Moody v. Ashe

236 S.W. 113, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1253
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 22, 1921
DocketNo. 8068. [fn*]
StatusPublished

This text of 236 S.W. 113 (Moody v. Ashe) 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
Moody v. Ashe, 236 S.W. 113, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1253 (Tex. Ct. App. 1921).

Opinion

GRAVES, J.

This litigation involves the title and right of possession to 6.06 acres out of 156%-acre lot No. 6 of the subdivision of the east half of the Luke Moore league of land in Harris county, Tex. It arose in this way:

In November, 1912, S. S. Ashe began the erection of a log house on this tract, when J. M. Strong, as a tenant of L. B. Moody, claiming to be in possession of it, along with an adjoining tract, sued out a temporary injunction restraining Ashe from interfering with his possession. Thereupon Ashe, by way of answer and cross-action, disclaimed as to all of the land described in Strong’s petition except the 6.06 acres now in controversy, as to which he sued Moody in trespass to try title. Moody replied by a plea of not guilty and a claim of ownership of the land under the five-year statute of limitation. Strong’s tenancy term expired, and he became eliminated. S. S. Ashe died pendente lite, and Fitch and wife, who succeeded to his estate, made themselves parties plaintiff against Moody. Trial before the court without a jury resulted in a judgment in favor of Fitch and wife, and Moody prosecutes this writ of error.

The trial court filed these findings of fact:

“I. This suit was originally instituted by J. M. Strong against S. S. Ashe. S. S. Ashe, by answer and cross-action, made L. B. Moody a defendant. S. S. Ashe died during the pend-ency of the suit, leaving a will, in which Mrs. Sallie Fitch and John B. Ashe were named as independent executors, and as the sole devisees under said will of the property in controversy in this suit. Said will was duly probated in the county court of Harris county, Tex., and thereafter Mrs. Sallie Fitch, joined by her husband, Charles L. Fitch, and John B. Ashe, as executors and individually, suggested the death of said defendant, S. S. Ashe, and made themselves parties to this suit. The original plaintiff, J. M. Strong, during the progress of the trial took a nonsuit. Said John B. Ashe and Mrs. Sallie Fitch, joined by her husband, Charles L. Fitch, are hereinafter referred to as cross-plaintiffs.
“II. The land in controversy is a part of what is known as lot No. 6 of the subdivision of the east half of the Luke Moore league in Harris county, Tex., which is fully described in the judgment in this case. The tract originally sued for contained 22.58 acres of land, but the defendant S. S. Ashe disclaimed as to all of it except 6.06 acres, which disclaimer was adopted by the cross-plaintiffs. Said lot No. 6 of the subdivision of the east half of the Luke Moore league contains 156% acres, and was deeded by Stephen E. Spence to S. S. Ashe on the 24th day of May, 1880. From said date down to the time of the trial of said cause, said S. S. Ashe, during his lifetime, and the cross-plaintiffs after his death, have claimed all of lot 6 except a tract of 3% acres out of the northeast comer, known as the George Washington tract, and a tract out of the southeast corner known as the Mike Perkins tract, and *114 described in some of the conveyances as containing 7 acres more or less, but in fact containing 16.52 acres.
“Some time prior to 1894, the time not being shown by the evidence, S. S. Ashe took actual possession and fenced all of said lot 6, west of Bray’s bayou. During the year 1894, and continuously since that time, said S. S. Ashe, down to the time of his death, and the cross-plaintiffs thereafter, have continuously had actual possession of all of said lot 6 west of Bray’s bayou, claiming said entire lot 6 outside of the tracts excepted, as above mentioned, and continuously cultivating portions of said lot 6 west of Bray’s bayou.
“I find that in 1866 S. S. Ashe conveyed 156% acres of land described as lot 6 of the Luke Moore half league to Z. T. Hogan, for the use of T. W. House, to secure the payment of three notes aggregating $9,006.
“That in 1899 Z. T. Hogan, trustee, conveyed said 156% acres of land to T. W. House, reciting that the said S. S. Ashe had made default in the payment of the notes above referred to.
“On July 16, 1901, T. W. House executed a quitclaim deed to S. S. Ashe to said 156% acres.
“I find, however, that during the period above referred to, that the said S. S. Ashe claimed said property and exercised acts of ownership, and continuously cultivated portions of said lot 6 west of said Bray’s bayou.
“JII. On May 17,1880, S. S. Ashe and others conveyed to Make Perkins ‘seven acres of land, part of what is known as the Perkins farm tract, being part of the Luke Moofe league in Harris county, said seven aeres being situate upon the upper or southwestern line of the sub-vision No. 6 of the said Luke Moore league, on the south side, and fronting on Bray’s bayou, and running to the southeastern line of said league for quantity.’ This is the only deed executed by Ashe conveying any part of the land except the deed to T. W. House, herein-before mentioned.
“Mike Perkins conveyed to Halsey, Halsey to Darrell, Farrell to J. M. Oobb and R. N. Little. The land described in these deeds is not in controversy in this suit, and they were admitted in evidence for the purpose of clarifying the description of the land in controversy.
“The deed from J. M. Cobb and R. N. Little to L. B. Moody includes the 'seven acres referred to above and conveys by field notes described in one tract the land involved in this suit.
“I therefore find that the cross-plaintiffs and the defendant Moody do not claim title under a common souime to the land in controversy.
“IV. Said S. S. Ashe, some time during the year 1898, took actual possession of the 6.06 acres of said lot No. 6 east of Bray’s bayou lying between the Mike Perkins tract and the George Washington tract, by running a fence from the southeast corner of the George Washington tiaet to the southeast corner of the Mike Perkins tract. He also built a bridge across the bayou connecting the land in controversy with a portion of lot 6 on the west side of the bayou. The fence above referred to remained on the ground, and was there in the fall of 1905, at the time that a survey of said property was made by one Stimson, a surveyor.
“Between May 1, 1905, and the date of the record of the deed to L. B. Moody, and the date when this suit was instituted in 1912, there were at vai’ious times fences erected connecting the northeast corner of the 16.52-aere tract, known as the Perkins tract, and the southeast corner of the George Washington tract. A portion of the time the fence consisted of a fence erected by other parties and joined to by shoi’t connecting fences by the defendant Moody. The evidence shows that in 1898 cross-plaintiff Fitch, finding a fence along said east line, destroyed the same by cutting, and that it remained so destroyed for a considerable length of time.
“The evidence also shows that one Milby, with the consent of cross-plaintiff Fitch, removed a considerable portion of this fence, for the purpose of allowing cattle owned by him to have access to the bayou across the land in controversy, and that it remained down a number of months at this time.

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Bluebook (online)
236 S.W. 113, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1253, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moody-v-ashe-texapp-1921.