Hay v. Briley

43 S.W.2d 301
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 16, 1931
DocketNo. 828
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 43 S.W.2d 301 (Hay v. Briley) 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
Hay v. Briley, 43 S.W.2d 301 (Tex. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

FUNDERBURK, J.

In this suit A. A. Hay sued W. G. Briley et al. to recover a tract of land alleged to contain 14.25 acres. In tRe description of tRe land “tRe N. W. corner of a tract of land awarded to J. C. Roberts, et al, as plaintiffs by decree of the District Court of Taylor County, on the 11th day of October, 1926, styled J. C. Roberts, et al, vs M. P. Roberts, et al,” was called for as the S. W. corner of the land in suit. The other calls were, “Thence N. with the center of said Abilene-Capps Highway, 38.8 vrs. to stake for the N. W. corner of this tract; thence E. parallel with the north and south lines of the Bishop Survey No. 43, 1,964 vrs., more or less, to the center of Elm Creek for the N. E. corner of this tract; thence south with the center of said creek to the' N. E. corner of said J. C. Roberts, et al, tract; thence west with the north line of said J. C. Roberts tract, 1964 vrs. to the place of beginning.” The defendants, other than W. G. Briley, were the said “J. C. Roberts, et al,” mentioned in the foregoing description of the land to whom said judgment of the district court had awarded the land called for as a boundary of the land in suit. It was undisputed that, on and prior to October 11, 1926, M. P. Roberts and his children were the sole owners of the William Bishop survey No. 43; that the survey was believed to contain 344 acres of land; that on said date an agreed partition was made by judgment of the district court purporting to award to M. P. Roberts one-half the land described by metes and bounds, and designated as 172 acres; and to award to said children, being the said “J. C. Roberts, et al,” the other half, also described as 172 acres and by metes and bounds; that afterwards it was disclosed that the William Bishop survey did not contain 344 acres as supposed, but in fact contained only 320.34 acres; that a dispute arose as to the true location of the boundary line as between the owners to whom the lands had been award ed, and by mutual agreement a line was run which was intended to divide the survey into two equal parts, and such line was agreed to by all the parties in interest as the true boundary; that the defendants J. C. Roberts et al. constructed a fence upon the agreed line, and took and thereafter maintained open, visible, peaceable, and adverse possession up to said line as so agreed upon and marked by said fence;' that, after the. owners had agreed upon said line, and the fence had been built and possession up to same had been taken, M. P. Roberts conveyed his tract to W. G. Briley, who in turn convéyed same to the plaintiff, A. A. Hay. The land as conveyed from Briley to Hay was described as follows: “Beginning at the upper or southeast corner of the Jas. H. Beck Survey No. 42 and the jower or northeast corner of the William Bishop Survey No. 43 in the center of Elm Greek for the northeast corner of the land hereby conveyed; thence west with the N. B. line of said William Bishop Survey, at 1,860 vrs. cross the center line of the Capps road, at 2,662½ vrs. to a stone set for the N. W. corner of this survey for the North N. W.. corner of said 172 acres; thence south with the W. B. line of this survey a distance of 689 vrs. to a post in the N. B. line of the John Adams Survey No. 44 for the S. W. corner of said 172 acres; thence east with the S. B. line of said William Bishop Survey No. 43, and the N. B. line of said Survey No. 44 a distance of 810 vrs. to the center line of the Capps road for corner, same being the S. W. corner of a tract decreed to J. C. Roberts, et al, by a decree rendered October 11, 1926, in Cause No. 5426, in District Court of Taylor County, Texas, which decree was rendered in cause styled J. C. Roberts, et al, vs M. P. Roberts, et al; thence north with the center line of the said Capps road, a distance of 471.7 vrs. to the N. W. corner of said tract so decreed to said J. C. Roberts, et al, such corner being an interior corner of the land hereby conveyed; thence east with the N. B. line of said tract so decreed to J. C. Roberts, et al, a distance of 1964 vrs. to the center of Elm Creek for the eastermost S. E. corner of the land hereby conveyed; thence down Elm Creek with its meanders to the place of beginning.” The land awarded by the partition judgment to J. C. Roberts et al. was described in the decree as follows: “Beginning at a point in the center of Elm Creek for the upper or S. E. corner of this the William Bishop Survey No. 43 and the lower or N. E. corner of the John Adams Survey No. 44 for the S. E. corner of this 172 acre tract; thence west along the S. B. line of said Bishop 2165 vrs. to a point in the center of the Capps road for the S. W. corner of this tract; thence N. 471.7 vrs. with the center line of the Capps road to a stake for the N. W. corner of this [303]*303tract an iron rod under fence on the E. side of r^oad; thence E. 1,964 vrs. to the center of Elm Creek for the N. E. corner of this tract; thence up Elm Creek to the beginning, containing 172 acres of land, the same being out of the S. E. Corner of said William Bishop Surrey No. 43 in Taylor County, Texas.”

The land embraced in the decree of partition, the division line as described in the decree, and the land in suit are shown in the following rough sketch, which it is to be understood is not attempted to be drawn according to scale:

Issues were so joined by the pleadings as to give to J. C. Roberts et al. the advantage, if any, of the foregoing facts in the contest with plaintiff of title to the 14.25-acre strip.

Alternative to the cause of action to try title, plaintiff asserted as a cause of action against defendant W. G. Briley that the latter conveyed to plaintiff 172 acres of land, which included the 14.25 acres in suit; that said 14.25 acres were held by said J. O. Roberts et al. by a paramount title to that of plaintiff; that plaintiff’s deed contained a covenant of general warranty of title; that the title had failed, to plaintiff’s damage in the sum of $926.25, for which recovery was prayed.

A further alternative cause- of action was asserted against said W. G. Briley, shown by allegations to the effect that plaintiff purchased the land and paid the consideration therefor based upon the number of acres; that the tract was represented by Briley to contain 172 acres and believed by plaintiff to contain 172 acres, when in fact it contained less than 172 acres by 14.25 acres; that by mutual mistake plaintiff paid for 14.25 acres of the value of $65 per acre, or $926.25, the recovery of which was sought as for money paid by mistake.

The case was tried without a jury and the court adjudged that the plaintiff take nothing against any of the defendants, and that upon a cross-action of the defendants J. C. Roberts et al. said defendants have judgment against the plaintiff, establishing their title to the land in controversy and establishing said agreed line as the common boundary line of the lands owned by the said J. C. Roberts et al. and the plaintiff.

The plaintiff, Hay, has appealed, and asserts, first, that the judgment of the trial court was erroneous because the uncontrovert-ed evidence conclusively showed that defendant Briley executed and delivered the deed to appellant, describing' therein 172 acres of land, and which description included th'e 14.25 acres sued for, which being adjudged to the said J. 0. Roberts et al., and being shown to be of the market value of $65 per acre,- said Briley was liable to appellant upon his covenant of warranty for said sum; and, second (in the alternative), that the un-contradicted evidence showing that appellant and said W. G.

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Bluebook (online)
43 S.W.2d 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hay-v-briley-texapp-1931.