Nance v. McClellan

54 S.W.2d 1109
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 29, 1932
DocketNo. 11037.
StatusPublished

This text of 54 S.W.2d 1109 (Nance v. McClellan) 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
Nance v. McClellan, 54 S.W.2d 1109 (Tex. Ct. App. 1932).

Opinion

VAUGHAN, J.

This suit was originally instituted in the court below by Helen White and Ollie Parker, femes sole; thereafter, and before trial, Helen White married one R. P. McClellan; and the plaintiff’s third amended original petition, upon which trial was had, named Mrs. Helen McClellan, joined pro forma by her husband, R. P. McClellan, and Ollie Parker, a feme sole, as plaintiffs, and E. T. Nance, State National Bank of Grand Saline, Tex., and the Texas & Pacific Railway Company as defendants. The parties to this appeal whose interest is actually involved are Mrs. Helen McClellan and Ollie Parker, as appellees, and E. T. Nance, appellant, and the use of the terms “appellant” and “appellees” will refer to said parties as above stated. Appellees, as plaintiffs in the court below, alleged that on or about October 18, 1929, appellant was the owner of a certain tract of land being a lot 50 feet by 100 feet in the town of Grand Saline, Tex., that as an inducement to a sale, represented verbally to said R. P. McClellan that the property immediately in front of and adjoining the lot in question was a public street, ’ approximately 50 feet in width and connecting with Main street in the town of Grand Saline, and lying between the involved lot and the right of way of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company; that, relying upon such representations, said McClellan purchased from appellant an option to buy said lot, paying the sum of $500 therefor, the total purchase price of the lot being $3,000; that on or about October 26, 1929, the appellees (Mrs. Helen McClellan then a feme sole) being interested in the purchase of said lot and the taking over of said option from McClellan for their use and benefit, went to Grand Saline, where appellant repeated’ and made to them the same representations, namely, that there was a public street in front of said lot to the north and adjoining the lot, and, relying thereon, purchased the option agreement from R. P. McClellan for the sum of $500, and entered into a purchase agreement with appellant, whereby they, appellees, agreed to pay the further sum of $1,050 in cash, execute a note for $1,450 payable to the order of appellant, and execute a deed of trust to secure said note; that, in accordance with said contract, the deeds of conveyance, together with appellees’ $1,050 cash, the note for $1,450, and the deed of trust securing same, were, after said deeds had been properly executed, all placed in escrow with the defendant State National Bank of Grand Saline, Tex. Appellees further alleged that, before purchasing said option and entering into the contract for the purchase of said lot with appellant, they informed him that they desired to purchase the lot for the purpose of erecting a hotel thereon, and that the property as a hotel site would be valueless unless there was ingress and egress to the same, and unless the same fronted upon a public street or thoroughfare; that the property north of the lot, which appellant represented to be a public street, was the property of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company; that said lot was entirely without ingress or egress and consequently wholly worthless for the purpose of a hotel site and wholly valueless to appellees; that the representations of appellant were fraudulently made to induce appellees to part with their money and to agree to purchase said property, which they would not have done but for such representations ; that appellees, Helen McClellan and Ollie Parker, contributed equally in making the payments alleged; that they discovered the fraud on or about November 19,1929, and immediately gave notice to appellant of their rescission of said trade and transaction had in reference to said lot, and demanded the return of their money and the cancellation of the note and deed of trust executed by them. Appellees further alleged that appellant had pleaded that the property immediately north of the lot in question had been acquired by the town of Grand Saline for the public as a roadway -by prescription; wherefore they made the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, the record ownet of such property, a party defendant, and prayed that, if the court 'should find that the public had acquired- a right to said property as a public thoroughfare by prescription, such finding and judgment should be binding on the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, and, in addition thereto, prayed that they have judgment against the State National Bank of Grand Saline, Tex., for the sum of $1,050 placed in its hands by appel- *1111 lees, against appellant íor an additional sum ■of $500, with interest on the sum of $1,550 at 6 per cent, per annum from October 29, 1929, and that the note for $1,450 and deed of trust be canceled.

Appellant answered by general demurrer, general denial, and special answer to the effect that he made no representations to ap-pellees at all; that they came to the town of Grand Saline, and, after investigating the property themselves, sought him out to purchase same; that there was a street in' front of the lot in question and the street had been opened, used, and enjoyed for more than 40 years by the citizens of the town of Grand Saline, and that, if the street had been closed, it was not caused by, agreed to, nor acquiesced in by appellant; that he did not represent the same to be a street, as it was opened, used, and occupied as a street by the entire citizenship of Grand Saline and Van Zandt county; that appellees did not purchase any option agreement from R. P. McClellan, but that said agreement was purchased by ap-pellees originally, but, by request, was taken in the name of R. P. McClellan. Appellant further alleged that he had in all things carried out the contract to its full terms and conditions, and, by way of cross-action, prayed for judgment against said appellees and the State National Bank of Grand Saline, Tex., for the money, the note, and deed of trust which said bank held in escrow.

The State National Bank of Grand Saline answered by general demurrer, general denial, and, that it had no interest in the subject-matter of the suit, and prayed that it be discharged with its costs. The Texas & Pacific Railway Company answered by filing a misjoinder of causes of action, a misjoinder of parties, a general demurrer, and general denial.

The cause was tried to a jury, which found, in answering special issues (1) that appellant represented to R. P. McClellan, prior to the purchase of the option by McClellan, that there was a public street between the lot in question and the Texas & Pacific Railway Company’s right of way; (2) that R. P. McClellan repeated such representations to ap-pellees prior to their purchase of the option from him; (3) that appellees relied upon such representations of appellant in agreeing to purchase the lot in quéstion; (4) that appellant represented to the appellees, prior to the time they placed the cash, note, and deed of trust in the possession of the State National Bank of Grand Saline, that there was a public street between the lot in question and the right of way of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company; and (5) that appellees relied upon such representations in agreeing to purchase the lot in question. On February 5, 1931, the court below rendered judgment in favor of appellees against appellant and State National Bank of Grand Saline, Tex., for the sum of. $1,050, and against appellant for the additional sum of $500, with interest on the sum of $1,550 from date of judgment at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, and all costs, and canceling and holding for naught the deed of trust and the note for $1,450.

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54 S.W.2d 1109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nance-v-mcclellan-texapp-1932.