Ford Motor Credit Company v. Garcia

504 S.W.2d 931, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2256
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 23, 1974
Docket15237
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 504 S.W.2d 931 (Ford Motor Credit Company v. Garcia) 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
Ford Motor Credit Company v. Garcia, 504 S.W.2d 931, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2256 (Tex. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

*933 KLINGEMAN, Justice.

This is a venue action involving- Subdivision 4 of Article 1995, Vernon’s Tex.Rev. Civ.Stat.Ann. Appellee, Juan Garcia, Jr., a resident of Starr County, Texas, filed suit in Starr County, Texas, against Ramirez Ford Sales, Inc., a resident of Starr County, Texas; Ford Motor Credit Company, a resident of Nueces County, Texas; and Arturo Requenez, a resident of Hidal-go County, Texas, for the wrongful repossession and detention of his Ford pickup truck. The two nonresident defendants filed pleas of privilege to be sued in the counties of their respective residences. Appellee timely controverted said pleas of privilege, relying on Subdivision 4 to maintain venue in Starr County. Both pleas of privilege were overruled after a nonjury hearing, and this is an appeal by Arturo Requenez and Ford Motor Credit Company from that ruling.

To maintain venue under Subdivision 4 of Article 1995 where there are resident and nonresident defendants, it is not incumbent upon the plaintiff to prove the cause of action against the nonresident defendant; and he establishes his right to maintain venue where laid by: (a) alleging a joint cause of action against the defendants, or a cause of action against a resident defendant so intimately connected with the cause of action alleged against the nonresident defendant that the two may be joined under the rule intended to avoid multiplicity of suits; (b) proving by independent evidence that the resident defendant in fact resides in such county; and (c) proving that the plaintiff has a cause of action against the resident defendant. Stockyards National Bank v. Maples, 127 Tex. 633, 95 S.W.2d 1300 (1936); 1 Kirksey v. Warren, 348 S.W.2d 33 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1961, no writ).

Two of appellants’ three points of error complain of insufficiency of the pleadings, (a) The trial court erred in overruling their pleas of privilege because appellee failed to plead a cause of. action against defendant, Ramirez Ford Sales, Inc. (b) The trial court erred in overruling their pleas of privilege because appellee did not plead a joint cause of action against Ramirez Ford Sales, Inc., and appellants.

Appellee asserts that his pleadings show both a joint cause of action involving all of the defendants in the case, and an independent cause of action against Ramirez Ford Sales, Inc., the resident defendant; or in any event, the pleadings allege a cause of action against the resident defendant so intimately connected with the cause of action alleged against the nonresi *934 dent defendant that a joinder is proper under the rule intended to avoid the multiplicity of suits.

Defendants filed no exceptions to plaintiff’s petition or to plaintiff’s controverting affidavit to their pleas of privilege. In the absence of exceptions to such pleadings, they will be liberally construed in the pleader’s favor and in support of the judgment. Scott v. Gardner, 137 Tex. 628, 156 S.W.2d 513 (1941); 2 Jess Edwards, Inc v. Foley, 321 S.W.2d 328 (Tex.Civ.App.—Waco 1959, no writ).

The pleadings taken as a whole detail a series of events that assert a wrongful repossession of appellee’s pickup, a wrongful detention, and a resultant loss of the pickup. Appellee’s pleadings allege a violation of Section 9.503 of the Vernon’s Tex.Bus. & Comm.Code jointly by the nonresident defendants and the resident defendant, and also a cause of action against defendant, Ramirez Ford Sales, Inc., for wrongfully and illegally detaining the pickup and depriving the owner of its use and possession. While not artfully pled, such pleadings allege a conversion against the resident defendant. Conversion may be defined as any act of dominion wrongfully asserted over another’s personal property in denial of the owner’s rights or inconsistent with such rights. American Surety Co. of New York v. Hill County, 267 S.W. 265 (Tex.Comm.App. 1924, jdgmt. adopted); 14 Tex.Jur.2d, Conversion, Section l. 3

A similar case to the one before us is Motor Finance Co. v. Wolff, 387 S.W.2d 129 (Tex.Civ.App.—Houston 1965, no writ). Plaintiff sued two defendants in Harris County, Texas, to recover damages for wrongful repossession and alleged conversion of an automobile. One of the defendants was a finance company, a nonresident of Harris County, Texas, which held a chattel mortgage securing the purchase price. The finance company filed a plea of privilege to be sued in the county of its residence, which plea was overruled by the trial court. Plaintiff asserted that the finance company, by other defendants as its agents, wrongfully repossessed the automobile and wrongfully held such automobile until the charges due were paid. The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the trial court, stating: “We are of the view, however, that the trial court’s action should be sustained under Subdivision 4 of Article 1995, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.St. Ap-pellee has sufficiently proven a cause of action against a resident defendant and has alleged against appellant, the non-resident, a joint cause of action and one so intimately connected with the cause of action against the resident defendant as to make the two properly joinable. Alice Medical and Surgical Clinic et al. v. Barker, 350 S.W.2d 587 (Tex.Civ.App.), no writ hist., and authorities there cited.” 387 S.W.2d at 131.

We hold that appellee’s pleadings sufficiently state a cause of action for venue purposes in Starr County under Subdivision 4 of Article 1995.

Appellants’ only other point of error is that the trial court erred in overruling appellants’ pleas of privilege because insuffi- *935 dent evidence was adduced at the hearing to prove a cause of action against defendant, Ramirez Ford Sales, Inc., and appellants.

No findings of fact or conclusions of law were requested of, or were filed by, the trial court. Where no request is made of, and the trial court does not make, any findings of fact or conclusions of law, a reviewing court must presume that the trial court resolved every disputed fact issue in favor of the winning party, and the judgment implies all necessary fact findings in support of the judgment. Renfro Drug Co. v. Lewis, 149 Tex. 507, 235 S.W.2d 609 (1951); Kimbell Milling Co. v. Marcet, 449 S.W.2d 100 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio 1970, no writ); Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. Bragg, 383 S.W.2d 623 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1964, writ dism’d); Kirksey v. Warren, supra; Jess Edwards, Inc. v. Foley, supra.

Only three witnesses testified.

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504 S.W.2d 931, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2256, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ford-motor-credit-company-v-garcia-texapp-1974.