Miller v. Nacol

224 S.W.2d 734
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 21, 1940
DocketNo. 15072
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 224 S.W.2d 734 (Miller v. Nacol) 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
Miller v. Nacol, 224 S.W.2d 734 (Tex. Ct. App. 1940).

Opinion

HALL, Justice.

On November 4, 1948, appellee Adam Nacol entered into the following written agreement with appellant G. A. Miller, said agreement being the basis for this law suit:

“this serves as a puliminary agreement to a lease agreement between G. A. Miller lessee and Adam Nacol lessor at 1107 access road; and the 40' X 60' quonsit building [735]*735together with the space and improvement between. The terms of this lease are agreed as ($185.00) one hundred eighty five dollars per month payable the 1st day of Jan. 1949 in advance and each month thereafter for a period of five years.
“It is agreed that G. A. Miller has the privilege of subletting the premises.
“It is agreed that G. A. Miller has the privilege of using the land South and southwest of this quonsit up to the end of my line with the understanding that assess and withdrawal' for Casey and others be kept open.
“Lessee agrees to hereby pay the last two months and the first month in advance and to allow lessor necejary space to store his material an'd to sell same for 30 days.
“Lessee (signed) G. A. Miller
“Lessor (signed) Adam Nacol”

Before the written memorandum was executed by the parties, appellee took appellant out and showed him the premises which he was to occupy. Appellant acquired possession of the property some time in the latter part of December, 1948. Appellee accompanied appellant to the property about said time and introduced him to the neighbors in the vicinity of the property and gave him keys to the property.

Shortly after appellant Miller took possession he -sub-leased the property to appel-lee A. R. Etter, who was a party to the suit hereinafter referred to. Appellee Nacol collected from appellant the first month’s rent and the last two months’ rent of the five year term, as set out in the memorandum at the time it was executed. In the latter part of January, 1949, appellant sent appellee his check for the sum of $185 for payment of the second month’s rent. Ap-pellee Nacol refused to accept the check on the ground that there had not been a complete contract executed between the parties. Nacol prepared a contract and submitted it to appellant, covering the property in question, which was not satisfactory to appellant for the reason there were provisions added to said lease which were not in the original tentative written agreement, and to which he had not agreed, to wit: First, the new lease required appellant to carry on said premises the sum of $10,000 property damage insurance and $20,000 public liability; second, “lessor hereby agrees to allow lessee to sublet a portion of the premises if the same is sublet to a reputable business firm or person;” and third, said lease may be canceled after a year “in the event the lessor may have an opportunity to make a bona fide sale of the premises * * * In short, the new proposed lease, submitted by appellee to appellant contained fifteen provisions when the original memorandum onily contained four provisions.

Appellant sued appellee for specific performance of the contract. Appellee Nacol sued appellant Miller and appellee Etter in trespass to try title to the property in question. The two cases were consolidated and tried . in the District Court of Wichita County, Texas.

The court instructed a verdict in favor of appellee Adam Nacol and against appellant Miller for specific performance of the agreement. The court also gave appellee Etter the sum of $250 as. attorney’s fees.

The court’s judgment in all other respects placed the parties in status quo financially, Etter having paid appellant $1,175 for rentals due on the property, including the last four months’ rent of the five year term under the sub-lease contract.

Appellant G. A. Miller-presents this appeal submitting three points of error, as follows:

1. “The error of the court in refusing to permit appellant to offer in evidence the written agreement 'between Nacol and Miller dated November 4, 1948, as is fully set out in the Bill of Exception No. 1.”

2. “The error of the Court in refusing to permit appellant to prove by extrinsic or parol evidence the location of 1107 Access Road.”

3. “The error of the court in entering judgment for attorney’s fees in behalf of Etter on the ground that he was a stakeholder, since he was not a stakeholder but a party to the suit with a vital interest in the subject matter of -the suit.”

Both parties testified -that there was to be an additional lease prepared and executed [736]*736by the parties. Appellee Nacol contends that he would like to have additional provisions in the lease as submitted in his contract for approval. We have read his testimony and nowhere does he testify that the additional agreements set out in his submitted proposed lease were agreed upon by the parties at the time the memorandum was executed.

Appellant contends that he was willing to rely upon the memorandum as a contract but that it was understood between the parties there would be a new contract entered into between the parties containing only the provisions of the memorandum.

Upon the trial of the case appellant attempted to introduce in evidence the executed memorandum of November 4, supra. The same was refused admission 'by the court on the ground that the property was insufficiently described, because said instrument to meet the requirements of the statute of frauds must furnish within itself or by reference to some other existing writing or data by which the particular land may be identified with reasonable certainty, ap-pellee having invoked the statute of frauds.

In our study of the written memorandum, if we find that the instrument does not specifically indicate that appellee was the Owner of the property, the trial court was correct in not admitting the instrument in evidence so far as the instrument itself was concerned, under holding of the Supreme Court in the case of Wilson v. Fisher, Tex.Civ.App., 105 S.W.2d 304. However, where the description indicates ownership by the grantor, it “is sufficient when it is shown by extrinsic evidence that the party to be charged and who has signed the contract of memorandum owns a tract and only one tract of land answering the description in the memorandum.” Pickett et al. v. Bishop, Tex.Sup., 1949, 223 S.W.2d 222, 223.

We note in the third paragraph of the written memorandum of November 4, 1948 that it signifies ownership of appellee Nacol, said paragraph being as follows: “It is agreed that G. A. Miller has ithe privilege of using the land South and southwest of this quonsit up to the end of my line with the understanding that assess and withdrawal for Casey and others be kept open.”

We interpret the words, “using the land South and southwest of this quonsit up to the end of my line,” as signifying ownership by appellee Nacol, and therefore under the Bishop case, supra, the description is sufficient.

Appellee contends that said contract was inadmissible because it failed to show .the state, county or city in which the property was located.

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Bluebook (online)
224 S.W.2d 734, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-nacol-texapp-1940.