Mitchell v. Robinson

136 S.W. 501, 1911 Tex. App. LEXIS 205
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 10, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 136 S.W. 501 (Mitchell v. Robinson) 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
Mitchell v. Robinson, 136 S.W. 501, 1911 Tex. App. LEXIS 205 (Tex. Ct. App. 1911).

Opinion

REESE, J.

This is an action in trespass to .try title by J. F. Robinson against T. B. Mitchell and others to recover a tract of 53.7 acres of land, with damages, alleging special damages of $1,000 for removing soil, etc. The defendants, Mitchell, Childress, and Parker, pleaded not guilty, and defendant Childress further pleaded title under the 10 years’ limitations statute to an undivided one-fourth of the land. Defendant Reynolds, general denial and title under the 5 and 10 years’ limitation statute as to one-fourth interest. Defendant O’Connor pleaded, general denial and title by 10 years’ limitation and by cross-action claimed title to the entire tract. J. E. Parker disclaimed, and defendant Gus What-ley, not served, was dismissed. Upon trial with a jury the court instructed the jury to return a verdict for plaintiff for all the land sued for except such portion in the northern part of the tract as should be found to be included in D. A. Reynolds’ 3%-acre *503 homestead tract, and as to sucli portion to find for defendants. Upon the issue of damages the jury was instructed to find for the plaintiff against defendant Mitchell one-half of such sum as the jury might find to be the difference between the reasonable market value of the land before and after the removal of the dirt from the land. Upon this charge a verdict was returned for plaintiff for all of the land except a small parcel, describing it, and against Mitchell for $784 damages, upon which verdict judgment was rendered. From the judgment, a new trial having been refused, defendants appeal.

The undisputed evidence showed, title in plaintiff to all the land sued for from the sovereignty; but the small parcel in the northern part of the tract had been occupied by defendants, or some of them for over 10 years, and as to this they showed title by limitation. The evidence was also sufficient to support the finding of the jury as to the damage to the land by removal of soil, etc., by defendant Mitchell and the amount of damage to the land thereby. Otherwise than as found by the jury as to the small parcel referred to, the evidence did not present the issue of limitation. ■

[1] Plaintiff introduced, as a part of his chain of title, a deed from W. T. Austin to J. F. Crawford in which the land conveyed is described as follows: “Beginningat Scott’s line where it strikes the railroad; thence W. and cor. at a point where by turning N. and touching the line of the Nobles tract of land as will give him, the said Crawford, 160 acres of land, which is the quantity of land hereby sold, said tract is part of the N. half league of land upon which the city of Houston is situated, which land belongs to me as per title on record in Harris county.”

This deed was objected to by defendants on the ground that it is void for want of proper description, in that it fails to describe the land with sufficient certainty to identify it. The objection was overruled, and defendants excepted, and the ruling of the court is made the ground for the first assignment of error.

The deed was executed in Harris county, and the land is stated to be a part of the north half of a league belonging to the grantor on which the city of Houston is located, and the tract is to contain 160 acres. The relative locations of the railroad, Scott’s line, and the lines of the Nobles tract to each other, in connection with the amount of land conveyed, may be such as to enable the tract to be definitely identified. We cannot say that, from the face of the deed, it appears that the land cannot be identified. In Watson v. Baker, 71 Tex. 748, 9 S. W. 869, the court says: “As in all other contracts in writing, parol testimony cannot add to their terms, yet it can show the circumstances. It cannot make the contract for sale of land, but can apply a description to the property, if such application can be made so that it be known that the particular object is found. Parol evidence cannot add to an imperfect contract a material part in order to sustain it, but it can apply a description in it to the subject.” Kingston v. Pickins, 46 Tex. 101; Giddings v. Day, 84 Tex. 608, 19 S. W. 682; McWhirter v. Allen, 1 Tex. Civ. App. 649, 20 S. W. 1008; Gorham v. Settegast, 44 Tex. Civ. App. 254, 98 S. W. 673.

[2] As the next link in his chain of title, appellee introduced in evidence a deed from X F. Crawford to Joel Peoples of a tract of land (being the land sued for, and a part of the 160-acre tract conveyed by the foregoing deed) described as follows: “Situated in the county of Harris and state of Texas, to wit, out of the land conveyed by W. T. Austin to the party of the first part, and part of Ger-mantown, and on the N. side of Little White Oak bayou. Commencing at a white oak 12 in. in dia. mkd. X on the north line of 160 acre tract purchased from W. T. Austin, 30 rods, more or less, W. of the corner known as Sherman’s corner. Thence S. 9 deg. W. 24 rods to the east bank of little White Oak bayou to a line tree 4 in. in dia. ,mkd. X. Thence down said bayou to the N. W. corner of a 10 acre tract sold by the party of the first part to H. Behrens, a sweet bay tree mkd. X. Thence following the N. & E. boundary lines of said 10 acres to N. line of James Scott 500 acre tract, supposed to contain 50 acres, and it is further agreed that should said tract contain more than 50 acres, upon a survey thereof, the said Peoples agrees to pay for such excess $5.00 per acre.”

The admission of this deed over appellant’s objection that it was void for want of sufficient description is complained of by' the second assignment of error.

This deed is intended to convey the land in controversy, which contained 53.7 acres, and was all of the 160 acres lying east' of the lines set out in the deed. Upon the authorities cited above and many others establishing the same general rule for construction of deeds, we are of the opinion that the deed was properly admitted in evidence in connection with other evidence tending to show exactly and with certainty the land intended to be conveyed. This disposes also of the objection to the admission of the deed from Peoples to Peters of the same land, by the same description, as set out in the third assignment of error.

[3] The Stamm field notes were admissible along with'’ other evidence to definitely identify the lines and corners of the 53 acres, and to remove any latent ambiguity which might arise when it was undertaken to apply the description in the deed to the land, on the ground. Appellants are in error in assuming that these field notes were those of the survey to be made of the 160 acres referred to in the deed from Austin to Crawford. They were the field notes of a survey *504 made In 1860 of the tract conveyed by Crawford to Peoples in 1855. The assignment of error complaining of the admission of these field notes is overruled. Gorham v. Settegast, 44 Tex. Civ. App. 254, 98 S. W. 673.

[4] There was no error in the admission in evidence.over the objections made of the power of attorney from Liesegan to Julius Runge.

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Bluebook (online)
136 S.W. 501, 1911 Tex. App. LEXIS 205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-robinson-texapp-1911.