Johnson v. Johnson

118 S.W.2d 338, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 655
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 3, 1938·No. No. 5208.·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

HALL, Justice.

This suit was instituted by appellant, an insane person, by and through her son, *339 J. W. Tyiska, who was her legal guardian appointed in 1933, against Tom-Johnson, A. M. Wallace, J. J. Waggoner, and W. P. Hardeman, to cancel a mineral deed executed December 3, 1931, by appellant, Harriet Tyiska Johnson, and another in favor of A. M. Wallace and J. J. Waggoner covering ¾2 undivided interest in the minerals in and under 109 acres of land located in Smith County, Texas. Appellant alleged that on the date the mineral deed was executed Harriet Tyiska Johnson was a person of unsound mind; that appellees were guilty of fraud in procuring said deed; and that there was no consideration paid therefor. The petition was verified. Appellees answered by general denial and plea of not guilty, and by way of cross action alleged an action of trespass to try title. Trial was to a jury on one special issue making inquiry respecting the soundness of appellant’s mind on the date the mineral deed was executed. The jury answered that the appellant’s mind was not unsound on said date, and judgment was accordingly entered for appellees.

Appellant’s first assignment of error is:

“The trial court erred in excluding the testimony of George Cole, Loys Arnold, and Lula Jackson, or of any one of them, who would have testified to the acts and conduct of plaintiff, (appellant) Harriet Tyiska Johnson, as, in their opinion, led them to believe that she was a person of unsound mind on December 3, 1931, and on the day of the trial.”

These witnesses testified to certain conversations had with Harriet Tyiska Johnson as well as acts and conduct on her part shortly before December 3, 1931, but they-were not permitted by the court to express an opinion respecting the unsoundness of appellant’s mind. The record contains no bill of exception showing what the answer of the witnesses would have been, nor does the statement of facts contain what such answer would have been. In this state of the record we can not review and determine the correctness of the trial court’s ruling on the testimony offered. In Joy v. Craig, 94 S.W.2d 524, opinion by Judge Martin of the Amarillo Court of Civil Appeals, now of the Commission of Appeals, it is said (page 526):

“Exception was reserved to the action of the trial court in refusing to permit a witness to answer a hypothetical question. There is no showing in the record as to what the answer of the witness to the question would have been. Without this we are unable to review the assignment raising this question.” Carter v. Green, Tex.Civ.App., 64 S.W.2d 1069, writ refused; Missouri, K. & T. Ry. Co. v. Neiser, 54 Tex.Civ.App. 460, 118 S.W. 166. For full collation of authorities see 3 Texas Digest, Appeal and Error, (1).

Appellant also assigns as error the action of the trial court “in admitting the testimony of defendants’ (appellees’) lay witnesses and permitting them to testify that the plaintiff, Harriet Tyiska Johnson, was of sound mind without first having laid the premises as to her acts and statements prior to and on December 3, 1931.” The record reveals that no exception was reserved to the action of the court in permitting appellees’ witnesses to testify ' that Harriet Tyiska Johnson was of sound mind. True it is, objection was made at the time the evidence of two of the witnesses was given on the trial, but no exception was reserved to its admission. It is absolutely necessary to not only object to the admission of harmful testimony, but also to except to the action of the trial court in permitting its introduction in order to present the error, if any, on appeal. Olcott v. Squires, Tex.Civ.App., 144 S.W. 314, writ refused; Hayes v. Groesbeck, Tex.Civ.App., 146 S.W. 327, writ refused; Dyer v. Pierce, Tex.Civ.App., 60 S.W. 441. However, we have carefully examined the testimony of these witnesses, especially with respect to their acquaintance and association with appellant prior to the date of the execution of the mineral deed in controversy, and conclude that the trial court did not err in permitting them to state their opinion relative to her sanity. This assignment is therefore overruled.

Appellant next complains of the action of the trial court in refusing to submit to the jury the requested issues relating to failure of consideration for the royalty deed sought to be cancelled, and fraud in its procurement. The evidence in the record wholly fails to establish either failure of consideration or fraud, and for this reason the court was not required to submit said issues to the jury. The contention, however, is made by appellant with respect to the issue of failure of consideration that appellant having by verified pleading alleged failure of consideration, the burden shifted to appellees to establish that the royalty deed was supported by a valuable consideration. We do not understand this to be the rule. The-office of the verified petition attacking the consideration of the mineral *340 deed was to permit the introduction of evidence on that issue and not to shift the burden of proof to appellees to establish a consideration for same. Newton v. Newton, 77 Tex. 508, 14 S.W. 157; R.C.S. Art. 2010, Sec. 10. This assignment is overruled.

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Johnson v. Johnson, 118 S.W.2d 338, 1938 Tex. App. LEXIS 655 (Tex. Ct. App. 1938).

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