Jenkins v. Johnson

311 S.W.2d 503, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1869
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 4, 1958
DocketNo. 7011
StatusPublished

This text of 311 S.W.2d 503 (Jenkins v. Johnson) 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
Jenkins v. Johnson, 311 S.W.2d 503, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1869 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

DAVIS, Justice.

This is a suit over the ownership of a. promissory note and a deed of trust lien given to secure the note. The case was. tried to a jury and judgment was entered in accordance with the answers of the jury to special issues.

The history of the case will be given as-revealed by the record, including both the pleadings and the evidence at the time of trial. On August 29, 1952, and prior thereto, L. B. Jenkins had been lending the money of his sister, Mrs. Donnibel Dodd,, a widow, to several contractors who were engaged in the construction of houses ini two Jenkins Additions to the City of Dain-gerfield. On August 29, 1952, L. B. Jenkins agreed to lend to Galen V. Johnson $6,000 of Mrs. Dodd’s money. A note dated August 29, 1952, for the $6,000 was made payable to L. B. Jenkins and the deed of trust was executed in favor of L. B. Jenkins with L. B. Jenkins, Jr., named as trustee. On August 30, 1952, L. B. Jenkins wrote a check upon the account of Mrs. Dodd, payable to Johnson, in the sum of $6,000, and signed Mrs. Dodd’s name, by him. The check was drawn on Mrs. Dodd’s account in The National Bank of Daingerfield and $6,000 was paid out of Mrs. Dodd’s account at said bank on that date. This loan was for the purpose of constructing a house. The custom was when money was loaned to build a house, the loan was paid when the house was sold. Prior to the time this loan was made, L. B. Jenkins suffered a heart attack and apparently was in poor health until his death on August 14, 1953. On September 1, 1952, Mr. Jenkins wrote on the back of the deed of trust in his own handwriting: “Sept. 1 - 1952 this belongs to Donnibel Dodd. L. B. Jenkins.” After this notation was placed on the deed of trust, the note and deed of trust were delivered by Jenkins to [505]*505Mrs. Dodd. Since then Mrs. Dodd has 'had complete control over the note and •deed of trust, collected all interest due thereon until May 25, 1956. She also permitted the note and deed of trust to he renewed.

L. B. Jenkins died intestate. There was no administration upon his estate and none was necessary. He was survived by two children, viz., L. B. Jenkins, Jr. and Anna Sue Nasits. These children recognizing the fact that the note and deed of trust were actually the property of Mrs. Dodd, did on May 22, 1956, execute an instrument, in which Mrs. Nasits was joined by her husband, conveying to Mrs. Dodd all right, title and interest to which they might have been entitled in and to said note and deed of trust by virtue of being the only heirs of L. B. Jenkins. The instrument was filed for record in the Deed of Trust Records on the same date it was executed.

A purchaser was found for the house and the title to same could not be cleared without a release or transfer from Mrs. Jenkins. She was requested to sign a release, but refused. On February 16, 1957, Mrs. Jenkins filed suit against Johnson upon the note and to foreclose the lien. On April 8, 1957, she filed her first amended original petition in which she alleged that her suit was brought as the surviving partner of herself and L. B. Jenkins, deceased, under the provision of Sec. 160, Probate Code, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.Civ.St.

Johnson answered the suit of Mrs. Jenkins by admitting the execution of the note and deed of trust and impleaded Mrs. Dodd. He set up various dates and sums of money he had paid as interest on the note to Mrs. Dodd. He admitted liability for the note and by way of interpleader tendered the money into court in payment thereof and set out that both Mrs. Jenkins and Mrs. Dodd were then claiming to be the owner of the note and lien, prayed that their dispute be adjudicated, and for an attorney’s fee.

Mrs. Dodd answered the bill of inter-pleader, and by way of cross-action sued Mrs. Jenkins for all right, title and interest to said note and deed of trust. Mrs. Dodd alleged the facts just about as outlined hereinabove. She also filed a cross-action against Johnson and prayed for judgment on the note and foreclosure of her lien.

Among other things pleaded by Mrs. Dodd was that Mr. Jenkins had been her agent for some time prior to his death in making various and sundry loans, and in response to the special issues submitted, without any objection or exception whatever to the Court’s charge from anybody, the jury found that: (1) On August 29, 1952, L. B. Jenkins was acting as the agent of Mrs. Dodd in making real estate loans for her; (2) L. B. Jenkins, in making the loan to Johnson for the $6,000 on August 29, 1952, used monies belonging to Mrs. Dodd; (3) L. B. Jenkins made the loan to Johnson as agent for Mrs. Dodd and for her benefit; (4) Mrs. Dodd is the owner of the note and deed of trust sued upon; and (5) $300 to be a reasonable fee for the attorney of Johnson on his interpleader.

The appellant brings forward two points of error. She complains of the action of the trial court in admitting the testimony of G. V. Johnson and Mrs. Dodd to ¾41 of the facts hereinabove outlined on the ground that it constituted transactions with a dead man and was in violation of the Dead Man’s Statute, Article 3716, V.A.T.C.S.

Appellee Mrs. Dodd by her second counter-point challenges the position taken by appellant and contends that appellant has not sued in any capacity contemplated by the Dead Man’s Statute, Article 3716, but actually sued for what she says is her half of the note and lien as the survivor of the community, not as cm heir, and the inhibition provided by the statute is inapplicable to the case at bar. As heretofore pointed out, L. B. Jenkins died intestate, no administration was pending upon the [506]*506estate and none was necessary. There were no debts due by or to his estate. Mr. Jenkins was survived by two children viz., L. B. Jenkins, Jr., and Anna Sue Nasits. These children, as a matter of law, were the only surviving heirs of L. B. Jenkins, Sr. Ostensibly, Mrs. Jenkins sued as the community survivor of L. B. Jenkins, Sr., deceased. But this suit, without dispute, is one for the recovery of an alleged one-half interest in the note and lien as a result of her community partnership with her deceased husband. Her children having conveyed to Mrs. Dodd any interest to which they might have been entitled as heirs of L. B. Jenkins, Sr., deceased, the only remaining part that could have existed in the note was the half-interest as the community survivor, not as an heir. In fact, Mrs. Jenkins testified: “I sue for my personal part in that deed of trust,” Such being the case, appellee’s counterpoint is well taken. In the case of King v. Morris, Tex.Com.App., 1 S.W.2d 605, opinion expressly approved by the Supreme Court, approves our holding in this case; although, in that case the wife sued in a dual capacity, both as an heir and as survivor. In King v. Morris, Judge Critz discussed the case of Spencer v. Schell, 107 Tex. 44, 173 S.W. 867, and quoted at length from it to show the difference between the application of the statute as to an heir and a survivor of the community partnership. He also discussed the case of Harris v. Warlick, Tex.Civ.App., 42 S.W. 356, and Evans v. Scott, Tex.Civ. App., 97 S.W. 116, and pointed out that even where heirs were parties to a suit of this character along with the surviving partner, testimony prohibited by the Dead Man’s Statute would still be admissible against the survivor and on proper objection should be so limited. To the same effect is the holding in Hartman v. Costales, Tex.Civ.App., 145 S.W.2d 603

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Leahy v. Timon
215 S.W. 951 (Texas Supreme Court, 1919)
Spencer v. Schell
173 S.W. 867 (Texas Supreme Court, 1915)
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Bluebook (online)
311 S.W.2d 503, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 1869, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jenkins-v-johnson-texapp-1958.