Izard v. Townsend

208 S.W.2d 666, 1948 Tex. App. LEXIS 983
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 5, 1948·No. No. 11958·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

CODY, Justice.

This is an appeal from the action of the court below granting a temporary injunction against the defendant (appellant here), pending the hearing on the merits of the suit, which was one for partition by plaintiffs against defendant. By its terms, the temporary injunction enjoined defendant from selling or offering for sale two sorts [667] ■of property: (1) Any cattle bearing certain specified brands, or their offspring; (2) any real estate in the State of Texas which was acquired by defendant with the proceeds from the sale of cattle bearing said brands.

Prior to the hearing at which the court so granted the temporary injunction, the court, ex parte, granted a temporary restraining order against defendant selling, pending the hearing on the temporary injunction, cattle bearing the stated brands.

As stated above, this is a suit for partition. The plaintiffs sued as heirs of D. P. Izard, deceased, against defendant as the remaining heir of the said D. P. Izard, other than plaintiffs. Stated broadly, the theory of plaintiffs’ suit is: That D. P. Izard and defendant jointly owned cattle of the approximate value of $115,000 at the time D. P. Izard died intestate. That thereupon the plaintiffs became the owners of an undivided %ths interest, and the defendant the owner of an undivided %ths interest in said cattle. That defendant, with the purpose of depriving plaintiffs of their rights in the cattle, was selling them off. That defendant, with the proceeds of some of the cattle he had so sold, had purchased certain real estate. The purpose of the temporary injunction was to prevent the sale of any cattle pending the trial of the case on the merits.

Defendant predicates his appeal upon nine points, the first two of which are to the effect that it was a fundamental and jurisdictional requirement, in order that plaintiffs show a right, as heirs, to bring this suit, that they plead and prove there was no necessity for an administration on the estate of D. P. Izard who, according to plaintiffs’ own allegations, had died intestate less than a year before this suit was filed.

Plaintiffs alleged in their petition that the plaintiffs and defendant were the children, and the sole surviving heirs, of D. P. Izard; that their said father “had died intestate in the County of Waller less than a year ago and that no administration had been had on the estate of the said D. P. Izard, deceased; that there is no representative qualified to act and the interest of the estate requires immediate action, as will hereinafter be more fully shown.” Then follow allegations in support of the allegation “and the interest of the estate requires immediate action.” It will be noted that plaintiffs’ petition contains no allegation to the effect that there was no necessity for an administration on the estate of D. P. Izard, deceased.

We overrule defendant’s first two points. By said points, defendant seeks to invoke, as against the right of plaintiffs to maintain this suit as the heirs of D. P. Izard, the rule which is well settled in this State that, “before heirs, as such, can maintain a suit to recover a chose in action or other property which has descended to them, within the period allowed by law for the taking out of an administration, they must plead and prove facts entitling them to prosecute the action, and, in the event the suit is brought within the four-year period allowed by law for an administration, they must plead and prove that there is no administration pending and none necessary. A petition that fails to affirmatively allege these facts is fatally defective and subject to a general demurrer.” Youngs v. Youngs, Tex.Com.App., 26 S.W.2d 191, 193, and authorities there cited.

It has, we believe, never been held that the courts were without jurisdiction to render judgment in a suit brought by heirs, as such, merely because they did not 'allege there was no necessity for administration on their ancestor’s estate. At most such a petition was but subject to a general demurrer, as appears from Youngs v. Youngs, supra. Indeed, in the case of Fowler v. Roden, 129 Tex. 599, 105 S.W. 2d 187, 189, the contention was made that the judgment rendered therein was void because the court was without jurisdiction to render judgment where the suit was by the heirs as such, and there was no allegation that there was no necessity for administration. In that case the court held: “In the absence of a plea in abatement, or special exceptions * * * the trial court had jurisdiction to render the judgment in question against her.”

[668] But general demurrers have been abrogated in our practice by the adoption of Rule 90, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. This Court held in Texas Osage Co-Op. Royalty Pool v. Kemper, Tex.Civ.App., 170 S.W.2d 849, 852, writ refused, speaking through Chief Justice Monteith, that Rule 90 “indicates an intent on the part of the rule makers and the State Legislature to simplify our trial procedure by providing that defects of form or substance in a pleading will be deemed to have been waived where they have not been raised by exception or objection in the trial court.” We do not see how defendant can now raise any objection to the pleadings which, by law he must be taken to have waived in the trial court. In a word, in order to invoke the rule stated in Youngs v. Youngs, under our present practice rules, defendant should have urged his objections to plaintiffs’ pleadings as being insufficient in the trial court.

However, it is made clear by plaintiffs’ allegations they were relying on their right to bring süit as heirs, on another exception to the general rule that a suit on causes of action relating to the estate of a decedent must be prosecuted by the personal representative, and not by the heirs, devisees or legatees. The exceptions to such general rule are as well settled as the rule itself. “In the following instances it has been held that the heirs, devisees or legatees may sue alone: (1) where no administration is pending and none is necessary; * * * (4) where the interest of the estate requires immediate action and there is no representative qualified to act; * * * .” 14 Tex.Jur., 300. The boiled down substance of plaintiffs’ allegations seeking to bring their suit within the above numbered exception (4) to the general rule is as follows:

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Izard v. Townsend, 208 S.W.2d 666, 1948 Tex. App. LEXIS 983 (Tex. Ct. App. 1948).

208 S.W.2d 666 (Izard v. Townsend) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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