Lobit v. Crouch

293 S.W.2d 110, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1749
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 30, 1956
Docket10400
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 293 S.W.2d 110 (Lobit v. Crouch) 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
Lobit v. Crouch, 293 S.W.2d 110, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1749 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

GRAY, Justice.

Appellants sued appellees together with other named parties and the heirs and legal representatives of still other named persons for a repartition of the north part of the John Talbot Survey in Caldwell County.

The land in controversy is a part of a survey of 4428 acres originally patented to John Talbot on January 16, 1846. Prior to his death John Talbot sold 1845 acres off of the south side of said survey and after his death the unsold portion of said survey was partitioned among his heirs by the Probate Court of Brazoria County on August 21, 1857. Such unsold portion of the survey was partitioned by dividing the same into Lots 1, 2 and 3, these lots were described by metes and bounds, were valued, were drawn by lot and awarded to the heirs of John Talbot, Deceased. John F. Talbot was awarded Lot 1.

On or about January 3, 1953, at the instance of appellee Louis Crouch, a re.survey was made of the John Talbot Survey and it was found that it contained 3440 acres or 988 acres less than called for in the original patent. A corrected patent was issued to the heirs or assigns of John Talbot, Deceased, on December 3, 1953.

Appellants claim as assigns and privies in title of John F. Talbot. They alleged:

“ * * * that the partition of the unsold portion of the John Talbot Survey on August 21st, 1857, by the heirs of John Talbot deceased was .made by and through a mutual mistake of all the heirs, who believed that such unsold portion of the John Talbot Survey at that time contained .2068 acres of land, more or less, and that they had no knowledge that such unsold portion of said survey contained much less land than the amount they purported to partition.
“ * * * that the corrected patent acquired at the instance and request of the defendant Louis Crouch shows that Tract Number 1 awarded to John F. Talbot in the original partition of the John Talbot Survey August 21st, 1857, is shown as located entirely within the boundaries of the Moses Gage Survey, and not in the John Talbot Survey.
“Plaintiffs further allege that under the decree of partition on August 21st, 1857 of part of the John Talbot, Survey, that John F. Talbot was entitled to receive and was awarded said tract number one which was valued at one half of the value of the unsold portion of said survey.
“And Plaintiffs further allege that in the partition of the remaining unsold portion of the John Talbot Survey, by his heirs on or about August 21st, 1857, that all parties contracted thereto in ignorance and mutual mistake that a part of the John Talbot survey was in conflict with the Moses Gage and that such mutual mistake on all parties thereto has resulted in the material injury to John F. Talbot, his heirs and assigns, because it now appears because of this recent survey, that his award of No. 1 containing 689.½ acres valued at as much as the total value of Lot Nos. 2 and 3 was situated wholly in the Moses Gage Survey, senior in time of survey to the John Talbot Survey.”

Appellants further alleged that as assigns and privies in title of John F. Talbot they had no notice or knowledge of the shortage in the John Talbot Survey until on or about March 15, 1954, and prayed:

“Wherefore, premises considered, plaintiffs pray that upon hearing they *112 have judgment for cancellation of the partition dated February 21, 1857, and correction, repartition, location and vesting title and possession of an undivided one half of the above described lands and premises and damages and that a writ of execution issue, for rents, damages * *

Appellees answered and the defendants cited by publication answered by an attorney appointed for them.

On June 27, 1952, appellants and ap-pellees filed their agreement that at the trial the parties could introduce in evidence any instrument or act from the records, or a certified copy of such instrument or act, or could read the same from any abstract of title prepared by any reputable abstract company of Caldwell County, and that such evidence when so given shall be considered as if the original of any such instrument or act was introduced in evidence after due proof of its execution and after due filing, time and notice. Such instrument or act however to be subject to objections on other grounds.

Appellees at different times filed motions for summary judgment. These motions were consolidated and alleged that:

“Supporting affidavits are attached. The pleadings on file, together with such affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that these defendants, the moving parties, are entitled to a judgment that the plaintiffs take nothing of defendants as a matter of law, and that defendants go hence with their costs without day.”

Appellants filed their “controverting and opposing”' affidavits to appellees’ motions.

The motions for summary judgment were heard October 31, 1955, and the trial court rendered judgment that appellants take nothing against appellees and that they go hence without day with their costs.

The affidavits before the trial court at the hearing on the motions for summary judgment list and set out the various deeds of transfer in appellees’ chains of title and aver that appellees acquired the lands for value and without notice of any error 'or mistake in the partition proceedings of August 21, 1857. They also show that appellees acquired their land prior to the resurvey of the John Talbot Survey in 1953. This resurvey apparently was the first notice to any of the parties of a shortage in the survey. Appellants themselves allege that they had no notice of such shortage until March, 1954.

By the above mentioned affidavits it is conclusively shown that appellees’ rights as third parties have intervened since the partition in 1857. In Ramsey v. McKamey, 137 Tex. 91, 152 S.W.2d 322, 324, the Court said:

“When it is found that a judgment of partition is unjust to some of the parties, an independent suit in equity may be brought to correct the judgment on the ground of mistake, provided the rights of others have not intervened.” Citing numerous authorities.

Appellants here complain that the affidavits supporting appellees’ motions for summary judgment are not sufficient under Rule 166-A, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. It appears that the complaint was not urged in the trial court but is made here for the first time. Assuming without deciding that the supporting affidavits are subject to the objections urged by appellants then appellees have the right to ask the court’s permission to supplement the affidavits. Sec. (e) of Rule 166-A supra. This they no doubt would have done and an abuse of the discretion of the trial court might have been presented. De La Garza v. Ryals, Tex.Civ.App., 239 S.W.2d 854, er. ref., n.r.e. Appellants’ complaint here comes too late. Dittoe v. Jones, Tex.Civ. App., 220 S.W.2d 315, 319, er. ref., n.r.e.

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Bluebook (online)
293 S.W.2d 110, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lobit-v-crouch-texapp-1956.