Garcia v. Palacios

667 S.W.2d 225
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 11, 1984
DocketNo. 04-82-00381-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 667 S.W.2d 225 (Garcia v. Palacios) 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
Garcia v. Palacios, 667 S.W.2d 225 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinions

OPINION

REEVES, Justice.

Appellants, Dr. and Mrs. George Garcia, defendants below, have perfected this appeal from an adverse judgment in a trespass to try title suit.

Suit was filed on February 20, 1980, by appellees, Mucia S. Palacios, Abraham G. Palacios, Angela P. Shipton, and Ricardo D. Palacios. Appellees alleged title to a tract of land containing approximately 59.88 acres, located in Webb County, Texas. Appellants answered not guilty and affirmatively plead title by limitations as a defense.

The facts leading to the filing of this lawsuit are as follows:

In 1926, the Antonio Salinas estate was partitioned. By virtue of this partition, Mucia S. Palacios, appellee, acquired title in fee simple to a tract of land known as Share No. 3, and her sister, Margarita S. Rubio, acquired title to a tract of land known as Share No. 4. Share No. 3 borders, and is located immediately north of, Share No. 4. At some point in time, shortly after the partition, a fence was constructed running in an east-west direction. It is undisputed that this fence was mistakenly considered the north-south boundary between Share No. 3 and Share No. 4. In fact, however, the fence was located ap[227]*227proximately 360 varas north of the true boundary between the shares creating the disputed acreage of 59.88 acres.

On March 14, 1968, Margarita Rubio conveyed all of Share No. 4 to appellants. The deed described the property by a correct metes and bounds description and stated it was a conveyance of 948.35 acres. By January 1, 1969, the entire tract purchased by appellants, together with the disputed acreage, was entirely fenced. The disputed property consists of a rectangular strip of land containing 59.88 acres, being the northern most portion of appellant’s fenced property, more particularly described as:

A tract of land, containing 59.88 acres, more or less, in Webb County, Texas, being part of B.S. & P. Survey 755, Abstract 886 and also being part of Share No. 3 as awarded to Mucia Salinas in Cause No. 7550, styled Minnie L. Salinas et al vs. Antonio L. Salinas et al, District Court of Webb County, Texas, certified copy of judgment of record in Volumne 99, Pages 562-8 of the Deed Records of Webb County, Texas; said tract being more particularly described as follows, to-wit:
BEGINNING at a ½" steel rod on the east line of C. & M.R.R. Survey 1381, Abstract 981 and west line of Survey 755, said steel rod bears North 1357.5 varas from the common corner of Samuel Zamora Survey 326, S.M. & S. Survey 325, J.A. Rodriguez Survey 756, and said Survey 755 and said steel rod being the most northerly northwest corner of Share No. 4 awarded to Margarita Salinas in said Cause No. 7550, the most westerly southwest corner of Share No. 3 and the southwest corner of this tract; THENCE North 358.54 varas with the east line of Survey 1381 and west line of Survey 755 and Share No. 3 to a ⅝" steel rod, set in a fence corner the northwest corner of this tract;
THENCE N. 89° 17' 26" E. 938.88 varas with an existing fence to a Va" steel rod set in a fence corner, the northeast corner of this tract;
THENCE S. 00° 39' 00" E. 360.07 varas along an existing fence to a ½" steel rod set in fence on the north line of Share No. 4 and most westerly south line of Share No. 3 for the southeast corner of this tract;
THENCE S. 89° 23' 07" W. 942.94 varas with the north line of Share No. 4 and westerly south line of Share No. 3 to the place of beginning.

Appellants, in points of error five and seven, contend the trial court erred in entering judgment for appellees because appellants established title by limitations as a matter of law and there was no evidence to support the jury’s unfavorable answers to the special issues on the ten year statute of limitations. TEX.REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 5510 (Vernon 1958). We agree with appellants.

In viewing appellants’ “matter of law” point, we must first determine if there in any evidence to support the jury’s negative answers to the issues on adverse possession, as appellant had the burden of proof on these issues. W.T. Carter & Bro. v. Holmes, 131 Tex. 365, 113 S.W.2d 1225 (1938). If there is no evidence to support the jury’s answers to the special issues complained of then we must examine all the evidence to determine whether title by limitations was established as a matter of law. See Texas & New Orleans Railroad Co. v. Burden, 146 Tex. 109, 203 S.W.2d 522 (1947); O’Connor, Evidence Points on Appeal, 37 TEX.B.J. 889 (1974); Calvert, “No Evidence” and “Insufficient Evidence” Points of Error, 38 TEXAS L.REV. 361 (1960).

The issues on the ten year statute submitted to the jury, and the jury’s answers were:

SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 1
Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendants had continuous possession of the land in dispute not interrupted by adverse suit for ten years or more prior to the filing of this suit?
For the 4.37 acres? For the 55.51 acres?
answer “we do” or “we do not” answer “we do” or “we do not”
answer: We do not answer: We do not_
[228]*228SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 2
Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendants actually and visably appropriated the land in dispute for ten years or more prior to the filing of this suit?
For the 4.37 acres? For the 55.51 acres?
answer “we do” or “we do not” answer “we do” or “we do not”
answer: We do not answer: We do not
SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 3
Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such actual and visible appropriation commenced and continued with the intentions of claiming the land for themselves for ten years or more prior to the filing of this suit?
For the 4.37 acres? For the 55.51 acres?
answer “we do” or “we do not” answer “we do” or “we do not”
answer: We do not answer: We do not
SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 4
Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendants used the land in dispute for ten years or more prior to the filing of this suit?
For the 4.37 acres? For the 55.51 acres?
answer “we do” or “we do not” answer “we do” or “we do not”
answer: We do answer: We do
SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 5
Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendants enjoyed the land for ten years or more prior to the filing of this suit?
For the 4.37 acres? For the 55.51 acres?
answer “we do” or “we do not” answer “we do” or “we do not”
answer: We do answer: We do
SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 6

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667 S.W.2d 225, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garcia-v-palacios-texapp-1984.