Huffman v. Cox

315 S.W.2d 319, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2148
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 2, 1958
DocketNo. 10593
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 315 S.W.2d 319 (Huffman v. Cox) 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
Huffman v. Cox, 315 S.W.2d 319, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2148 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

ARCHER, Chief Justice.

This is a suit by a broker for a commission on the sale of a Management Contract with a mutual life insurance company. The trial was before a jury and submitted on Special Issues. The Trial Court rendered judgment that the plaintiff take nothing.

The appeal is founded on two points:

Point One: The Court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for judgment and in entering a take nothing judgment, and to which Point One five subparagraphs are added and are to the effect that appellant is entitled to a judgment for $5,000 based on the answers of the jury to issues 1, 2, 3 and 5; that the evidence establishes that appellant, on the day following the agency contract contacted O. L. McFaddin as a buyer and who purchased the Manager’s Contract; and that the jury found that appellant was the procuring cause of the sale within the five day time limit, or entitled to judgment without regard to the time limit.

Point Two: The Court erred in not setting aside the jury’s answer to issue No. 4, denying any recovery of attorney’s fees.

Appellant is engaged in the sale of Insurance Charters, Companies, and Management Contracts, and has been for a number of years, during which time he has sold some one hundred companies; and has a system of contacting prospective buyers and a medium of advertising companies listed with him for sale.

Appellee was the owner of a General Manager’s Contract. On several occasions prior to October 31, 1956, appellee had sought to sell his contract through appellant. On October 30, 1956, appellant wrote appellee inquiring if the contract was still for sale.

On October 31, 1956, by a telephone call, according to appellant, appellee said that his contract was for sale and that he would take $10,000 net to him, all over that amount going to appellant as a commission. Appellant told appellee that he would set a price of $15,000 for the sale of the contract.

According to appellee’s version, he called appellant and listed the contract for five days to expire at 5 o’clock at the close of business on November 5, 1956; that he had a deadline on some notes for borrowed money; that the company was worth $25,000 but that if a sale could be made in five days he would take $10,000 net.

Appellant wrote a number of prospects, one of whom was O. L. McFaddin of Luf-kin, Texas. McFaddin came to see appellant in Austin on November 6, 1956, concerning the listing but appellant was in Alpine where McFaddin ’phoned him expressing a desire to purchase the contract. Appellant told McFaddin to contact appellee which he did by ’phone in San Marcos, and a meeting was had between McFaddin and appellee in Austin, and appellee told McFaddin that he would take $15,000 for the contract.

McFaddin returned to Lufkin and had one of his associates go to San Marcos to make an audit and investigation, and later sent some more of his men to close the deal, and the deal was closed, Mc-Faddin paying appellee $4,500 on December 10, 1956, $8,000 on December 26, 1956 and $2,500 on March 14, 1957.

On November 16, 1956, appellant wrote appellee requesting information as to what results had been accomplished by appellant’s efforts to that date, and in reply appellee stated that as a result of appellant’s efforts an offer to trade an equity in a farm at Colorado City for the contract was made, which offer had been refused.

Early in January, 1957, appellant learned that the contract had been sold to McFad-din, and in verifying this, called McFaddin and was told by him that he had bought the contract.

On January 5, 1957, appellant wrote ap-pellee, reciting events and activities in con[321]*321nection with the sale of the contract, and made demand for his part of the consideration.

On March 25, 1957, appellee wrote the following letter to appellant:

“Mr. Calvin C. Huffman
“Austin, Texas
“Dear Cal:
“I have a check in my pocket which is supposed to represent the final transaction, however I will not cash it until I have secured certain releases which are now being prepared.
“I will call on you as soon as I have these.
“Sincerely,
“/s/ John T. Cox
“John T. Cox”

On April 25, 1957, appellee sent appellant a letter enclosing a check for $344.46 and reciting the details of the sale, such amount being 5% of $6,889.20, as a full and final commission on the sale of National Military Mutual Life Insurance Company. The letter is as follows:

“San Marcos, Texas
“April 25, 1957
“Mr. Calvin C. Huffman
“1015 Brazos St.
“Austin, Texas
“RE: Net Sale National
"Military Mutual
“Life Ins. Co.
“Dear Cal:
“Total received from O. L. McFadden to clear company assets with balance as purchase price of net business.
“$16,100.00 Total Gross
9,210.80 Spent for Company to prove assets
6,889.20 net sale price.
$6,889.20 net sale price . 5%
$ 344.46 Check enclosed
“Thanks Cal.
“s/s John T. Cox
“I hope to be in Market for a small company about August 1, 1957 and we will call you.
“John T.
“John:
“This was not the agreement. Better come over and talk to me about it before the deadline. Bring your check book.
“Cal Huffman.”

There was a notation on the check “For full and final commission on sale of Nat. Mil. Mut. Life Ins. Co.”

It may be observed that in none of ap-pellee’s correspondence with appellant did appellee contend that he did not owe the commission because of the five day limitation.

■ Appellant testified that Mr. Cox employed him to set this company up, to organize it in 1949, and detailed the plans for the organization of the company, and the listing of the company for sale on October 31,. 1956, and the subsequent sale; that he had not been paid and had employed attorneys to collect the money, and had agreed to pay them a reasonable fee; that a fee of $2,500 would be a total fee.

The witness testified further:

“Q. Mr. Huffman, at the time Mr. Cox called you listing this Company for sale, did he give you a 5-day limitation for the sale of this Company?
■ “A. No. Mr. Cox did not give me a 5-day limitation.”

The witness testified that the first time he heard of the five day limitation period was in January, 1957, after the company had been sold and that he would not have accepted the agency under any such indefinite commitment.

O. L.

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Related

Flagg Realtors, Inc. v. Harvel
509 S.W.2d 885 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1974)
Cox v. Huffman
319 S.W.2d 295 (Texas Supreme Court, 1958)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
315 S.W.2d 319, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/huffman-v-cox-texapp-1958.