Marrs v. South Texas National Bank

686 S.W.2d 675, 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1275, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6462
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 6, 1985
Docket04-83-00453-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 686 S.W.2d 675 (Marrs v. South Texas National Bank) 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
Marrs v. South Texas National Bank, 686 S.W.2d 675, 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1275, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6462 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

ESQUIVEL, Justice.

This is an appeal from a summary judgment denying intervenor’s motion to extinguish or modify a writ of sequestration and dismissing intervenor’s cause of action. South Texas National Bank (Bank) and Francisco J. Lerma (Lerma) entered into several agreements whereby Bank would forward funds to Lerma for the operation of his business, and he would in turn grant them a security interest in the automobiles purchased with the proceeds of the notes. Subsequently the parties entered into a *677 consolidated note containing an after-acquired property clause. The note was payable on demand or by a date certain. Bank made demand for payment on the unpaid principal sum of $171,538.63 plus accrued interest or, if Lerma were unable to pay, that he surrender by the close of business that day all vehicles held on his lot for sale.

Suit was filed by Bank against Lerma seeking to foreclose Bank’s lien on inventory held for sale by Lerma pursuant to the promissory notes executed by him. Subsequent to the filing of its lawsuit, Bank, obviously concerned with preserving the collateral to satisfy the debt, and ancillary to its main cause of action to foreclose the security interest on the collateral, applied for and obtained a writ of sequestration, pursuant to which the Webb County Sheriff’s Department seized sixty-two (62) vehicles held for sale on Lerma’s used car lot. It was at this point that appellant, Jerry Marrs, d/b/a Nacogdoches Auto Auction (Marrs), filed his motion in intervention, seeking to extinguish or modify the writ of sequestration. Marrs attempted to exclude from the sequestered property some fourteen vehicles allegedly belonging to him, arguing that they were in fact his and were on Lerma’s lot only on consignment. After hearing, the trial court entered an order upholding the writ of sequestration and finding that Bank had a greater right to possession of the vehicles than that of Marrs. Bank thereafter filed a motion for summary judgment as to Marrs’ claim. The trial court entered a partial summary judgment dismissing his claim in its entirety. Subsequent to the partial summary judgment, a trial on the merits was had wherein a final judgment was entered in favor of Bank as against Lerma. Marrs presents six points of error alleging error in the application for the writ of sequestration, the granting of the writ of sequestration and the granting of appellee’s motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

In points of error one, two and three, Marrs attacks the trial court’s denial of his plea in intervention to modify the writ alleging defects in the application for the writ. In support of his contentions, he argues that the application and affidavit failed to allege facts from which it could be reasonably concluded that the property would be injured, ill-treated, wasted, converted or concealed, or removed from the county; that the application and affidavit failed to allege a value for each separate item of property; and, that the application was granted in violation of due process of law.

Bank, pursuant to TEX.R.CIY.P. 696, sought by application and affidavit a writ of sequestration ancillary to its suit against Lerma. TEX.REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 6840, §§ 1(b), 2 (Vernon Supp.1985) requires that an application for sequestration be made under oath by a party having an interest in the property sought to be sequestered, and shall set forth specific facts stating the nature of the claim, the amount in controversy, and the facts relied upon to conclude that the party in possession will injure, ill-treat, waste, convert or conceal the property in question. Marrs argues that the application for writ of sequestration “clearly fails to include any facts upon which the trial court could conclude that Defendant would conceal or remove the property from Webb County, Texas, and from appellee.” He further argues that the application and affidavit merely allude to the fact that Lerma refused to surrender possession of the property when requested, but failed to allege any facts from which the trial court could reasonably conclude that not only did Lerma refuse to surrender the property, but indicated that he would remove the property from the county or conceal the same.

Where a creditor’s affidavit for writ of sequestration states that it is suing for title and possession of the described property and for foreclosure of security interest therein, describing the property, the value of the property, that the property is in the possession of the defendant, and that the plaintiff fears that there is an immediate danger that the defendant will conceal, dispose of, ill-treat, waste or destroy such property, or remove same out of the juris *678 diction of the court during the pendency of the lawsuit, it is in substantial and sufficient compliance with TEX.REV.CIV.STAT. ANN. art. 6840 (Vernon Supp.1985) to authorize the judge to issue a writ of sequestration. Monroe v. General Motors Acceptance Corp., 573 S.W.2d 591, 593 (Tex.Civ.App. — Waco 1978, no writ). Marrs’ point of error number one is overruled.

Marrs’ second point alleges error in granting the writ because the application fails to give the value of each article of the property sought to be sequestered. Marrs further argues that the application failed to strictly comply with TEX.R.CIV.P. 696 and in fact, only gave a total approximate value of $125,000 for the property of defendant Lerma, and no value or description of the property belonging to Marrs. We overrule appellant’s contention for two reasons. Initially, in his motion in intervention seeking to modify the writ of sequestration, Marrs did not complain of the lack of specificity as to the value of each item in Bank’s application for writ of sequestration. Further, we hold that the valuation by Bank was in substantial compliance with rule 696 in that all of the inventory held by Lerma was sought to be sequestered in satisfaction of the debt sued for under its main cause of action. Joseph W. Moon Buggy Co. v. Moore-Hustead Co., 196 S.W. 328, 329 (Tex.Civ.App. — Dallas 1917, writ refused). Marrs’ point of error two is overruled.

In point of error three, Marrs alleges error in denial of his plea in intervention to modify the writ since the application was granted in violation of due process of law. In support of his contention, appellant cites the cases of Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U.S. 67, 92 S.Ct. 1983, 32 L.Ed.2d 556 (1972) and Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp., 395 U.S. 337, 89 S.Ct. 1820, 23 L.Ed.2d 349 (1969). Since the United States Supreme Court decision in those two cases, TEX. REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 6840 (Vernon .Supp.1985) has been amended such that it closely tracks the Louisiana statute held to be constitutional in Mitchell v. W.T. Grant Co., 416 U.S. 600, 94 S.Ct. 1895, 40 L.Ed.2d 406 (1974). 1 The Court held a Louisiana sequestration statute valid, which like the Texas statute, provides that the debtor may immediately seek dissolution of the writ, which must be ordered unless the creditor proves grounds for issuance.

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Bluebook (online)
686 S.W.2d 675, 41 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 1275, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6462, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marrs-v-south-texas-national-bank-texapp-1985.