Jones v. Jones

211 S.W.2d 269, 1944 Tex. App. LEXIS 1084
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 8, 1944
DocketNos. 4390, 4393, 4394.
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 211 S.W.2d 269 (Jones v. Jones) 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
Jones v. Jones, 211 S.W.2d 269, 1944 Tex. App. LEXIS 1084 (Tex. Ct. App. 1944).

Opinion

McGILL, Justice.

As indicated by the above captions, this opinion will dispose of what in fact are three separate appeals. All grow out of a divorce suit filed in the 95th Judicial District Cou'rt of Dallas County.

On June 11, 1943, Mrs. Gary A. Jones filed suit against her husband, Gary A. Jones, seeking a divorce, a partition and division of community property, alimony during the pendency of the suit, and a restraining order and injunction to prevent her husband from transferring, mortgaging or otherwise encumbering any of the community property, and from injuring, molesting or annoying her. She also sought the appointment of a receiver to take charge of the property belonging to the parties. A restraining order and injunction as prayed for was issued immediately. It included a “show cause” order, requiring Jones to appear on June 18th before the 68th Judicial District Court of Dallas County to show cause why the temporary restraining order should not be made permanent and the prayer for a receiver and alimony granted. This notice was not served on Jones, and on June 18th the 95th Judicial District Court continued the restraining order and issued a similar “show cause” order returnable June 21st. Notice of this order was served on Jones on Ju'ne 19th. On June 21st the 68th Judicial District Court continued the restraining order .and injunction until further orders, granted alimony of $25, payable before July 1st, :$65 payable July 1st and 15th, and a like amount on the 1st and 15th days of each month thereafter until further order; re.quired Jones to file an inventory of all .community property and to collect the rents on the house at No. 2413 Pennsylvania Street, Dallas, belonging to the community estate and deposit them in a joint .account in the Texas Bank and Trust Company of Dallas in the names of both parties, and prohibited either of them from .making any withdrawals therefrom during .the pendency of the suit. The court did ■.not appoint a neceiver.

Trial of the cause was had. before the court without a jury on August 19, 1943. The court announced his findings as to the disposition of all the properties of the parties and signed notes of such findings on said date. Judgment was rendered September 16th granting Mrs. Jones a divorce, awarding certain community property to each of the parties; finding that it was not necessary to determine whether certain insurance policies were a part of the community estate, and awarding su'ch policies to Jones. Mrs. Jones was allowed an attorney’s fee of $250. Both parties excepted to the judgment and gave notice of appeal.

Mrs. Jones filed motions for a new trial and to reform the judgment to conform with the court’s findings of August 19th, which were overruled on October 7th. She then perfected her appeal.

On October 7th she filed a motion for alimony during the pendency of her appeal and for the appointment of a receiver, alleging that Jones was in possession of all the community property, and that she feared he would waste, dispose of or dissipate it. On November 8th she filed an amended motion seeking to have Jones held in contempt and punished for failure to pay alimony due her. These motions were heard on December 4th. The motion for contempt was overruled. She was granted alimony of $120 per month, $60 payable December 16 and January 2, 1943, and like amounts on the 2nd and 16th days of each month thereafter “Until final disposition of this case on appeal.” A receiver was appointed “to take charge of all the property involved in this case” pending determination of the appeal. Jones excepted to these orders and has perfected separate appeals therefrom.

In our discussion of the points involved we shall deal with each appeal separately.

No. 4390 — Divorce and Division of Property

Mrs. Jones makes no complaint of the judgment insofar as it awarded her a divorce. Summarizing her points, she complains of the action of the court as follows: Failure to award her a one half interest in certain life insurance policies which were admittedly community property, the *272 judgment being contrary to her prayer for relief in this respect; failure to incorporate in the judgment the court’s written finding that “all property of the parties not specifically awarded to either party is hereby adjudged to be owned by plaintiff and defendant in equal shares”; refusal to require defendant to accou'nt for $1975, being one half of the money he paid for a mineral interest in non-producing property after the institution of the suit, or to compensate her for said sum out of defendant’s interest in the community property; awarding to her certain United States Government non-negotiable bonds and tax notes payable to her husband; failure to provide a method or means by which she could obtain possession of the property awarded her; failure to find that certain insurance policies listed in the judgment were community property; decreeing that she should have “the use and benefit as a home” of the house and lot belonging to the community estate, because contrary to her pleadings and prayer; failure to provide a means by which she could enforce payment of attorney’s fees allowed her, and in not providing a reasonable attorney’s fee; in not awarding her recovery of a one half interest in certain “Educational Policies” belonging to the community estate; failure to award her as her separate property all sums deposited in the Texas Bank & Trust Company, being income from the house and lot awarded her by the judgment; the division of the community property, such division being unfair and unjust to her and against the overwhelming weight and preponderance of the evidence, and there being no pleading or prayer on which su'ch division could be predicated; and overruling her motion for contempt.

Viewing the testimony in the light most favorable to appellee, it appears that from June 11th, when the restraining order was issued but not served on him, to June 16th, inclusive, he paid out of community funds $3850 for an undivided one fourth mineral interest in 285.12 acres of land in Coke County. This land was non-productive. There had been some drilling for oil from eight to ten miles therefrom. The purchase was made from a friend of some twenty years standing without investigation. Appellant testified he made the purchase in May, prior to the filing of the su'it, and was obligated to pay the money. During the period from June 11th to June 16th we think it clear that he had knowledge that a suit for divorce had been filed, though perhaps he did not know of its contents. If, prior to the filing of the suit, he had entered into a binding obligation to purchase the property, such obligation was binding on the community estate. He could have satisfied it by payments from community funds even though his purpose in making the payments at the time he did make them was to forestall his wife from preventing him from doing so by a restraining order or injunction. Had he been restrained, it would, nevertheless, have been the duty of the court to provide for satisfaction of such obligation out of the community estate if necessary before making a division thereof. There was no evidence controverting his testimony to effect that he made the purchase in May and became obligated at that time to make payment therefor. Though an interested party, the court was warranted in believing his testimony, and it will be presumed that he did so, if such presumption is necessary to support the judgment.

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Bluebook (online)
211 S.W.2d 269, 1944 Tex. App. LEXIS 1084, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-jones-texapp-1944.