Jackson v. Jackson

524 S.W.2d 308, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2789
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 4, 1975
Docket12204
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 524 S.W.2d 308 (Jackson v. Jackson) 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
Jackson v. Jackson, 524 S.W.2d 308, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2789 (Tex. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

O’QUINN, Justice.

Linda Roma Jackson, appellant, sued Richard Thomas Jackson for divorce, child custody and division of property. After trial before the court, without intervention of a jury, judgment was entered in February of 1974 granting appellant a divorce, appointing managing and possessory conservators for the children, providing child support, and ordering division of the real and personal property.

Appellant brings three points of error under which she contends (1) that she was improperly denied trial by jury, (2) that award of 351.6 acres of land in Caldwell County to appellee as his separate property was not supported by clear and convincing proof, and (3) that it was error to find there was no evidence of probative force that value of the land had been enhanced by contributions from the community estate.

We will overrule the points of error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Appellant filed this lawsuit in November of 1972 and sought, among other remedies, injunctive relief to restrain defendant in several respects. During the next nine months she was before the trial court on various motions, but at no time sought to have the case set for trial on the merits, nor did she make a demand for a jury or pay a jury fee.

On motion of appellee, defendant below, the trial court, on August 9, 1973, set the cause for trial on the non-jury docket for September 6, 1973. Two weeks after the case was set for trial, on August 24, 1973, appellant demanded a jury and paid the jury fee, and the case was placed on the jury docket. Appellee moved to strike the case from the jury docket, and after a hearing the trial court on August 31, 1973, entered an order striking the case from the jury docket.

The court’s order recites that the court heard evidence and argument of counsel, after which the court found that “the facts *310 and allegations contained in said motion to strike are true and correct, and among other things, that there would be no jury available on September 6, 1973, nor during the week of September 3, 1973, nor would a jury be available to hear such case until the first week in December, 1973, thus causing an excessive delay in the trial of said cause and that the demand for a jury and the payment of a jury fee was for the purpose of delaying trial of this cause.”

The transcript does not include appellee’s motion to strike, and evidence adduced at the hearing on the motion has not been brought forward in the statement of facts by appellant.

Appellant relies for reversal upon these provisions of Rule 216, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure:

“No jury trial shall be had in any civil suit, unless application be made therefor and unless a fee of five dollars if in the district court, and three dollars if in the county court, be deposited by the applicant with the clerk to the use of the county on or before appearance day or, if thereafter, a reasonable time before the date set for trial of the cause on the non-jury docket, but not less than ten days in advance.”

Appellant did not demand a jury and pay the fee “on or before appearance day,” but did take this action “not less than ten days in advance” of the date set for trial. In Texas Oil and Gas Corporation v. Vela, 429 S.W.2d 866, 877 (Tex.Sup.1968) the Supreme Court agreed with the holding of the court of civil appeals (405 S.W.2d 68, Tex.Civ.App.) “that a demand made ten days in advance is not necessarily timely as a matter of law,” and that in view of circumstances mentioned by the trial court in that case denial of a jury trial was not error. The trial court had mentioned that a jury was not available, trial would be delayed, and the court’s heavy docket in a district composed of four counties. Even though demand was made ten days in advance of the date of trial, the court of civil appeals held that “these facts support the trial court’s conclusion that the demand was not made a reasonable time in advance of the setting.” (405 S.W.2d 80)

This Court followed Vela in Sylvester v. Griffin, 507 S.W.2d 649, 651 (Tex.Civ.App. Austin 1974, no writ).

In addition to the findings contained in the order, the trial court filed findings of fact and conclusions of law in which the court found that the case had been on file nine months during which time appellant, though before the court on various motions, failed to demand a jury and pay the fee. The court concluded that “demand for a jury was not made within a reasonable time before the date set for trial . . . [and] To have permitted the cause to remain on the jury docket would have unreasonable [sic] delayed the trial . . . [therefore] This cause was properly removed from the jury docket and trial by jury was properly denied.” As already observed, the trial court in its order found that demand for a jury was “for the purpose of delaying trial” of the case.

We find nothing in the record, and appellant has not brought forward either evidence or findings of fact, to refute, or to demonstrate a conflict with, the findings of the trial court upon which the cause was stricken from the jury docket and trial by jury was denied. Appellant has not met the burden to show that the order of the trial court was contrary to law or. that the court’s action was an abuse of discretion. We hold that the trial court did not err but acted within its discretion in striking the cause from the jury docket.

Under the final two points of error appellant contends that the trial court incorrectly found that 351.6 acres of land in Caldwell County is “altogether the separate property of the Appellee,” and that the court erred in finding there was no evidence of probative force that the value of the land “had *311 been enhanced by any contributions by the community estate.”

Appellee contended in the trial and contends on appeal that the 351.6 acres of land is his separate property, received by him in the course of settlement of his deceased father’s estate.

The trial court made and filed findings of fact and conclusions of law in addition to the findings and conclusions contained in the judgment. The court found that “Title and ownership of the . . . [351.6 acres of land] is in Respondent by inheritance from his father and mother and such property is the separate property of Respondent [appellee].” The trial court awarded the land to appellee and “adjudged and decreed . that said 351.6 acres is the sole and separate property of Respondent

When a marriage is dissolved all property possessed by a husband and wife is presumed to be their community property, although this presumption is rebuttable, and the burden is upon the spouse asserting otherwise to prove the contrary by satisfactory evidence. Tarver v. Tarver, 394 S.W.2d 780, 783 (Tex.Sup.1965). The presumption was created by Article 4619, sec. 1, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. (Acts 1959, 56th Leg., p. 881, ch. 404, sec. 1), which was repealed effective January 1, 1970 (Acts 1969, 61st Leg., p. 2707, ch. 888, sec.

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Bluebook (online)
524 S.W.2d 308, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2789, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-jackson-texapp-1975.