Logue v. Gibraltar Savings & Building Ass'n

175 S.W.2d 117
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 20, 1943
DocketNo. 11597.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 175 S.W.2d 117 (Logue v. Gibraltar Savings & Building Ass'n) 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
Logue v. Gibraltar Savings & Building Ass'n, 175 S.W.2d 117 (Tex. Ct. App. 1943).

Opinion

CODY, Justice.

This is an appeal of the ruling of the court dissolving a temporary injunction, and has been advanced for hearing upon the application of appellee.

The following is a shortened or condensed statement of the findings of facts and conclusions of law which, in response to appellants’ request therefor, the court filed on September 21, 1943:

1. This is a hearing on an application for a temporary injunction which was issued in an action in the nature of trespass to try title brought by appellee on August 16, 1943, against appellants for the title and possession of the property described in appellee’s original petition, to restrain the sheriff of Harris County, etc., from serving a writ of sequestration, and taking possession of the property here involved, unless the same is replevied, according to law.

2. All proceedings leading to the issuance of the writ of sequestration were regular, and same was regularly issued and placed with the sheriff for execution.

3. Appellants are in possession of the property involved under four leases, each having the same terms. Mrs. Logue was tenant of appellee under the leases; Mrs. Davenport is a sub-tenant of Mrs. Logue. Appellants claim no right or title to the property except as tenant and sub-tenant. Said leases provide for their termination on thirty days’ written notice. Appellee terminated the four leases by giving the written notice more than thirty days before filing his suit.

*118 4. On June 22, 1943, the Office of Price Administration issued and delivered to ap-pellee four certificates of eviction, covering each of the four rental units covered by the lease agreements, which authorized ap-pellee at the expiration of ten days to pursue its legal remedies to possess the property involved, and appellee gave written notice to the Office of Price Administration and to the appellants that at the end of ten days it would file suit for possession of the property, etc.

5. Appellee has entered into lease agreement with the Government of the United States leasing the property involved to the U. S. Government for a period of seven years, etc. Said leases conform to the Government’s National Housing Program, providing living quarters for defense workers.

6. On July 9, 1943, plaintiff filed four forcible detainer suits against appellants, which actions were consolidated and tried as one suit. Upon a trial in the Justice Court, judgment was rendered therein for appellants, which judgment was duly appealed by appellee to the County Court at Law of Harris County by giving of a proper appeal bond in each of the four actions. Said appeal is pending ⅛ said County Court.

7. The property involved is of the approximate value of $17,000, and appellants did not replevy the property as required by law. They admitted inability to give bond with two or more good and sufficient sureties in double the value of said property.

8. Appellant Lillian Logue is using the property as a rooming house for the accommodation of approximately 56 roomers who are engaged in war industries. The “balance of convenience” under the facts of this case lies with appellee, in that ap-pellee is seeking possession of the property in co-operation with the Government’s program for furnishing housing facilities to persons engaged in defense work; appellants’ use of the premises is not in cooperation with, but is inconsistent with, said program.

The court then concluded as a matter of law:

A.Appellants’ plea of res judicata should be denied. When the appealed justice judgments in the forcible detainer cases were perfected, the County Court acquired jurisdiction for trials “de novo”. Thereupon the judgments were vacated and superseded for all purposes. Harter v. Curry, 101 Tex. 187, 105 S.W. 988; Farmer v. Witcher, Tex.Civ.App., 189 S.W. 293; House v. Reavis, 89 Tex. 626, 35 S.W. 1063; R.C.S. art. 3994.

B. Appellants’ remedy, if falsfe grounds for the writ were stated, is solely for damages. Southern Surety Co. v. Adams, 119 Tex. 489, 34 S.W.2d 789.

C. Appellee, in the issuance of the writ of sequestration, has resorted to a statutory remedy. Appellants failed to replevy by giving the statutory bond, but resorted to a court of equity to seek to enjoin the execution of the writ of sequestration on the ground of financial inability to give such bond, and on the ground that the value of the property was arbitrarily fixed in an excessive amount to prevent appellants from giving such replevy bond. The court concludes that it has no authority to enjoin plaintiff from exercising its statutory right of sequestration. Harris v. Siegel, Tex.Civ.App., 68 S.W.2d 330; Beck v. Priddy, Tex.Com.App., 252 S.W. 476.

D. That even if the use of the property by appellants as a rooming house for defense workers should be held as grounds for injunctive relief, the court concludes that the balance of convenience under che facts predominates in favor of appellee as it is seeking the possession of the property sequestered in an effort to co-operate with the United States Government’s defense housing program. .

To the foregoing findings of facts appellants filed no exceptions.

The court rendered judgment dissolving the temporary restraining order which had theretofore issued restraining the sheriff from executing the writ of sequestration, and further denied the temporary injunction sought, and denied “all other relief prayed for in their application”. The judgment recites notice of appeal by appellants, and then goes on to say “pending appeal the Court in its discretion continues the temporary restraining order, heretofore granted”, in effect conditioned on appellants giving bond in five days in the sum of $8,000.

Appellants rely on their plea of res judicata, based upon the judgments rendered in their favor in the Justice Court in the forcible detainer actions, as barring any right of appellee to obtain possession-by a writ of sequestration of the property in question, and the refusal of the court to. *119 sustain such plea is the sole error here presented as grounds for reversing the action of the trial court in dissolving the temporary injunction against executing said writ. If the refusal of the court to sustain the plea of res judicata was error, it necessarily follows that appellants were entitled to possession, and that appellee would not be entitled to sequester the property, and the dissolution of the temporary restraining order would then be an abuse of discretion, because of the bar of res judicata.

However, appellants make no contention that, where an appeal is perfected to the county court from a judgment rendered in the justice court in a forcible detainer action, such judgment retains any validity. It is their contention that the attempt of ap-pellee to appeal in the several forcible de-tainer actions was abortive, that the appeal bonds filed by appellee were fatally defective, and that therefore the judgments in said actions became final, and were res judicata of the right of possession of the property.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Henning v. Henning
72 S.W.3d 241 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2002)
Poole v. Goode
442 S.W.2d 810 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1969)
Eidson v. Perry National Bank
278 S.W.2d 556 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
175 S.W.2d 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/logue-v-gibraltar-savings-building-assn-texapp-1943.