Langford v. Newsom

220 S.W. 544, 1920 Tex. App. LEXIS 363
CourtTexas Commission of Appeals
DecidedApril 14, 1920
DocketNo. 71-2873
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 220 S.W. 544 (Langford v. Newsom) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Commission of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Langford v. Newsom, 220 S.W. 544, 1920 Tex. App. LEXIS 363 (Tex. Super. Ct. 1920).

Opinion

McCLENDON, J.

W. L. Langford brought this suit against J. C. Newsom to recover upon an alleged breach of warranty. Lang-ford owned a stock of goods at Hadley, Tex., which he traded to Newsom for a tract of land in Oklahoma; Newsom executing a general warranty deed to Langford. The land had been allotted to Thomas H. Thomas, a freedman of the Seminole Tribe of Indians, and an allottee of land under the laws of the United States. On August 20, 1910, Thomas conveyed to one Stakes, through whom New-som deraigned title. Plaintiff’s suit is predicated upon the assertion that Thomas at the time of executing the deed was a minor, and his deed passed no title. The case was tried before a jury, who were instructed to find for the plaintiff; the only question of fact left to the jury being the amount of their verdict, which they were instructed to fix at the cash market value of the stock of goods at the time of the trade, less $260. The judgment rendered upon the verdict of the jury under this instruction was reversed by the Court of Civil Appeals, Seventh Dis-[545]*545triet, and the cause remanded for a new trial. 174 S. W. 1036.

Several questions are presented by the application for writ of error which we will consider in the order of their importance.

It was contended by appellant in the Coul't of Civil Appeals that plaintiff had failed to establish a case of breach of warranty, in that there was no evidence of ouster or pressure of outstanding title, and that the mere existence of a superior title in another was not sufficient to constitute a breach of warranty. In passing upon this question, it becomes necessary to decide what law applies. After carefully reviewing the authorities, we conclude that the Court of Civil Appeals was correct in holding that, in determining the effect of covenants running with the land, the law of the place where the land is situated should govern; and therefore the rights of the parties in this regard should be determined by the laws of Oklahoma.

The státute of that state (Comp. Laws 1909) pleaded and relied upon reads:

“Sec. 1202. Interest Conveyed T>y Warranty Deed. — A warranty deed, made in substantial compliance with the provisions of this act, shall convey to the grantee, his heirs or assigns, the whole interest of the grantor in the premises described, and shall be deemd a covenant on the part of the grantor, that at the time of making the deed he is legally seized of the indefeasible estate in fee simple of the premises and has good right and full power to convey the same; that the same are clear of all incumbrances and liens, and that he warrants (to) the grantee, his heirs and assigns, the quiet and peaceable possession thereof, and will defend the title thereto against all persons who may lawfully claim the same, and the covenants and warranty -shall be obligatory and binding upon any such grantor, his heirs and personal representatives, as if written at length in such deed.”

Under this statute it is clear that the plaintiff is only required to show that the title he acquired under the deed fell short of the title which the deed purported to convey. The convenants of “seisin” and of “good right to convey” are usually regarded as synonymous, and are construed to be a guaranty against any title existing in a third person which might defeat the estate granted, from which it follows “that this covenant is broken at the time it is made where the grantor has no title, or, what is equivalent thereto, where the title is in a stranger; or where the grantor has less than the title covenanted for.” 7 Ruling Case Law, pp. 1130, 1131. The Supreme Court of Oklahoma has construed this statute as importing into all warranty deeds the covenant of “seisin” and “good right to convey.” Faller v. Davis, 30 Okl. 56, 118 Pac. 384, Ann. Cas. 1913B, 1181.

The Court of Civil Appeals, however, seem to hold that it was necessary for plaintiff to show affirmatively that the deed under which he claimed was “made in substantial compliance with the provisions of” the Oklahoma act. We have reached the con-elusion that this view is correct. The deed pleaded and proved was in form a general warranty deed, but did not in terms embrace a covenant of seisin or good right to convey. In order for an instrument to carry the covenants specified in section 1202 of the Oklahoma statute, by virtue of that section, the instrument must not only be “a warranty deed,” but it must be “made in substantial compliance with the provisions” of the act of which section 1202 is a part. It therefore devolves on one seeking to recover in Texas for breach of a covenant specified in section 1202 to plead and prove that an instrument not expressly embodying such a covenant was “made in' substantial compliance with the provisions” of the act. In the absence of such pleading and proof, no different effect should be given to the covenants of the deed than would' follow from an application of the rules declared in Land Co. v. North, 92 Tex. 72, 45 S. W. 994.

We are further clearly of opinion that the Court of Civil Appeals correctly held that, if the deed of .Thomas was executed while he was a minor, it was void and conveyed no title. This appears to be the uniform construction placed by the- courts of Oklahoma upon the United States statutes under which these lands are alienated. Tirey v. Darneal, 37 Okl. 606, 133 Pac. 614, and cases there cited.

The age of Thomas H. Thomas at the time he executed the deed to Stokes presents the only question of fact in establishing breach of warranty. Plaintiff sought to prove this by introducing a certified copy of the Seminole Freedmen roll, which reads as follows:

[546]*546Plaintiff: also offered the deposition of Thomas to show that he was not 21 years of age at the time his deed to Stokes was executed. Objection was made to this testimony, on the ground that the enrollment records of the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes was conclusive evidence of the age of the freedmen, and no other evidence was competent. Objection was made to the certificate above copied, on two grounds: First, that it had no seal; and, second, that it did not purport to be a copy of the enrollment records, but a copy of the approved rolls.

The objections, both to the oral testimony and to the certificate, were sustained by the Court of Civil Appeals.

The United States statute bearing upon this question reads as follows:

“That the rolls of citizenship and of freedmen of the Five' Civilized Tribes approved by the Secretary of the Interior shall be conclusive evidence as to the quantum of Indian blood of 'any enrolled citizen or freedman of said tribes and of no other persons to determine questions •arising under this act and the enrollment records of the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes shall hereafter be conclusive evidence as to the age of said citizen or freedman.” U. S. Statutes at Large, vol. 35, p. 312.

This statute has been frequently before the courts of Oklahoma, and it has been uniformly held that the enrollment records of the Commissioner to the Five Civilized Tribes constitute the only admissible testimony for the establishment of the age of al-lottees of lands of these tribes. Yarbrough v. Spalding, 31 Okl. 806, 123 Pac. 843; Lawless v. Raddis, 36 Okl. 616, 129 Pac. 711. To the same effect is Bell v. Cook (C. C.) 192 Fed. 597. These decisions have been approved in a recent opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Ferguson, 247 U. S. 175

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
220 S.W. 544, 1920 Tex. App. LEXIS 363, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/langford-v-newsom-texcommnapp-1920.