Luse v. Beard

252 S.W. 243, 1923 Tex. App. LEXIS 245
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 25, 1923
DocketNo. 6936.
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 252 S.W. 243 (Luse v. Beard) 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
Luse v. Beard, 252 S.W. 243, 1923 Tex. App. LEXIS 245 (Tex. Ct. App. 1923).

Opinion

COBBS, J.

Appellee sued A. F. and Mary E. Luse and R. S. Pipkin, appellants. As against A. F. Luse the suit was to reform the indorsement made upon certain notes executed December 1, 1920, by V. G. Schimmel, G. D. Schimmel, and A. C. Stiles, payable to A. F. Luse, indorsed and transferred by Luse to appellee as a part of the consideration of the purchase price for the conveyance to Mary E. Luse to lot No. 21 and the north one-half of lot 20, in block 22 of South Hemphill Heights in the city of Fort Worth, which *244 deed has date December 15, 1920. The suit was also to reform said deed so that it would express and show that the vendor’s lien was retained in the deed to secure the payment of said transferred notes which said notes were fraudulently indorsed “without recourse,” when the indorsement should have been a straight transfer of the same without any restriction, qualification, or limitation. As to R. S. Pipkin, appellee sought to have said notes as reformed established and enforced against said land prior to and superior to any claim, if any, Pipkin might have thereon.

A. F. Luse and Mary E. Luse filed their answer containing general and special exceptions, pleas, and answers. The court overruled all their exceptions, to which ruling they excepted and preserved the same in the record.

R. S. Pipkin filed general exception and general denial, but the record does not show that the court passed upon his exception or that the same was called to the attention of the court for a ruling. The case was tried with a jury upon special issues submitted to it by the court, upon whose answer a judgment was entered for appellee, and we will remark here that the case is very largely a fact case with sufficient testimony to support their verdict, so that the judgment must be affirmed unless there are some errors of law, committed requiring a reversal.

The first proposition is that the language in the petition, “That plaintiff is informed and believes that the defendant R. S. Pipkin has or claims to have some interest in or lien upon said land, of the exact nature of which plaintiff is not advised, but said lien or claim, if any, is subject and inferior to plaintiff’s said lien,” is insufficient upon general demurrer to secure any relief, and says the court overruled the demurrer, and cites us to the Transcript, p. 20. An examination of that page of the transcript fails to, there or elsewhere, show that the demurrer was ever called to the attention of the court or that any ruling was had thereon, and hence we must conclude from this record that the same was waived. The exception was a general demurrer, and if it had been properly raised by any special exception the court, no doubt, would have compelled a more full and particular statement; but no such exception was presented or urged.

We think, in the absence of any special exception, the allegation complained of was sufficient to let in appellee’s proof. Pip-kin -was by such allegation called upon to set up such claim as he had, if any. On the contrary, he sat quietly by and permitted, the appellee to establish his prima facie case and establish his lien on the land. Then was the time for Pipkin to speak or forever thereafter hold his peace. So far as the record shows, he had no claim whatever to be adjudicated. The knowledge was peculiarly within his breast. 22 C. J. 82; Pullman v. Cox, 56 Tex. Civ. App. 327, 120 S. W. 1058; Rowe v. Ry. (Tex. Civ. App.) 205 S. W. 731; Ry. v. Day, 104 Tex. 237, 136 S. W. 438, 34 L. R. A. (N. S.) 111; Simpkin, Equity, 665; Robertson v. McClay, 19 Tex. Civ. App. 513, 48 S. W. 35.

Of course, if appellee had specially pleaded his case, he would have been required to prove the facts as alleged, upon a general denial. In the shape of the pleadings here, upon the general denial, the appellee was only required to prove a prima facie case, and so far as anything this record shows, established a superior lien.

The second assignment really ought not to be considered because too general, for it merely states the evidence does not support the judgment. We overrule this assignment by simply saying there is evidence sufficient to support the judgment.

The third assignment is by R. S. Pipkin. We have already discussed this question, and again say there was sufficient evidence in the record to support the judgment in the absence of Pipkin making any proof of his claim, if any, but sitting quietly by when called upon to speak and by his silence permitting appellee to establish his apparently superior lien on the land. It may be said, in discussing 'the second and third propositions of appellant, it would be true as contended, had the jury found there was evidence that supported the proposition of ratification of the alleged act of appellant concerning the placing on the notes the words “without recourse,” there could be no recovery or specific performance by him, but the jury found to the contrary. This is not a suit for the rescission of a contract. Appellee sought specific performance and reformation of the contract to make the indorsement speak the truth and to recover personal judgment on the notes against appellant and have it established as a lien on the land for part of the purchase price and the lien foreclosed.

The proof showed that appellee relied on the indorsement of the notes as they were made at the time and before they went to escrow in the Continental Bank.

Appellant represented that the makers of the notes were solvent, and that fact was ascertained also by appellee before taking; them, and the makers were supposed to be solvent and assured him they would be paid. When the notes were being indorsed to ap-pellee by appellant, he first wrote on one of the notes, “I hereby transfer this note without recourse to C. B. Beard,” whereupon appellee remarked, “Now, why do you write that without recourse; we had an agreement that you would sign them straight,” and he replied, “Well, I will just rub the pen through this,”- which he did, and indorsed the four notes straight. Subsequently they were taken out of the Continental Bank. The statement concerning the first note upon which the pen ran through the words “with *245 •out recourse” was introduced in evidence with the other notes, showing this erasure •corroborated appellee’s testimony.

In regard to the deed appellee testified:

“I first saw the deed I finally signed to the Hemphill street property that morning; that was about,'I think, the 17th day we closed this ■deal — of December. I mean by closing the deal, well when we went over to get those notes and I signed and acknowledged this deed — my wife and I. * * * The first deed he brought out had no vendor’s lien retained in it, .and I told him, I said, ‘That was not our trade.’ He sent out a young lady there to get a blank deed with •a vendor’s lien in it, and when she came back it never had a vendor’s lien in it. * * * I just looked at the top and saw that the deed had a vendor’s lien retained in it. Mr. Seiderman wrote the deed. I did not see him write it, but I presume he did. Mr. Seiderman repre-sented'Mr. Luse. I first saw the first deed that was presented to me either early in the morning of the same day' or the day before; I won’t be positive which. I told Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
252 S.W. 243, 1923 Tex. App. LEXIS 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/luse-v-beard-texapp-1923.