Le Blanc v. Jackson

161 S.W. 60, 1913 Tex. App. LEXIS 982
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 23, 1913
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 161 S.W. 60 (Le Blanc v. Jackson) 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
Le Blanc v. Jackson, 161 S.W. 60, 1913 Tex. App. LEXIS 982 (Tex. Ct. App. 1913).

Opinion

REESE, J.

As originally instituted, this was an action in trespass to try title by Ellen Oraigen and Odelia Carouthers, joined by her husband, against R. S. Jackson to recover an undivided one-eighth interest in a certain 666 acres of land out of the W. H. Smith league in Jefferson county. After the institution of the suit, Elodie Le Blanc and several others intervened, setting up claim, according to the face of their plea, to the entire tract. The original plaintiffs filed an amended petition in which interveners and the defendant Jackson were made defendants, setting up title in the usual form of an action of trespass to try title against all of these to the said undivided one-eighth interest in the tract. 'Interveners answered this amended petition by a plea of not guilty and a cross-action against plaintiffs and defendant Jackson for the entire tract. ■ Defendant Jackson by amended answer pleaded, as against all the parties, not guilty and the statute of limitation of three, five, and ten years. This constituted the pleadings in the case. The case was tried without a jury and resulted in a. judgment for the plaintiffs for one-eighth of the two-eighths- interest inherited by Theophile and Emile Broussard from their father, P. O. Broussard, also one-fourth of the one-eighth interest inherited from her father, P. O. Broussard, by Victoire Hebert, and conveyed by her to Phillip Gallier. Some of the interveners recovered small interests in the land and some failed of recovery. The defendant Jackson recovered the one-eighth interest inherited by Derneuville Broussard from P. O. Broussard, also the two-eighths of Theophile and Emile Broussard inherited from P. O. Broussard, their father, less a small interest therein awarded to plaintiffs, also three-fourths of the one-eighth interest of Yictoire Hebert sold by her to Phillip Gallier, also the interests of some of the other children of P. O. Broussard and their descendants not necessary to particularize here. • From this judgment the plaintiffs and interveners (except the heirs of Emerante Broussard, who recovered the one-eighth interest inherited by their mother from P. O. Broussard) have appealed. The defendant Jackson also filed an appeal bond and, as appellant; seeks separately a reversal of the-judgment in favor of the heirs of Emerante; Broussard, which appeal they seek by motion to have dismissed for reasons hereafter stated in passing on this motion.

The' trial court filed and had incorporated in the record conclusions of fact and law, but there was no request by any party therefor, so far as is shown by the record. The exact status of such findings has not been, so far as we have been able to find, fixed by the courts. It was held by this court-in City of Houston v. Kapner, 43 Tex. Civ. App. 507, 95 S. W. 1103, in considering an objection to the consideration of such conclusions, on the ground that, “when such conclusions are voluntarily filed by the judge, neither party is required to take notice of them, and no exception to the conclusions nor assignments predicating error on the findings of fact therein contained are required of the parties against whom such findings are'made to entitle him to attack the judgment on the ground that it is unsupported by the evidence. * * * The question of whether .such conclusions can be considered by the appellate court is not presented, and we do not feel called upon to decide.”' The conclusions are ignored by the briefs;: but, as the facts are quite complicated in some particulars, we have deemed it not improper to look to them in making our own conclusions.

So far as is material and necessary to a decision of the questions involved in this appeal, the facts are as .follows: P. O. Brous-sard is the common source of title He died in 1877 in the state of Louisiana where he resided. He owned at the time of his death a considerable estate in lands and cattle, etc., in that state, which seems to have been located about Johnson’s bayou in the southwestern corner of the state. No mention is made of a will, so we assume that he died intestate. He left surviving him seven children — three sons, Derneuville, Emile, and Theophile, arid four daughters,. Delzinde, Ezilda, Victoire, and Emerante — and the descendants of another daughter Azema (her children and grandchildren). At his death P. O. Broussard was possessed of two tracts-of land in the Smith league in Jefferson county, containing approximately 1,000 acres. One of these tracts, containing 667 acres, is involved in this action.

Derneuville Broussard married . a widow with two children, Ellen Oraigen and Odelia Carouthers, the plaintiffs herein. By her he had six children. Mrs. Broussard died in April, 1893, as testified positively by Edgar Carouthers, husband of Odelia Carouthers, and one of the plaintiffs, although her daughter testified that she died in 1893 or 1894. On the 7th of October, 1907, Derneuville Broussard and his daughters aforesaid conveyed to the defendant, R. S. Jackson, under general warranty deed, for a recited con *63 sideration of $1,332, all their interest in the tract of land here involved.

On September 3,1891, Ezilda Broussard and Delzinde Broussard and a number of others, including the children of Emerante Brous-sard, and some if not all the children or descendants of the other daughter, Azema, executed to Derneuville Broussard a deed to what purports to be an undivided five-ninths, amounting to about 354 acres of the land involved herein, and being the interest inherited from P. 'O. Broussard. With regard to this deed there are certain facts which will be set out in discussing certain of the questions presented by the appeal, but the foregoing general statement is sufficient here. Yictoire, one of the daughters, married Sarazine Hebert. Her interest in the land was conveyed by her to Phillip Gallier, who died, and part of his estate was inherited by his sister, Mrs. Derneuville Broussard, and through her by her two daughters, the plaintiffs Graigen and Carouthers, and her children by Derneuville Broussard. The interest of the latter passed to Jackson by the deed of Derneuville and his daughters aforesaid, and the interest of plaintiffs in this portion was awarded to them by the judgment. Derneuville Broussard did not himself claim any interest in that part inherited by Victoire and conveyed by her to Gallier.

Emile Broussard died in 1904, and Theo-phile in 1881. There was no deed or' other written evidence of title in Derneuville Broussard of their respective interests from Theophile or Emile. To support his title to their interest defendant Jackson relied upon certain circumstances, as affording a presumption that Derneuville had acquired these interests from them prior to the death of Theophile. The court found these circumstances sufficient to authorize such presumption and that Derneuville had lawfully acquired title to the interest of Emile and Theophile. By appropriate assignments of error appellants interveners have attacked this finding on the ground that there is no evidence to support this presumption. This presents the most troublesome question in the case, and one about which we have had much difficulty.

The facts and circumstances found by the trial court, and upon which it bases the conclusion of fact that Emile and Theophile had conveyed their interest to Derneuville, are stated in his findings of fact as follows:

“That in addition to the land in Texas, the said P. O. Broussard was the owner of stock running on the range in Jefferson county, Tex.

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Bluebook (online)
161 S.W. 60, 1913 Tex. App. LEXIS 982, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/le-blanc-v-jackson-texapp-1913.