Furr v. Young

578 S.W.2d 532, 1979 Tex. App. LEXIS 3282
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 1, 1979
DocketNo. 18098
StatusPublished

This text of 578 S.W.2d 532 (Furr v. Young) 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
Furr v. Young, 578 S.W.2d 532, 1979 Tex. App. LEXIS 3282 (Tex. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

OPINION

MASSEY, Chief Justice.

E. E. and G. F. Furr filed claims against the Estate of their mother, Fannie Belle Furr, deceased, which claims were rejected. They appealed to the District Court of Young County, Texas. There the judgment of the court in Cause No. 17,627 was one which rejected their claims. E. E. Furr appealed; G. F. Furr did not.

We affirm.

The disputes involving members of the Furr family have a long history. In brief: A Young County family was that of Adam Furr and his wife, Fannie Belle, and three children. The children were E. E. and G. F. Furr, and Adele Furr Robinson. Adam Furr died intestate and his widow became community administratrix. A part of the estate was a tract of land of 1,231 acres in Archer County, Texas. Adele, at all material times, contended that while Adam was alive he and his wife had given the Archer County land to her; in any event — promptly after Fannie Belle had qualified as community administratrix of the Adam Furr Estate — she, in that capacity, as well as in her individual capacity as applied to her own community interest, deeded the property to her daughter Adele without consideration. Discovering the fact both E. E. and G. F. Furr evidence their insistence that the Archer County land should be considered as part of the Adam Furr property as to which he had died intestate, that their interest in and to such property, insofar as there had been an estate therein belonging to Adam Furr at time of his death, should be equal to that of their sister Adele. There was not, or in any event there has ceased to be, any contention that as of the time of the deed Fannie Belle Furr’s interest was not correctly conveyed to Adele.

Adele “beat her brothers to the courthouse”. She filed in Archer County her Trespass to Try Title case as applied to the Archer County acres. This was Cause No. 5060 in Archer County. Her brothers filed cross-actions, and impleaded Fannie Belle Furr, their mother. From that time, in 1958, there has been continuous litigation; such continuing after Fannie Belle Furr died in 1964. L. C. Young became Temporary Administrator of the Fannie Belle Furr Estate.

As applied to a portion of the litigation aforementioned see prior opinions of this court relative to appeals from Young County, as follows: Furr v. Furr, 346 S.W.2d 491, (Tex.Civ.App.1961, writ ref’d n. r. e.); [535]*535Furr v. Furr, 403 S.W.2d 866 (Tex.Civ.App.1966, no writ); Furr v. Furr, 440 S.W.2d 367 (Tex.Civ.App.1969, writ ref’d n. r. e.).

Judgment in Cause No. 17,627 was rendered June 12, 1978 by the District Court of Young County denying E. E. and G. F. Furr recovery; and also denying Adele Furr recovery sought by her in the same case. Therefrom E. E. Furr appealed. It is only the question of his right with which we are concerned on the appeal, though of necessity what is held would likewise have applied to G. F. Furr had he appealed.

E. E. Furr’s claim is barred by limitation. V.A.T.S. Title 91, “Limitations”, 2. “Limitations of Personal Actions”, § 5526, “Actions to be commenced in two years” (1958) provides:

“There shall be commenced and prosecuted within two years after the cause of action shall have accrued, and not afterward, all actions or suits in court of the following description:
“4. Actions for debt where the indebtedness is not evidence by the contract in writing.”

The aforementioned limitation was plead and has application to the claim, its nature being that of a personal action for debt.

Tex.Prob.Code Ann. § 298, “Claims Against Estates of Decedents and Wards”, formerly provided for claims to be presented to an executor or administrator within one year after the original grant of letters testamentary or of administration, which said section of the probate code was amended effective June 15, 1971, changing the— one year — to six months, such § 298, subsections (a) and (c) reading as follows:

“(a) Claims Against Decedent’s Estate Postponed if not Presented in Six Months. All claims for money against a testator or intestate shall be presented to the executor or administrator within six months after the original grant of letters testamentary or of administration; otherwise the payment thereof shall be postponed until the claims which have been presented within six months and allowed by the executor or administrator and approved by the court have been first entirely paid; provided, however, that the failure of the holder of a secured claim to present his claim within said six month period shall not cause his claim to be postponed, but it shall be treated as a claim to be paid in accordance with subsequent provisions of this Code.”
“(c) Claims Barred by Limitation Not to Be Allowed or Approved. No claims against a decedent or ward, or against the estate of either, on which a suit is barred by a general statute of limitation applicable thereto shall be allowed by a personal representative. If allowed by the representative and the court is satisfied that limitation has run, the claim shall be disapproved.” (1955).

Pursuant to the directive of Section 298 in its subdivision (c) L. C. Young, as temporary administrator, was compelled to reject the claims by virtue of their being barred by limitation.

The claims of E. E. Furr and G. F. Furr, as presented and rejected by L. C. Young, were identical with their claims upon which recovery was sought in Cause No. 5060 in Archer County, and in which the Furr matters had earlier declared upon in Cause No. 14,330 in Young County. In Cause No. 14,330, the court denied such claims. There was no appeal from the judgment in Cause No. 5060.

Everything necessary to disposition of this case has been stipulated by the parties. The cause of action has been growing out of the E. E. and G. F. Furr claims against Fannie Belle, and later against the Fannie Belle Furr estate, accrued at the time of the recordation of the deed to the Archer County acres, which for our purposes may be taken as its date, October 20, 1958. (In any event E. E. and G. F. Furr knew of the deed promptly after November 7, 1958 when Cause No. 5060 was filed in Archer County.) In Cause No. 5060, the court’s judgment declared a dismissal of such claims without prejudice. (At a later point we copy the judgment in Cause No. 5060.) Never, at any time, did E. E. Furr and G. F. Furr present their claims to Fan[536]*536nie Belle Furr as the representative of the estate of Adam Furr. Their claims were not presented to the representative of the estate of Fannie Belle Furr until February 21, 1974.

The statutory provision (Section 298 of the Probate Code) requiring the presentation of claims for money within six (6) months after the original grant of letters testamentary or of administration provides that, if a claim is not so presented, the payment of it shall be postponed until the claims that have been presented within six (6)months and allowed by the executor or administrator have been first entirely paid. 18 Tex.Jur.2d 357, “Decedents’ Estates”, § 424, “Effect of failure to present within prescribed time — Ordinary money claims” (1960).

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Related

Furr v. Furr
440 S.W.2d 367 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1969)
Furr v. Furr
346 S.W.2d 491 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1961)
Furr v. Furr
403 S.W.2d 866 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1966)
Markward v. Murrah
136 S.W.2d 649 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1940)
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Huppman v. Schmidt
65 Tex. 583 (Texas Supreme Court, 1886)
Leatherwood v. Arnold
1 S.W. 173 (Texas Supreme Court, 1886)
Markward v. Murrah
156 S.W.2d 971 (Texas Supreme Court, 1941)
Jackson v. Fielder
15 S.W.2d 557 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1929)
Fidelity Union Ins. Co. v. Hutchins
133 S.W.2d 105 (Texas Supreme Court, 1939)

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Bluebook (online)
578 S.W.2d 532, 1979 Tex. App. LEXIS 3282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/furr-v-young-texapp-1979.