.
“The sisters, Inez Garcia Ruiz, and Aniceta Garcia Barrera, had alleged that the land was fraudulently taken from them by a nephew, Benigno Barrera and. Enrique G. Gonzalez, both of Starr County.
“The women said they signed a deed to the land when Barrera represented it as a document permitting him to erect a corral fence there. The sisters cannot read or write Spanish or English.
“Judge C. K. Quinn in 45th District Court last year returned the sisters the land, which had been in their family since a Spanish grant.
“Saturday it was announced the appeals court had ruled against Barrera and Gonzalez.
“The sisters’ address was listed as 2605 Guadalupe Street, San Antonio.”

Express Publishing Company filed its plea of privilege in statutory form, to be sued in Bexar County, its domicile, and Enrique G. Gonzalez, in due time, filed his controverting affidavit, seeking to maintain venue of this case in Starr County, under the provisions of Section 29 of Article 1995, Vernon’s Ann. Civ. Stats., reading as follows:

“Libel or slander. — A suit for damages for libel or slander shall be brought, and can only be maintained, in the county in which the plaintiff resided at the time of the accrual of the cause' of action, or in the county where the defendant resided at the time of filing suit, or in the county of the residence of defendants, or any of them, or the domicile of any corporate defendant, at the election of the plaintiff.”

It has been definitely held in this State that where a plaintiff seeks to maintain venue in the county of his residence against a nonresident defendant in a libel suit under the provisions of said Section 29, he must both allege and prove that a cause of action accrued in his favor against the defendant in such county, and that he was a resident of the county at the time such cause accrued. Renfro Drug Co. v. Lawson, 138 Tex. 434, 160 S.W.2d 246, 146 A.L.R. 732; Blanton v. Garrett, Tex.Civ. App., 124 S.W.2d 451, certified questions answered 133 Tex. 399, 129 S.W.2d 623; A. H. Belo Corporation v. Blanton, Tex. Civ.App., 126 S.W.2d 1015, certified questions answered 133 Tex. 391, 129 S.W.2d 619; Creswell v. Pruitt, Tex.Civ.App., 239 S.W.2d 165; Panhandle Publishing Co. v. Fitzjarrald, Tex.Civ.App., 215 S.W.2d 659, [546]*546mandamus overruled; Walker v. Martin, Tex.Civ.App., 129 S.W.2d 1149.

Article 5432, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats., reads in part as follows:

“The publication of the following matters by any newspaper or periodical shall be deemed privileged and shall not be made the basis of any action for libel.
“1. A fair, true and impartial account of the proceedings in a court of justice, unless the court prohibits the publication of same when in the judgment of the court the ends of justice demand that the same should not be published and the court so orders, or any other official proceedings authorized by law in the administration of the law.”

The controverting affidavit of Gonzalez and his amended petition, which he had made a part of his controverting affidavit, show on their face that the alleged libelous article was published by appellant, Express Publishing Company, in an attempt to report the proceedings in a court of justice, or proceedings authorized by law in the administration of the law. The burden of proof was therefore upon appel-lee to both allege and prove by the preponderance of the evidence that the article complained of was either unfair, untrue or partial. Appellee undertook to establish that the statement that the twin sisters had alleged in their cause of action, that both he and Benigno Barrera had “fraudulently taken from them” thirteen acres of oil-rich land in Starr County, was unfair, untrue and partial. In the original petition filed by the twin sisters this allegation is found. However, after appellee had filed a motion for summary judgment, the twin sisters asked leave of the court to take a non-suit as to Gonzalez, which request was granted by the court and an order entered to that effect. Thereafter the twin sisters filed their first and second original amended petitions in which the name of appellee was not mentioned, and the case went to trial upon their second amended petition. It is apparent that after taking a nonsuit the twin sisters abandoned their original petition in which the allegation against ap-pellee had been made.

The suit filed by the twin sisters in the District Court of Bexar County, was Cause No. F-95,430, styled Inez Garcia Ruiz et al. v. Benigno Barrera et al. The cause was heard on February 25, 1957, by District Judge C. K. Quinn and judgment rendered restoring the thirteen acres “of oil-rich land” to the twin sisters. An appeal was taken from this judgment to the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals, and transferred to the Fort Worth Court of Civil Appeals by the Supreme Court upon an equalization of dockets, and the case was decided by that Court on December 20, 1957. Barrera v. Ruiz, 308 S.W.2d 578. The appeal was by Benigno Barrera and Enrique G. Gonzalez was one of the sureties on his cost bond. The Fort Worth Court of Civil Appeals on December 20, 1957, rendered judgment affirming the judgment of the trial court and adjudging the court costs against Barrera, Gonzalez and the other surety on the cost bond.

The article alleged to be libelous is undoubtedly a report concerning official proceedings, authorized by law in the administration of the law, and if fair, true and impartial, it is privileged and cannot form the basis for a libel suit. Art. 5432, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats. The word true as used in the above article really means correct. Let us examine the statement and see if it is a fair, correct and impartial statement of what happened in Cause No. F-95,430, styled Ruiz et al. v. Barrera et al. The article must be read as it would be understood by an ordinary average reader of the paper.

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Bluebook (online)
326 S.W.2d 544, 1959 Tex. App. LEXIS 2004, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/express-publishing-company-v-gonzalez-texapp-1959.