Kyle v. Higginbotham

288 S.W. 572
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 10, 1926
DocketNo. 7022. [fn*]
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 288 S.W. 572 (Kyle v. Higginbotham) 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
Kyle v. Higginbotham, 288 S.W. 572 (Tex. Ct. App. 1926).

Opinion

BLAIR, J.

The principal question presented by this appeal is whether the trial court erred in sustaining a general demurrer to appellant’s petition and dismissing the suit upon her refusal to amend. Her amended petition, on which the trial was had, alleged, in substance, that on October 1, 1914, appel-lees conveyed to George F. Kyle by three separate warranty deeds three tracts of land, aggregating about 235 acres, in Eastland county, Tex.; that Kyle gave notes, aggregating $11,000, in part payment of the land; that Kyle’s attorney refused to approve or pass the titles to the land as well vested in appel-leés, and that they could not furnish Kyle a good and marketable record title as they were obligated to do; that, as an inducement to Kyle to accept the deeds and deliver his notes, appellees executed and delivered to Kyle their personal bond, on February 17, 1915, in the sum of $5,000, conditioned that they would diligently proceed at their own expense to perfect the title to the extent that the abstract and records thereof would disclose a good and merchantable title in Kyle, subject only to -the purchase-money notes, within six months, if suits were not required, and within two years, if suits were required; that Kyle, relying upon the representations and the assurance of the bond, accepted the deeds and delivered his said notes to appel-lees; that Kyle died in 1916, leáving his estate to his widow, Mrs. G. F. Kyle, the appellant, who, in 1919 undertook to and did contract to sell to a certain named party an oil and gas lease on one tract of the land for the sum of $4,500 in cash; that the purchaser’s attorney refused to pass or approve appellant’s title because of defects, which the bond obligated appellees to perfect and which' defects were specially pleaded; that, although appellees had represented to Kyle that they had perfected the titles, it developed at the time of the sale of the oil and gas lease that they had done practically nothing towards fulfilling their bond obligations; *573 and that because of such nonperformance appellant had lost the proceeds of the sale of the oil and gas lease to her damages in the sum of $4,500, for which she prayed judgment; and, further, that the $4,500 be applied in cancellation of the purchase-money notes held by appellees; and for general relief.

Appellees filed an answer which consisted of a general demurrer, several special exceptions, and a cross-action against appellant upon all the unpaid notes given as purchase money for the land, and for a foreclosure of the purchase-money lien securing them.

By supplemental petition, appellant alleged that three of the purchase-money notes were due October 1, 1921; that before their maturity, as was her custom in former years without objection, she sent appellees her check in payment of these notes and interest, which appellees returned to her, with the statement that the check was not legal fender; whereupon she made legal tender, but appellees refused it upon the ground that it came too late, since they had declared all notes due and payable under the acceleration of payment clause, and had placed them in the hands of attorneys for collection and for foreclosure of the lien securing them, which would • be done unless this suit was abandoned by appellant; that she did not dismiss the suit; and that by reason of the nonperformance of the bond obligations by appellees the consideration for the notes had failed to the extent of her damages under the bond; and she prayed that the unpaid notes be canceled to that extent, and tendered payment of any balance due on the notes.

Thereafter, on January 7, 1924, appellees took a nonsuit on their cross-actio» on the purchase-money notes, over the protest and objection of appellant. Appellant then amended her original petition, but not her supplemental petition, and, in addition to the matters pleaded as hereinbefore set out, alleged in the alternative that, by reason of the failure of consideration of the unpaid notes to the extent of her damages for nonperformance of the bond, a cloud was cast upon her title, which she prayed be removed by a cancellation of said notes to the extent of her damages.

Appellees filed an amended answer, consisting of a general demurrer and several special exceptions, but omitted therefrom their cross-action on the purchase-money notes.

A hearing was had September 30, 1924, and appellees’ general demurrer and. several of their special exceptions were sustained, and appellant’s suit dismissed. But, since the general demurrer to appellant’s petition was sustained, the sustaining of what are designated special exceptions becomes immaterial. However, some of them are but general demurrers to particular theories or grounds upon which appellant sought judgment and will be so considered. Gin Co. v. Bank (Tex. Civ. App.) 279 S. W. 886.

The trial court sustained the general demurrer, or the several gener.al demurrers, upon the following grounds:

(1) That Kyle purchased the land and accepted the deeds and the bond sued upon with full knowledge of the alleged defects in title.

(2) That the petition did not allege failure of title, in whole or in part, to any of the three tracts of land.

(3) That no fatal or material defects in titles were alleged, but mere conclusions of law unsupported by any particular facts.

(4) That the petition negatives the fact that either Kyle or appellant had been evicted from the land.

(5) That appellant did not ask for a rescission.

(6) That the petition seeks a recovery on the bond for. damages alleged to have been sustained for the loss of the sale of an oil and gas lease on the 224-acre tract; that there was no allegation that the land was sold as oil bearing, or on a representation that it was oil bearing, or that it was within the contemplation of the parties that the purchaser or his successor in title would attempt to sell an oil and gas lease thereon; and that the damages sought are special damages, too remote and speculative, and represent a loss of profit sustained on a collateral contract subsequently made affecting a matter not within the knowledge or contemplation of the parties to the original contract of sale or bond.

(7) That the petition did not allege that appellant endeavored to prevent or minimize her damages by suing the purchaser of the oil and gas lease for specific performance of his contract or for damages for a breach thereof.

Neither ground upon which the action of the trial court is based is sustained.

In sustaining the general demurrer to the petition, the court necessarily tobk the view that the collateral contract and bond, upon which appellant sued, added nothing to the general covenants of warranty in the deeds conveying the land to her predecessor in title, and that therefore the rules with reference to pleadings in suits upon general covenants of warranty in deeds should apply. That is, with reference to grounds 1 to 5, both inclusive, the court held that, since the three deeds conveyed Kyle the land by general covenants of warranty and were executed contracts, before appellant could resist the payment of the purchase-money notes because of defects in.the title, she must allege that she was ignorant of such defects at the time of the execution and delivery of the deeds, that the titles were wholly defee- *574

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Related

Higginbotham v. Kyle
294 S.W. 531 (Texas Commission of Appeals, 1927)
First State Bank of Terrell v. Riddle
289 S.W. 199 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1926)

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Bluebook (online)
288 S.W. 572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kyle-v-higginbotham-texapp-1926.