Mosesman v. Robertson

301 S.W.2d 279, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1730
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 4, 1957
Docket3462
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 301 S.W.2d 279 (Mosesman v. Robertson) 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
Mosesman v. Robertson, 301 S.W.2d 279, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1730 (Tex. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinion

TIREY, Justice.

Plaintiffs brought this suit for rescission and damages growing out of a contract for sale of a cafe known as Paul’s Welcome Inn located in Dallas, Texas, and grounded their action on fraud. At the conclusion of the evidence the trial court granted defendants’ motion for instructed verdict. In the judgment we find this recital: “ * * * and the plaintiffs having put on their testimony and rested their case, defendants did move the court to withdraw the case from the jury, and render judgment for said defendants; and the court, after hearing said motion, finds that in his opinion said motion is good and that plaintiffs should be denied all relief sought and that defendants should be dismissed with their costs, the court having withdrawn the case from the jury,” and decreed accordingly.

Plaintiffs excepted to the action of the court and gave notice of appeal to the Dallas Court of Civil Appeals and duly perfected their appeal to that court, and the cause is here on transfer order of our Supreme Court.

Plaintiffs assail the judgment on what they designate as six points. They are substantially: (1, 2, 3 and 4) The court erred in failing to grant plaintiffs’ motion for new trial because there was error in instructing a verdict against them and in favor of defendants for the reason that there was sufficient evidence to tender issues of fact for the jury’s determination, and that there was competent and undisputed evidence to the effect that defendants made certain fraudulent misrepresentations and had prepared and submitted to them false books of accounts on which the plaintiffs relied and which induced plaintiffs to purchase the cafe in question, and because the undisputed evidence of record establishes the damages suffered by the plaintiffs; (5) because the court erred in refusing to grant plaintiffs’ request to withdraw their announcement of rest in order that they might present further evidence on the issue of damages suffered by reason of the fraud of the defendants; and (6) the error of the court in overruling plaintiffs’ motion for new trial because Mrs. Robertson, one of defendants’ witnesses, purposely withheld testimony and gave perjured testimony on a material issue.

*281 Plaintiffs went to trial on their original petition. It alleged substantially that prior to February S, 1955, defendants were the owners and operators of a cafe known as Paul’s Welcome Inn in Dallas County, Texas; that defendants offered such cafe for sale to them at a price of $9,600, free and clear of all debts and liabilities incurred from April 3, 1954, to February 5, 1955, and orally represented and warranted to plaintiffs that all tax liability in connection with the cafe had been paid; that there were outstanding meal tickets ■of only $20; that included in the equipment was a typewriter and deep freeze, and represented that the cafe was doing a minimum business of $250 to $300 in gross receipts (in fact, it was only grossing $90 to $100 per day) and was earning and had earned for the year ending December 31, 1954, over $10,000; that defendants exhibited books and records .allegedly showing all receipts and disbursements from April 5, 1954, showing large daily gross receipts as represented and the net operating profit; that such representations were made to plaintiffs for the purpose of being relied upon and as an inducement to them to purchase the cafe at an agreed price of $9,600; that such representations made by defendants to them were untrue and were made with the express intention of being relied upon by plaintiffs; that plaintiffs did rely upon such representations and agreed to purchase the cafe at a price of $9,600, payable as follows: $1,-000 cash, the transfer and assignment of a promissory note in the sum of $2,200, executed by Brice Williams, payable to plaintiff Dorothy Mosesman and secured by chattel mortgage, the assumption of an unpaid balance on a note secured by chattel mortgage, such note being in the sum of $4,800, which note was held by Empire State Bank. Plaintiffs executed their own note in the sum of $1,600, secured by a second lien on the cafe equipment.

Plaintiffs further alleged that there had been a total failure of consideration and in the alternative a partial failure of consideration; that the value of the cafe equipment was only $2,000 and that it had no good will; that plaintiffs seek to rescind and cancel the fraudulent sale and tender back to defendants the equipment purchased, and seek to recover from defendants the $1,000 cash paid and the return of the Brice Williams chattel mortgage and note in the sum of $2,200; and the cancellation of their second lien note in the principal sum of $1,600, and in the alternative plaintiffs allege that they have been damaged in the sum of $7,600, for all of which they sue. They prayed that Brice Williams be enjoined from paying the installments due on the $2,200 note to defendant Robertson, and that said sum be paid into the registry of the court. They also prayed that the defendant Robertson be restrained from attempting to collect the $1,600 second lien note pending final determination of the litigation, and they prayed that they have judgment can-celling, rescinding and setting aside the sale, and in the alternative that they recover their damages in the amount of $7,600.

Defendants went to trial on their original answer, which consists of only a general denial.

Plaintiff offered some nine witnesses, among them being defendant, J. W. Robertson and his wife, Betty Joan Robertson. The Statement of Facts contains in excess of 190 pages, including exhibits. Mrs. Mosesman, one of the plaintiffs, testified to the effect that in the purchase of the restaurant they assumed one note for $4,-800, held by the Empire State Bank, which was secured by chattel mortgage on the property; that they gave defendants one note for $1,600, secured by second lien on the equipment, and that they transferred to the defendants the Brice Williams note payable to Mrs. Mosesman in the sum of $2,000, which note was secured by chattel mortgage on some restaurant property that they had formerly owned, and that they actually paid in cash to the defendants the sum of $1,250.

*282 ' Mrs. Mosesman testified in part:

“Q. Mrs. Mosesman, you have already testified that the purchase price of the cafe was $9600.00. I wonder if you will go through how you made that consideration and whether you have any note at the present— A. It was $9600.00; $1226.00 cash, $4800.00 first lien note that the Empire State Bank is holding, that is the one I assumed, and then I had a $1600.00 second lien note, that I was to pay Mr. Robertson $50.00 a month; that made up the $9600.00 — oh, I am sorry, I had a $2000.00 first lien note that I had gotten in exchange of the restaurant ; that was included to Mr. Robertson in the $9600.00.
“Q. And this first lien note and second lien note, the $4800.00 and the $1600.00 at the Empire State Bank, was that on the fixtures? A. Yes, sir, it is.
“Q. Do you have those fixtures? A. No.
“Q. Who has that $2200.00 first lien note? A. Well, Mr. Robertson, I suppose.
“Q. In the operation of the cafe, can you state whether or not you operated the cafe at a profit? A. No.
“Q. Will you state whether or not you operated the cafe at a loss? A.

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Bluebook (online)
301 S.W.2d 279, 1957 Tex. App. LEXIS 1730, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mosesman-v-robertson-texapp-1957.