Howard v. Bolin Warehouses, Inc.

422 S.W.2d 489, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2631
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 5, 1967
Docket7864
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 422 S.W.2d 489 (Howard v. Bolin Warehouses, Inc.) 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
Howard v. Bolin Warehouses, Inc., 422 S.W.2d 489, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2631 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

FANNING, Justice.

Bolin Warehouses, Inc., as plaintiff, sued C. E. Howard and other members of his family, including his wife, daughter and son-in-law, as defendants, for the recovery of indebtedness owed Bolin by Howard by reason of advances to Howard by Bolin for the purchase of grain and cottonseed during the 1964 crop year in the vicinity of Leonard, Texas, where Howard was in the grain business. Bolin Warehouses, Inc., appellee, was also engaged in the grain business at Wichita Falls and other cities and the financing by Bolin of Howard and the consequential obligations of Howard to Bolin arose pursuant to a written letter agreement between the parties dated July 10, 1964.

The joinder of the wife, daughter and son-in-law of Howard in the action was based upon allegations that certain conveyances of realty and/or gifts of personalty made to such parties by Howard had been in fraud of creditors and, accordingly, should be set aside.

Trial to a jury resulted in a verdict favorable to plaintiff and judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff and against the defendant, C. E. Howard, in the amount of $64,039.50. In addition, such judgment set aside the conveyances and/or gifts to the other parties defendant and plaintiff was granted a writ of possession for such properties.

Defendants’ First Amended Motion for New Trial was overruled and defendants-appellants have appealed.

Appellants, by their 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, and 15th points, contend to the effect that there was no evidence and insufficient evidence to support the verdict of the jury, that such verdict was contrary to the great weight and preponderance of the evidence, etc., that the trial court erred in not directing a verdict for defendants upon the ground that plaintiff had failed to prove either of its causes of action, and that the court erred in entering judgment upon the jury’s answer to special issue No. 1 in arriving at the figure therein because such amount or figure was incomprehensible in the face of the pleadings, evidence and other findings. Appellants, by their 14th point, contend that the trial court erred in failing to deduct the sum found by the jury under special issues 13 and 14 from the sum found by the jury in response to special issue 1. Appellants, by their 16th point, contend to the effect that the trial court erred in failing to give effect to the jury’s answer to issue 8 to the effect that the contract in suit was usurious.

*491 The jury in response to special issues submitted found to the effect: (1) The amount of money due and owing to Bolin by C. E. Howard, after the allowance of credit for all payments made by him and sales of cottonseed and corn made by Bolin was $64,039.50; (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) & (7), that the listed conveyances and gifts in question from C. E. Howard to his daughter and son-in-law, defendants, were made with the intent to defraud the creditors of C. E. Howard, and that at the times of said conveyances and gifts, defendant C. E. Howard was not possessed of property, within this state and subject to execution, sufficient to pay his then existing debts; (8) that the agreement between defendant C. E. Howard and plaintiff Bolin provided, either directly or indirectly, for interest in excess of 10% per annum; (9) that J. D. Farrier did not remove any grain belonging to defendant C. E. Howard from a Trenton warehouse without the knowledge and consent of defendant C. E. Howard, in December, 1964, and January, 1965; issues 10, 11 and 12 were not answered by reason of the jury’s negative answer to issue 9; (13) that the fair market values in Fannin County, Texas, of cottonseed removed by plaintiff Bolin to Wichita Falls, Texas, at the time of removal was $8,086.36, and (14) that such value of ear corn removed by Bolin to Wichita Falls, Texas, at the time of removal was $4,208.33.

The letter contract of July 10, 1964, between plaintiff Bolin and defendant C. E. Howard, is found below. 1 Under this con *492 tract Bolin was to advance to Howard money for the purchase of grain. Such money was to be repaid when the grain was sold, together with 6% interest, and the plaintiff was to receive as its share of the profit therefrom 1(⅛ per hundredweight or bushel.

It was undisputed that pursuant to such agreement plaintiff advanced $105,105.53 to defendant C. E. Howard. Defendant C. E. Howard admitted that only $52,286.84 thereof was repaid. It was also undisputed in the evidence that none of the grain supposedly purchased by defendant C. E. Howard was on hand in the possession of Howard at the time of the trial.

Plaintiff’s exhibit 2 was a compilation made by plaintiff’s office manager accountant reflecting the advances to the defendant, with interest charged therefor from the date of such advances and crediting all repayments made by Howard. According to this statement of the account, which was not challenged to much extent by Howard, and which was not demonstrated to be incorrect by the defendant C. E. Howard, the sum of $68,448.69 was owed the plaintiff by the defendant as of the date of trial, after allowing all proper payments and legal offsets. This testimony would have supported a jury verdict in the amount of $68,448.69. The jury in response to issue 1 found the amount due and owing to Bolin by C. E. Howard, (after allowing credit for all payments made by Howard and credit for sales of cottonseed and corn made by Bolin) was $64,039.50. We find that there was ample evidence of probative force to support the jury’s finding to special issue No. 1, that the evidence to support such finding was sufficient and that the jury’s finding to special issue No. 1 was not so contrary to the great weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be clearly wrong and manifestly unjust. We also hold that there was ample evidence to support the jury’s findings to special issues 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, that the same was sufficient, and that such findings were not so contrary to the great weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be clearly wrong and manifestly unjust. Appellants’ points 8, 9, 10, 11 and 15 are overruled.

We also hold that the trial court did not err in failing to deduct the sums found by the jury in response to special issues 13 and 14 from the amount of the judgment rendered by the trial court. Appellants in their brief do not adequately set out the facts with respect to the complaints they make of the answers of the jury to special issues 13 and 14 as raised by their 14th point of error. However, the facts are briefly as follows: Plaintiff’s witness, Hamilton, testified that a quantity of cottonseed and corn was moved from defendant’s place of business in Leonard, Texas, to plaintiff’s warehouse in Wichita Falls. The weight tickets of these loads of cottonseed were introduced and the dates of delivery shown. Hamilton testified that a portion of the cottonseed was sold (credit was given on C. E. Howard’s account for the cottonseed sold) and the balance which was not sold was still on hand in plaintiff’s warehouse. No weight tickets were available for the three loads of corn so moved but a portion thereof had been sold (and C. E. Howard was given credit on his account for the corn sold) and the balance of such corn not sold was on hand in plaintiff’s warehouse. It was undisputed that appellant C. E. Howard was given credit on his account for the cottonseed and corn sold by plaintiff. Defendant C. E.

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422 S.W.2d 489, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2631, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-v-bolin-warehouses-inc-texapp-1967.