Meek v. Bower

333 S.W.2d 175, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2039
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 25, 1960
Docket13088
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 333 S.W.2d 175 (Meek v. Bower) 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
Meek v. Bower, 333 S.W.2d 175, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2039 (Tex. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

WERLEIN, Justice.

This suit was brought by appellees, Mrs. Thelma Bower and husband, C. P. Bower, against a number of defendants, including W. J. Meek and wife, Rose Meek, in trespass-to-try title to establish title and recover possession of a portion of the Jules Hirsch Subdivision in the J. B. Jones One-Third League in Harris County, Texas. Through orders of severance and the dismissal of Mollie Meek, who died after suit was filed, all defendants except appellees, W. J. Meek and wife, Rose Meek, were disposed of pri- or to trial. Appellants disclaimed all the land except a .7 acre tract. Upon trial before a jury, appellees introduced documentary evidence of their record title, and evidence as to the location of the property. Appellants relied upon their claim of adverse possession under the ten year statute of limitation. Appellants have perfected their appeal from the judgment rendered on the jury’s verdict.

Appellants, by Points 1, 2, 4 and S, complain that the Court erred in refusing to grant their motions for an instructed verdict when appellees rested and at the close of all the evidence, and in refusing to grant their motion for judgment non obstante veredicto, and in peremptorily finding that appellees owned the record title to the property.

The only attack made by appellants upon the record title of appellees is in connection with that certain deed from Maurice Hirsch et al. to appellee, Thelma Bower, purporting to convey, among other tracts, “The Jules Hirsch Subdivision, of approximately 69 acres, in the John Brown Jones Survey, Abstract 484.” Following such description, the deed contains, among other reservations, the following:

“together with all other right, title and interest of Maurice Hirsch, Josie Hirsch Bloch and Rosetta Hirsch Weil in and to any other areas in said John Brown Jones Survey, Abs. 484, and James Strange Survey, Abs. 695, whether or not included in the subdivision or descriptions hereinbefore referred to, and wherever situated in said Surveys, except as to any right, title and interest of the Grantors herein in any portion of the John Brown Jones Survey lying South of the Jules Hirsch Subdivision in the said John Brown Jones Survey, and also except as to any interest conveyed by separate deed of this date from Maurice Hirsch to the Grantee herein.”

Appellees described the land sued for in their amended petition as:

“All that portion of the Jules Hirsch Subdivision at Humble, Texas, in the J. B. Jones Yz League, in Harris County, Texas, according to the revised map of the Subdivision recorded in Volume 1, Page 97 of the Map Records of Harris County, Texas, lying South of First Street and East of the Humble branch of the Atascaseta County Road as shown on said revised map * * * ”

In their trial amendment they added to the description:

“including, whether or not specifically described, all land lying south of *178 First Street and East of the Humble branch of the Atascaseta County Road in the Jules Hirsch Subdivision as depicted in map recorded in Volume 1 at Page 96 of the Harris County Map Records (Plaintiffs’ Exhibit No. 103 being a photostatic copy of the same).”

Appellees offered in evidence the map of the Jules Hirsch Subdivision filed November 11, 1904 and recorded in Volume 1, p. 96 of the Harris County Map Records, and also the revised map filed November 15, .1904 and recorded at page 97 thereof. The map recorded at page 96 is similar to the revised map except the latter shows lying south of Second Street a large block or tract of acreage which on the earlier map is subdivided into approximately seven numbered blocks containing numbered lots and several named streets. Said maps will be referred to as Map 96 and Map 97.

It is appellants’ contention that the earlier Map 96, which shows the subdivision of the large tract south of Second Street, has been superseded by Map 97 which shows such tract only as acreage, and that as a result thereof, the Jules Plirsch Subdivision has been limited and confined to the land lying north of Second Street, and hence the aforesaid deed which specifically covers only the Jules Hirsch Subdivision does not include that portion of the .7 acre in controversy lying south of Second Street for the reason that the Subdivision does not extend south of Second Street. The deed in question excepts any portion of the John Brown Jones Survey lying south of the Jules Hirsch Subdivision.

Even if we assume that the description of the property in appellees’ petition did not include the land south of Second Street, the trial amendment which referred to Map 96 did unquestionably include it. The deed in question also included it unless the Subdivision did not extend south of Second Street. The question is, therefore, did ap-pellees’ proof establish as a matter of law that the tract of land south of Second Street is a part of the Jules Hirsch Subdivision?

We think that a proper construction of Map 97 shows that the area south of Second Street is a part of the Subdivision. In the dedicatory language of such plat, it is stated:

“The consideration for which this dedication is made is the recall of the former map and plat of the subdivision heretofore filed and recorded in Harris Co. record of maps and plats, Volume 1, page 96, and substitution therefor of this plat which is hereby named and designated as the revised map of the Jules Hirsch subdivision of a portion of the Humble homestead in the J. B. Jones One-Third League at Humble, Harris County, Texas, for identification.”

It thus appears that the revised Map 97 covers and includes the same property as Map 96. Map 97 is being substituted for Map 96 as the plat of the Subdivision. This amounts to a reference to Map 96 for a description of the land intended to be subdivided. It will be noted that the lots and blocks as shown on Map 96 are by no means all uniform in size. Some of the blocks are much larger than others, and the lots vary from as small as 5CK x 100' to lots as wide as 136.59' and as deep as 318.9' containing approximately an acre each. The lots and blocks on Map 97 are the same except that the numbered blocks and lots and streets in the area south of Second Street have been eliminated and such area fronting north on Second Street and west on the Atascaseta County Road remains as one large block of approximately 17 acres, according to our calculation from the maps.

The heading on Map 97 is “Revised Map of The Jules Hirsch Subdivision at Humble in the J. B. Jones l/j League”. Then there appears printed across the Subdivision, including said large block of 17 acres, “Jules Hirsch Subdivision”, with the first *179 two words “Jules Hirsch” actually printed across the 17 acre block. This is of considerable significance because such words were not printed across the Subdivision on Map 96. It thus appears that the subdivider wanted to make it clear that such area was included in the Subdivision as shown on Map 97. Moreover, the deed in question conveys to appellee, Thelma Bower, “The Jules Hirsch Subdivision of approximately 69 acres * * * ” If the 17 acre tract is not included in the Subdivision, the remaining acreage will be much less than 69 acres, according to our calculations based on Maps 96 and 97.

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Bluebook (online)
333 S.W.2d 175, 1960 Tex. App. LEXIS 2039, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meek-v-bower-texapp-1960.