Glasscock v. Travelers Ins. Co.

113 S.W.2d 1005, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 878
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 20, 1938
DocketNo. 8527; Motions Nos. 8845-8847.
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 113 S.W.2d 1005 (Glasscock v. Travelers Ins. Co.) 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
Glasscock v. Travelers Ins. Co., 113 S.W.2d 1005, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 878 (Tex. Ct. App. 1938).

Opinion

BLAIR, Justice.

As concerns this appeal, appellant, W. D. Glasscock, sued appellees, the Travelers Insurance Company and Texas Farm Mortgage Company, in trespass to try title to recover 10,084 acres of land, known as the Glasscock ranch, in Blanco county. The suit was filed February 18, 1931. On September 24, 1935, appellant filed his third amended original petition, omitting the action in trespass to try title, and specially pleading title under the five and ten year statutes of limitation, Vernon’s Ann. Civ.St. arts. 5509, 5510, and prayed that certain conveyances under which appellees claimed title be removed as cloud upon his title. Appellees answered by demurrer, denial, and plea of not guilty; and filed a cross-action against appellant and others in trespass to try title to recover the 10,084 acres of land, specially pleading title as purchaser under a foreclosure of a deed of trust lien securing a note executed in renewal of certain vendor’s liens, alleged to be prior and superior to the deed of trust liens under which appellant claimed to have purchased the land; and prayer was for title and possession of the land, and for removal of the conveyances under which appellant claimed as cloud upon title. A second count of the cross-action alleged facts showing that the trustee’s deeds and deeds of trust under which appellant claimed *1007 title were not bona fide transactions, but represented the scheme of Alex Glasscock, the father of appellant, to cast cloud upon the title of appellees; the said Alex Glasscock being alleged to be the real party at interest and appellant the. nominal party; and prayer was for removal of said conveyances as cloud upon title.

At the conclusion of the evidence both appellant and appellees moved for an instructed verdict. Neither party requested that any issue be submitted to the jury. The motion of appellees was granted and, as concerns this appeal, judgment was rendered that appellant take nothing by his suit against appellees; and judgment was rendered for appellee the Travelers Insurance Company upon its cross-action for title and possession of the land.

We have reached the conclusion that the judgment should be in all things affirmed.

There are two parties to the suit with identical names. W. D. Glasscock, the elder, a brother of Alex Glasscock, is one of the defendants. W. D. Glasscock, the younger, the son of Alex, is plaintiff and appellant. The two will be referred to as W. D. Glasscock,. Sr., and W. D. Glass-cock, Jr. The testimony appearing in the record is that of W. D. Glasscock, Sr., W. D. Glasscock, Jr., not having appeared at the trial.

The Glasscock ranch is made up of three ranches known as the Kellam ranch, the Jackson ranch, and the Stehling ranch. Alex Glasscock, the father of appellant, was connected with or directed all material conveyances or transactions herein involved; He and his mother purchased the Kellam ranch August 17, 1912, consisting of 2,489½ acres, and as part consideration assumed an indebtedness of $4,150, secured by a vendor’s and deed of trust lien, outstanding at the time. A month later Alex deeded this land to his son, Foster, who was at the time about fifteen years of age. On April 1, 1916, Foster, who was also known as Four-Paw Glasscock, deeded the land to his sister, Lizzie Glasscock, at which time Foster was about nineteen and Lizzie about seventeen years of age.

On June 15, 1920, Alex acquired the Jackson ranch, consisting of 4,335.9 acres, from J. R. Christal in consideration of $1,000 cash, and the execution 'of $24,015.-40 of notes, secured by vendor’s and deed of trust liens on the land. This property was transferred by Alex Glasscock to Lizzie DeLoach, née Glasscock, September 18, 1921, and by this same deed Lizzie acquired the record title to the Stehling ranch, consisting of 3,032.72 acres, title to which had theretofore stood in the- name of Tina Champion. She acquired the property from Otto' Stehling, who acquired it from Wm. Bierschwale, by deed, which recited a consideration of $14,365, of which $10,273 was represented by vendor’s lien notes. The deed under which Lizzie took title to both the Jackson and Stehling ranches recited a consideration of $500 cash and her agreement to take the land subject to the aforementioned liens.

Lizzie Glasscock DeLoach filed suit against J. N. Crasilneck, the holder, to set aside the lien on the Kellam ranch; but the court decided the case against her and entered judgment for the sum of $7,600 and decreed a foreclosure of the lien on October 16, 1922.

J. R. Christal filed suit and obtained a judgment on October 19, 1922, for $15,-216.53, with foreclosure of his vendor’s lien on the Jackson ranch.

Wm. Bierschwale elected to assert superior title retained in his deed to Otto Stehling and recovered judgment for title and possession of the Stehling ranch on October 19, 1922.

In 1919 or 1920, W. D. Glasscock, Sr., retired from the theatrical business and entered business in San Antonio, Tex. He had furnished money to Alex and his family, and testified that in 1922 he “kinda ran out of money and didn’t care much about furnishing them any more money and they suggested, Alex did, that they would deed this ranch to me and I would get a loan and straighten up the outfit, the indebtedness against it, and that we could sell or trade the ranch and make some arrangement whereby I could get my money out of it after it was sold.” Alex Glass-cock and W. D. Glasscock immediately took steps to carry out this agreement, it being necessary to do so because of the aforementioned judgments ready for execution.

On November 17, 1922, W. D. Glass-cock, Sr., applied to the Texas Farm Mortgage Company, and the company agreed to make him a loan of $25,000, secured by a deed of trust lien on the Glasscock ranch. In the application W. D. Glass-cock, Sr., stated that the property was encumbered as follows: $2,505 to the state *1008 of Texas; $}0,500 to Wm. Bierschwale; $13,082 to J. R. Christal; $7,600 to J. B. Crasilneck; interest and other expenses, $1,900; and that he wanted the money to pay off indebtedness on the ranch. On the following- day, November 18, 1922, and shortly thereafter, various parties, including Alex Glasscock and his wife, Pink Glasscock, Lizzie Glasscock DeLoach and her husband, Lonie Glasscock, and Wm. Bierschwale, executed deeds to W. D. Glasscock, Sr., conveying the Glasscock ranch to him. And on May 9, 1923, W. D. Glasscock, Sr., executed to Texas Farm Mortgage Company his note for $25,000, payable January 1, 1934, and a deed of trust lien securing the note on the entire Glasscock ranch. The deed of trust expressly provided that the loan company should ’ be subrogated to the rights of the holders of the original purchase-money notes, and referred to the three above-mentioned judgments as having established the vendor’s liens as superior and pri- or liens upon the land.

The $25,000 loan to W. D. Glasscock, Sr., was not enough to care for all the outstanding indebtedness against the land, and on May 16, 1923, he executed a note for $13,700 to Claud McCauley, and secured it by a deed of trust lien on the land, which expressly recited that it was second and inferior to the deed of trust lien of Texas Farm Mortgage Company, securing the $25,000 note. The proceeds, or a part thereof, of the loan obtained from Claud McCauley were deposited by W. D.

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Bluebook (online)
113 S.W.2d 1005, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 878, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glasscock-v-travelers-ins-co-texapp-1938.