Lone Star Steel Company v. Owens

302 S.W.2d 213
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 7, 1957
Docket6912
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 302 S.W.2d 213 (Lone Star Steel Company v. Owens) 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
Lone Star Steel Company v. Owens, 302 S.W.2d 213 (Tex. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinions

CHADICK, Chief Justice.

This is a suit in trespass to try title for recovery of 60 acres of land in Marion County. After trial before a jury, judgment for plaintiffs was entered on favorable jury findings under the 5 and 10 year limitation statutes. For the reasons discussed, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Appellant by proper points asserts that there was no evidence and' insufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that one Gus Montgomery, the source of appel-lees’ title, held adverse possession of the character required for either 5 or 10 years as the jury found. No complaint is made as to the form of issues or accuracy of instructions.

It is first insisted that limitation is defeated by Montgomery’s testimony which appellant construes to mean that he went on the land for the purpose of “homesteading” it and that under such circumstances adverse possession does not meet the-'requirements of Articles 5509 and 5510, R.C.S., and 5 and 10 year statutes of limitation, and would be insufficient under the Supreme Court decision in the case of Smith v. Jones, 103 Tex. 632, 132 S.W. 469, 31 L.R.A.,N.S., 153.

Montgomery’s testimony pointed out in support of this contention is as follows:

“Q. Now, Gus, when you moved on there what did you think, who did you think owned that land ? A. Well, I thought it was just school land, in other words, vacant land.
“Q. Vacant land? A. Yes Sir.
“Q. And you went on there with the intention of homesteading it? A. Homesteading it.
“Q. Well, why did you go on there? A. I went on there thinking it was vacant land or school land and as I just said and I was getting out there to ■ homestead it.
“Q. .Now, Gus, you said you could homestead it, I will ask you whether or not you thought if you lived there ’ it would become your land ? A. Well, yes, sir, and of course after I lived there so long and figured that I had it ' homesteaded I saw Mr. Deaner, and—
“Q. Well, now I am not asking you about that now, I am asking you about you thought that you owned the place?
A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And you thought that when you sold to Mr. Felker, didn’t you?
A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And state whether or not you ' understood and believed that if you ' lived there long enough you would acquire it by limitation ? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And was that your intentions? A. Yes, sir.” .

[216]*216In addition, at other times while a witness, Montgomery also testified:

“Q. All right, now, Gus, during the time that you lived there did you claim this land as your own land? A. Yes, sir, I was claiming it all the time I was there.
“Q. And did you have any other home other than that, except you had an undivided interest up there in your father’s estate? A. No, sir, I didn’t have nary other home except this one.
“Q. And you claimed it was yours and you lived there on it and claimed it all this time? A. Yes, sir.”

Besides the quoted testimony, Montgomery testified he went on the 60 acres about the year 1915, and built a small house on it. He claimed to have lived on the land continuously from that date, either in the small house or a larger one he said he later erected, until he tore the larger one down and moved it away in 1940. His testimony is that in the year 1917, he fenced the tract with a fence sufficient to turn livestock and kept the fences in good repair until he sold the land in 1953. He stated that he had about nine acres in cultivation each year from the year of his entry until 1944, and that he ran about 10 to 15 head of stock on the land at all times while living there and afterwards until he sold the land in 1953. Smith v. Jones, supra, is relied on so singularly by appellant that a comparison should be made of the entry described above by Montgomery and that of the Smiths in the referenced case. It is said at page 470 of 132 S.W.:

“* * * W. H. Smith bought 60 acres on his father’s survey adjoining the land in suit, * * * and for about 15 years he maintained posses-. sion and use of the two tracts together as his home. Neither he nor C. C. Smith ever intended to take the property of any one else, or, as he expresses it, to steal the land or to make an appropriation of it fraudulently or dishonestly; but both believed it was vacant land, and intended to obtain it lawfully from the state as a homestead donation. He testified that he always claimed the land, but plainly this only meant that his claim was for the purpose and in the way stated; and when after 15 years, he became satisfied that he could not so acquire the land, he left it, removing all the houses by means of which he had held the possession.”

Directly bearing on the disposition made in Smith v. Jones, Justice Williams said:

“ * * *■ evidence showing no more than that a possession relied on to sustain the defense of limitation, was taken and held under the mistaken .belief that the land was public domain, with the purpose of acquiring it from the state by compliance with the law authorizing such acquisition at some time in future, is legally insufficient to show that such possession was hostile to any one.”

In the course of the opinion, the rule is. limited by saying that the Supreme Court recognizes that holding possession subordinate to the State is not inconsistent with holding adversely to all others except the State and that an intention’ to hold adversely to all others will satisfy the statute ; and that usually it is a question of fact ; this limitation and explanation is illustrated by these extracts from the opinion:

“ * * * It must be kept constantly in mind that, in applying a proposition like that, the facts of particular cases must be carefully regarded, and that additional facts may easily take , the question, whether or not the evidences of possession and adverse claim were sufficiently certain and unequivocal to give notice to reasonably dili•gent owners, out of the province of the court and into that of the jury.
4» * . * ’ . * ⅜ . * *
[217]*217“The difficulty with cases in which there is evidence of no further facts than those in this, as we view it, is that it is not made to appear that the possession was adverse and hostile to any one; for the mere holding of it under the belief that the land is the state’s and with the purpose of acquiring it lawfully at some future time does not define the attitude of the possessor as hostile to the claim of an owner of whose existence he is ignorant. What is it that gives the adverse quality to a possession otherwise sufficient? The statute says it must be held under ‘a claim of right inconsistent with and hostile to the claim of another.’ And this plainly refers to a claim of the possessor, when he is holding only for himself. * * * It is true that, under the decisions, as we shall see, a ‘claim’ need not be an assertion of a right or title to the land in order to.

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Bluebook (online)
302 S.W.2d 213, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lone-star-steel-company-v-owens-texapp-1957.