McCaghren v. Balch

152 S.W. 680, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 1315
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 7, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 152 S.W. 680 (McCaghren v. Balch) 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
McCaghren v. Balch, 152 S.W. 680, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 1315 (Tex. Ct. App. 1912).

Opinion

PRESLER, J.

This suit was brought by defendant in error, Balch (hereinafter styled defendant), against plaintiff in error (hereinafter styled plaintiff) to recover the sum of $4,000, claimed to be due defendant, Balch, on account of a sale by plaintiff of the Herm-leigh Telephone Exchange and Dunn switchboard, located in Scurry county, Tex., alleging, in substance, that on January 3, 1912, plaintiff entered into a contract, partly in writing and partly verbal, for the purchase from defendant of said exchange and all its accoutrements for the said sum of $4,000, $2,950 of which was to be paid in cash and for which sum plaintiff MeOaghren gave his certain checks, one in the sum of $1,450 and one in the sum of $1,500 (reserving by agreement $50 to pay taxes due from defendant, Balch), making in all a cash consideration of $3,000, and, further, plaintiff executed his two promissory notes for the sum of $500 each, due, respectively, January 3, 1913, and 1914, bearing interest at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum, and secured by a chattel mortgage upon the exchange in controversy, including all its lines, supplies, etc., and providing in said mortgage that on default of the payment of any one of said notes or any interest due thereon, or any sale or attempt to sell said property or remove the same or any part thereof from the county or upon any seizure of the same or any part thereof by any process of law, or if any holder of said notes shall at any time feel unsafe or insecure from any cause, then in any of the foregoing events said mortgagee or assignee, his agent or representative, was authorized at his option to declare all of said ndtes due and to take actual possession of said property, and sell the same at public auction for cash at the courthouse door of Snyder, Scurry county, Tex.; that defendant, Balch, upon the same date, duly executed and delivered to plaintiff, MeOaghren, a bill of sale to the property referred to, warranting the title of said property to said plaintiff, and delivered the possession of said property to Mm; that said bill of sale was received by plaintiff in error and by him placed of record in the Bill of Sale Records of Scurry county, Tex., and that he thereby acquired title to the said telephone exchange, and employed defendant, Balch, to look after it for him; that the said defendant presented plaintiff’s checks for payment, and that payment was refused on each of them, in the total sum of $2,950; that the taxes were not paid in the sum of $50, as agreed by plaintiff; that at the time plaintiff executed the cheeks, mortgage, and notes referred to defendant was by means of their said execution on the part of plaintiff and by reason of the representations made by the plaintiff on which defendant relied deceived, and was thereby fraudulently Induced to execute the bill of sale referred to and deliver possession of said property to plaintiff. Defendant prayed for the recovery of his debt, foreclosure of his *681 mortgage, and for general and special relief. Plaintiff (defendant below) pleaded bis privilege to be sued in tbe county of bis residence, general and special demurrers, and general denial, and specially that tbe two notes, eaeb for tbe sum of $500, were placed in escrow in tbe First State Bank of Herm-leigb, to be beld by said bank until defendant (plaintiff below) paid off and discharged all of tbe indebtedness wbicb existed against tbe telephone property purchased, and that said defendant failed and refused to pay said indebtedness, and that, therefore, tbe contract was not consummated, and further specially pleaded that plaintiff was never placed in possession of said property. Defendant, in reply to plaintiff’s said defensive pleadings, by supplemental petition, pleaded that tbe notes in tbe sum of $500 each, as sued on by defendant, were executed and delivered by plaintiff to tbe First State Bank of Herm-leigh, and that said First State Bank of Hermleigh, Tex., was given full power and authority to deliver tbe same to defendant; that tbe. notes were left by plaintiff and defendant with said bank only for the' purpose of protecting plaintiff from any outstanding indebtedness wbicb might be or was a lien against any of tbe property conveyed, and that it was stipulated and agreed by and between tbe parties at tbe time that tbe defendant (in error), S. E. Balch, should pay any outstanding indebtedness against said telephone exchange and any other indebtedness be may owe with tbe money paid him by plaintiff in error by tbe checks described in defendant in error’s amended petition, and that defendant deposited said'checks in tbe said First State Bank of Hermleigh, Tex., and drew other cheeks against that account in payment of tbe indebtedness referred to as per tbe agreement between plaintiff and defendant; that defendant in error delivered to tbe plaintiff in error an absolute conveyance of tbe property described, and that plaintiff in error was placed in a position relative to said property wbicb was contemplated in the agreement as set out in defendant in error’s pleadings, and that the contract referred to thereby became an executed and completed contract. The cause proceeded to trial below before tbe court without tbe assistance of a jury and judgment was rendered in favor of defendant in error in tbe sum of $4,000 for foreclosure of tbe mortgage lien retained to secure the two $500 notes and for order of sale, from which judgment plaintiff in -error duly appeals to this court, and here seeks revision of said cause upon various errors assigned.

No statement of facts has reached this court, but we find in the record that on tbe application of plaintiff in error the trial court filed tbe following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

“First. That on tbe Sd day of January, A. D. 1912, tbe plaintiff, S. E. Balch, made and executed to tbe defendant, J. N. MeCaghren, in due form of law, duly acknowledged before a notary public, under seal, and delivered tbe same to tbe defendant, J. N. Me-Caghren, a bill of sale, which was received and accepted by tbe defendant, J. N. Me-Caghren, and filed by him for record on the 5th day of January, 1912, with tbe clerk of the county court of Scurry county, Tex., and wbicb was duly recorded in volume 2, pp. 241, 242, on the Bill of Sale Records of said county, as follows, to wit: ‘The State of Texas, County of Scurry: Know all men by these presents that I, S. E. Balch, of Scurry county, state of Texas, for and in consideration of the sum of four thousand ($4,000.00) and no/100 dollars, to me in hand paid and secured to be paid by J. N. MeCaghren, as follows: Three thousand ($3,000.00) dollars cash, to me in hand paid, the payment of which is hereby acknowledged, and the balance evidenced by two promissory notes, for the sum of $500.00 each, dated Jan. 3rd, 1912, and due and payable to the order of S. E. Balch, on the 3rd day of January, 1913, and 1914, respectively, said notes secured by chattel mortgage on the hereinafter described property, and signed J. N. MeCaghren, have bargained, sold and conveyed and by these presents do hereby bargain, sell and deliver to the said J. N. MeCaghren of the county of Mitchell, state of Texas, to wit: The Herm-leigh Telephone Exchange, situated at Herm-leigh, Texas, together with the switchboard at Dunn, Texas, together with all connecting lines now belonging to the said Hermleigh Telephone Exchange and Dunn Telephone, and all supplies and stock and idle boxes now on hand at m.y office. Also wagon, team and harness now belonging to the Hermleigh Telephone Company. And I hereby bind- myself, my heirs, executors, administrators and assigns to forever warrant and defend the title to the said described property to the said J. N.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
152 S.W. 680, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 1315, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccaghren-v-balch-texapp-1912.