JOHN F. GRANT LUMBER COMPANY v. Bell

302 S.W.2d 714, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1837
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 24, 1957
Docket3309
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 302 S.W.2d 714 (JOHN F. GRANT LUMBER COMPANY v. Bell) 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
JOHN F. GRANT LUMBER COMPANY v. Bell, 302 S.W.2d 714, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1837 (Tex. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinion

GRISSOM, Chief Justice.

A judgment was rendered for John F. Grant Lumber Company, hereafter called Grant, against Fate Bell for $2,490.27 but the court refused to fix a lien against Bell’s property. Grant appealed. On March 25, 1936, that judgment was affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals. See John F. Grant Lumber Co. v. Bell, 96 S.W.2d 666. On October 7, 1936, the Supreme Court dismissed Grant’s petition for writ of error and on October 28, overruled his motion for rehearing. On November 3, 1936, the Supreme Court certified said orders and returned the record and they were filed in the Court of Civil Appeals. On December 15, 1936, an execution for costs was issued by the Court of Civil Appeals and Grant paid same on December 18, 1936. On February 1, 1937, the mandate of the Court of Civil Appeals was issued and delivered to the Clerk of the District Court. On January 30, 1947, more than ten years after the Supreme Court overruled Grant’s motion for rehearing of his application for writ of error and certified and returned the case to the Court of Civil Appeals and more than ten years after Grant could have procured a mandate from the Court of Civil Appeals and an execution from the District Court, the first writ of execution was issued on said judgment. Bell instituted this suit to enjoin the levy of said writ and to remove the cloud cast on his title to real estate. The foregoing facts being agreed to, both parties filed a motion for summary *715 judgment. Bell’s motion was sustained and Grant’s overruled. Grant has appealed.

Article 3773, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St, provides that if no execution is issued within ten years after “rendition” of a judgment it shall become dormant and “no execution shall issue thereon unless such judgment be revived”. Article 5532 provides that if no execution is issued within twelve months after “rendition” of a judgment it may be revived by scire facias or an action of debt “brought thereon within ten years after date of such judgment, and not after.”

Grant contends that since the mandate was not issued by the Court of Civil Appeals until February 1, 1937, and he could not have obtained a writ of execution from the District Court until it received the mandate, the ten year period did not begin to run until the mandate was received by the trial court, and since he caused execution to issue on January 30, 1947, less than ten years after the mandate was filed in the trial court, execution was issued within ten years after “rendition” and “date” of the judgment, within the meaning of said statutes, and his judgment was enforceable. Bell says that if the judgment did not become final on October 28, 1936, when the Supreme Court overruled Grant’s motion for a rehearing of his petition of writ of error, it became final-on November 3, 1936, when the Supreme Court certified its dismissal of the application for writ of error and the cause was returned to and filed in the Court of Civil Appeals. If either the overruling of the motion for rehearing or certification and return of the case to the Court of Civil Appeals constitutes “rendition” or “date” of the judgment within the meaning of said statutes and started the running of said ten year period, Grant’s judgment was not enforceable when execution was issued on January 30, 1947.

The effect of the overruling of Grant’s motion for rehearing of his application for writ of error and certification and return of the Supreme Court’s orders and the case to the Court of Civil Appeals was to leave in effect the judgment of the District Court, affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals. Article 1750. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 502 provides that upon receipt of the mandate of the Supreme Court, the Court of Civil Appeals shall proceed to issue execution. On November 3, 1936, more than ten years before the writ of execution was issued, Grant could have forthwith, by paying the costs adjudged against him, procured issuance of a mandate and execution. R.C.P. 507; Davy Burnt Clay Ballast Co. v. St. Louis S. W. Ry. Co., Tex.Civ.App., 32 S.W.2d 209, Id., 119 Tex. 455, 32 S.W.2d 822 (Writ Ref.) ; Huntress v. State, Tex.Civ.App., 95 S.W.2d 974; R.C.P. 443; R.C.P. 436 and Morris v. McGough, Tex.Civ.App., 290 S. W. 209, 210. Regardless of whether the statutory ten year period began to run against Grant’s judgment when the Supreme Court overruled Grant’s motion for rehearing or when it could have procured a mandate from the Court of Civil Appeals and an execution from the District Court, all those events occurred more than ten years prior to January 30, 1947, when the execution was issued.

Article 3773 and Article 5532 provide for action within ten years after “rendition” and “date”, of a judgment. Neither provides for action within ten years after the mandate is actually filed in the trial court. In Long v. Martin, Tex.Civ.App., 260 S.W. 327 (Dis. W.O.J.), it was correctly held that a party could not delay taking out a mandate after he could have obtained it by ordinary diligence and thus prevent the judgment from coming within said statutes barring its enforcement. In Continental Gin Co. v. Thorndale Mercantile Co., Tex.Com.App., 254 S.W. 939, it was held that the time within which a party was required to act began to run when the judgment became final and was not delayed pending issuance and filing of the mandate. It was there also held that in all events the judgment became final when the time for filing a motion for rehearing of his application for a writ of error expired.

*716 In Rittenberry v. Capitol Hotel Co., Tex.Civ.App., 69 S.W.2d 491 (Writ Ref.), the court construed Article 1867, which is now R.C.P. 445. Said rule provides that when a case has been'remanded, if no mandate is filed in the trial court within one year after the motion for rehearing is overruled or final judgment is rendered, that, upon the filing of a certificate to that effect, the case shall be dismissed. The court held that the judgment became final when the Supreme Court overruled the motion for rehearing of the application for a writ of error. But, it also held that when the clerk improperly withheld the mandate for thirty days while appellant diligently sought its issuance, such delay not being caused by lack of diligence of appellant, the thirty days was not to be counted in determining whether appellant procured a mandate within a year after rendition of final judgment. (This decision can give appellant no' comfort. There was nothing to prevent it from promptly procuring the mandate and execution after its motion for rehearing was overruled on October 28, 1936.) In Fenton v. Farmers’ & Merchants’ National Bank, 27 Tex.Civ.App. 231, 65 S.W. 199 (Writ Ref.), the bank obtained a judgment for land conditioned upon payment within ninety days. It was held that the ninety days began to run when the petition for writ of error was refused. It does not appear that a motion for rehearing was filed. In Davy Burnt Clay Ballast Co. v. St. Louis S. W. Ry. Co., Tex.Civ.App., 32 S.W.2d 209

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Bluebook (online)
302 S.W.2d 714, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-f-grant-lumber-company-v-bell-texapp-1957.