Hemphill County v. Adams

416 S.W.2d 855, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2492
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 22, 1967
DocketNo. 7613
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 416 S.W.2d 855 (Hemphill County v. Adams) 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
Hemphill County v. Adams, 416 S.W.2d 855, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2492 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

CHAPMAN, Justice.

The Supreme Court of Texas in a Per Curiam opinion1 properly reversed this court wherein we affirmed the trial court. The latter court overruled the motion for summary judgment of appellant, Hemphill County, and appellee, Lawyers Surety Corporation. Then after a day and a half of testimony before a jury, dismissed the jury and held the case of plaintiff, Hemphill County, was barred under the two-year statute of limitation.

The action filed by the county attorney of Hemphill County was for conversion of personal property but “Title 91-Limitations * * * 1. Limitations of Actions for Lands,” Volume 16. Vernon’s Ann.Tex. Civ.St., Article 5517 (whether intentional or not) provides: “The right of the State, all counties, incorporated cities and all school districts shall not be barred by any of the provisions of this Title, * * As we now are aware, Article 5526 in Volume 16A is also part of Title 91. Both the trial court and our court overlooked Article 5517 indexed under “Limitations, Actions for Lands.” We assume appellant’s counsel likewise did so, for no briefs called such statute to our attention. Since Article 5526 having to do with suits for conversion of personal property also comes under Title 91, Limitations, and this is a suit for conversion, it follows that no limitation runs against Hemphill County.

The Court of Civil Appeals of Eastland in Hemphill County v. Adams, 390 S.W.2d 546 (1965) in passing upon a summary judgment granted by the court for defendants, Harry Rathjen and Walter Adams, held there are clearly fact issues to be decided in the case. We agree, since limitation does not apply.

The trial of the case was subsequently started before a jury and before the testimony was completed dismissed by the trial judge upon two theories; i. e., (1) limitation, and (2) that the judge of said court was “convinced that the county attorney of Hemphill County filed this case on his own motion and without the consent or authority of the commissioners’ court of Hemphill County, Texas, and that for each of said reasons said cause should be dismissed.” Since the order of dismissal assumes the county attorney is without authority to file a suit in the absence of consent or authority of the Commissioners’ Court of the county, we are squarely presented with the question as to whether as a matter of law he was without such authority on his own without [857]*857the consent of the Commissioners’ Court. We meet the question headon.

Article 5, Section 1 of the Constitution of Texas, Vernon’s Ann.St., as amended 1891, established Commissioners’ Courts. Article 5, Section 18 thereof provides, with respect to the duties of said court, as follows:

“Each county shall in like manner be divided into four commissioners precincts in each of which there shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof one County Commissioner, who shall hold his office for four years and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. The County Commissioners so chosen, with the County Judge as presiding officer, shall compose the County Commissioners Court, which shall exercise such powers and jurisdiction over all county business, as is conferred by this Constitution and the laws of the State, or as may be hereafter prescribed.”

The Supreme Court of Texas in 1883 in Looscan v. County of Harris, 58 Tex. 511, held:

“The commissioners’ court, presided over by the county judge, is virtually a council vested with power to manage and direct all such material and financial interests of the county as the laws of the state have confided to its jurisdiction. The management of the financial affairs of the county have always heretofore been vested in tribunals which have existed at different times under various names and designations, such as county court, commissioners’ court, etc.; they have, however, all been clothed with similar powers, and like duties have been imposed upon them. The commissioners’ court undoubtedly has the right to cause suits to be instituted in the name of and for the benefit of the county, and except where a concurrent right to do the same thing, or ■where an exclusive right in a specified case or cases is conferred upon some other tribunal or some other officer of the government, the commissioners’ court must be deemed to be the quasi executive head of the county, vested with exclusive power to determine when a suit shall be instituted in the name of and for the benefit of the county.” (Emphasis added.)

The Court then spelled out in detail the evils that in many instances would occur to a county if any official other than the Commissioners’ Court had the authority to make decisions concerning the filing of law suits; i. e., judgments conclusive against the county to its financial embarrassment and against which the official guardians of the county’s interest in financial matters would be rendered impotent to protect.

The only statute with which we are familiar that would give the county attorney the authority to make the decision for the county as to whether it would seek to recover the proceeds from two jeeps sold by Harry Rathjen after title had been transferred to him when he was no longer a county official or a member of the Civil Defense Council is Article 339, V.T.C.S. That statute provides that if a county attorney has knowledge “ * * * that any officer in his * * * county entrusted with the collection or safe keeping of any public funds is in any manner whatsoever abusing the trust confided in him, or in any way failing to discharge his duties under the law, he shall institute such proceedings as are necessary to compel the performance of such duties by such officer and to preserve and protect the public interests.”

On February 9, 1959, Hemphill County established a Civil Defense unit and ap-pellee Harry Rathjen, then its sheriff, was appointed Director. Acquisition of various types of property was made by Mr. Rathjen from Texas Surplus Property Agency of Lubbock. The director paid his own funds to the Lubbock agency out of his individual bank account for the handling charges incident to such acquisition. Hemphill County Commissioners requisitioned through Rath-jen certain items for various precincts and the director was reimbursed by the county. Among the many items acquired by the [858]*858Civil Defense unit through its director, Rathjen, were two jeeps. The machines were not operational and he expended approximately $1,105.52 to place them in working order, paying for such repairs out of his personal bank account.

The stated reasons for the acquisition of the jeeps were for disasters such as tornadoes and prairie fires. However, ranchers of the county during the interim purchased a four-wheel drive heavy-duty pickup. The county-owned two-way radio was installed therein rather than in one of the jeeps as Rathjen had intended. The jeeps then became of no value so far as the original intended purpose relating to their acquisition, were never used for such purposes, and were rarely used for any purpose during the time Rathjen was sheriff and director of the Civil Defense unit of the county. The testimony shows that at or about the time he was appointed postmaster he offered the jeeps to the county for the amount he had expended on them and the county speaking through its County Judge, was not interested. As above stated he later sold them, receiving less money for them than he had personally expended in order to make them operational.

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Related

Driscoll v. Harris County Commissioners Court
688 S.W.2d 569 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
416 S.W.2d 855, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2492, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hemphill-county-v-adams-texapp-1967.