Friedman v. Friedman

188 S.W.2d 909, 1945 Tex. App. LEXIS 543
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 22, 1945
DocketNo. 13622.
StatusPublished

This text of 188 S.W.2d 909 (Friedman v. Friedman) 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
Friedman v. Friedman, 188 S.W.2d 909, 1945 Tex. App. LEXIS 543 (Tex. Ct. App. 1945).

Opinion

YOUNG, Justice.

Original plaintiff herein was Mrs. Goldie Friedman, a widow, seeking cancellation of a deed dated March 31, 1941, conveying realty on Preston Street, Dallas, to Joseph M. Friedman, a son, alleging that the instrument was executed through false representations, she believing same to be a will. Upon trial the following controlling issue (No. 1), “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant, upon the occasion in question, and before the deed in evidence was signed by the plaintiff, represented to the plaintiff that such instrument was a will?”-was answered by the jury “No”; and judgment rendered *910 generally denying plaintiff’s claim. Mrs. Friedman having died subsequent to trial, the appeal is prosecuted by Samuel B. Friedman, another son, as party plaintiff.

In brief, the points of appeal are: (1) Error of the court in permitting defense counsel to read to the jury and discuss in argument the 1941 deed in full, inflammatory and prejudicial portions of which were not properly in evidence; (2) permitting defense attorney to indulge in improper jury argument, detailing various instances; (3) the court’s refusal to allow an amendment of motion for new trial after sustaining objections to all allegations of jury misconduct except subdivisions (b) and (c), paragraph 6; (4) charging several

phases of misconduct on part of the jury, and their consideration of assertedly new and improper evidence; (5) error in permitting the jury verdict to stand, undisputed evidence being that the deed was signed under certain representations made by defendant to his mother, who could neither read nor write, causing her to believe that same was a will.

In connection with jury argument, defense counsel read the contents of plaintiff’s Exhibit 1 (the 1941 deed) which recited in part: “Now, therefore, know all men by these presents, that I, Mrs. Goldie Friedman, a widow, of Dallas County, Texas, having hereto advanced to my son, Samuel B. Friedman, property and funds of the value of more than Six Thousand ($6,000.00) Dollars and he, the said Samuel Friedman having recently on the 19th day of December, 1940, taken from my possession the sum of Eight Hundred ($800.00) Dollars which he has not returned, besides numerous other sums of money advanced to him by me from time to time, and now I, the said Mrs. Goldie Friedman, a widow, for and in consideration of the sum of Ten ($10.00) Dollars to me in hand paid by my son, Joseph M. Friedman, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged and confessed and for the purpose of doing equal justice as far as possible to my son, Joseph M. Friedman, * * Plaintiff’s objection to such full reading and argument thereon was overruled, and error here assigned is that the deed was admitted only for the purpose of establishing its date and recordation by book and page in Dallas County Deed Records; and that above extraneous section was not in evidence, constituting new matter, likewise highly prejudicial and inflammatory.

Referring to the particular instrument, plaintiff alleged: “That said deed is attached hereto, marked Exhibit A and made a part hereof”; and upon trial plaintiff’s counsel, after making demand for the original deed, said: “We offer in evidence this instrument as Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 1 being a deed executed on the 31st day of March, 1941 from Goldie Friedman by her mark to Joseph M. Friedman to the property on Preston Street in Dallas, Texas, recorded in Book 2267 at Page 470 on April 2nd, 1941, deed records of Dallas County, Texas.” The statement of facts here shows a notation by the Court Reporter, viz., “Mr. Klepak read only a part of this deed to the jury.” Above record is indefinite as to what part of the document was read to the jury, but that same was offered by plaintiff without limitation, there is no doubt. This Exhibit (basis of suit) being in evidence for all purposes, certainly adverse counsel would be entitled to' comment upon it, draw any reasonable deduction therefrom, even reading it to the jury if desired. 41 Tex.Jur., Sec. 125, p„ 883.

Appellant argues that the reporter’s notes are indefinite or even incorrect with respect to whether the instrument was tendered in its entirety. We do not agree with the contention, but, even so, his claim of an imperfect record was for the trial court and is a matter over which we have no jurisdiction. 3 Tex.Jur., Sec. 557, p. 784. A restricted introduction of the deed may have been intended, but such is not disclosed by the statement of facts. In the leading case of Shumard v. Johnson, 66 Tex. 70, 17 S.W. 398, it is held (Syl. 1): “The fact that a written contract, which was likely to prejudice the jury against defendant on collateral issues, was admitted in evidence without any instruction by the court as to the restricted purposes for which it was allowed, is not reversible error, where defendant made no request for such instruction.”

Points 2 and 4 also complain of improper argument in view of the court’s ruling that all evidence be confined to the issue of fraudulent representations relative to said deed. Its contents disclosed, and appellant’s examination of defense witness. (Parks) developed, that Joe Friedman owned a one-fourth interest in one of the tracts, which interest he was relinquishing-to his mother during her lifetime. Appel-lee’s jury argument to this effect was not. *911 only within the record but also in answer to appellant’s argument of no consideration whatever moving from defendant for the deed’s execution. And said instrument, being in evidence without limitation, could be made use of for whatever it tended to prove defensively, even though the argument complained of bore only collaterally on the controlling issue of fraud.

Judgment herein was rendered June 26, 1944; motion for new trial, filed July 21, was amended August S, and heard September 8; on which date objections were sustained to all allegations of jury misconduct, except the following two subsections of paragraph 6: (b) “That the jury attempted to arrive at a verdict for either plaintiff or defendant without considering the evidence for the purpose of answering the issues submitted,” and (c) “That the jury discussed and reached an answer to special issue No. 1 for the purpose of rendering a judgment for and in behalf of the defendant.” The stricken allegations on misconduct briefly are: (1) That the jury considered evidence which, by special instruction of the court, had been excluded (obviously referring to above quoted part of said deed) ; (2) that the jury answers to the special issues submitted were brought about by some members of the jury interpreting the law to other members and not following instructions of the court; (3) that the verdict was a compromise, in that the jurors discussed what other persons had received from Mrs. Friedman and rendered verdict so that defendant would get the property as an offset against what the other brother had received; (4) that the jury discussed and considered evidence wholly outside the record and against the court’s instructions; (5) that the jury in their session discussed the matter of why appellant’s other son, Sam Friedman, did not appear and testify (this son was in and out of the courtroom during the trial) ; (6) that the jury received new and additional evidence from one of its members relative to his personal knowledge of the legal effect of such deed.

Appellant here, complains of the court’s refusal to permit a further amendment of her motion for new trial.

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188 S.W.2d 909, 1945 Tex. App. LEXIS 543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/friedman-v-friedman-texapp-1945.