O'Haver v. Turner

259 S.W.2d 629, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 1874
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 28, 1953
DocketNo. 3091
StatusPublished

This text of 259 S.W.2d 629 (O'Haver v. Turner) 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
O'Haver v. Turner, 259 S.W.2d 629, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 1874 (Tex. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

HALE, Justice.

This is an appeal tfrom an order of the District Court of Waller County overruling a plea of privilege. The controlling question presented on the appeal is. whether the suit out of which the venue proceeding arose is one for the partition of land within the meaning of subdivision 13 or one for the recovery of land within the meaning of subdivision 14 of Art. 1995, Vernon’s Tex. Civ.Stats. If the suit is one for the partition of land and if it does not involve any disputed issue of title to any of the land in controversy, the order appealed from should be affirmed; otherwise, it should be reversed.

Appellees, Chester A. Turner and wife, hereafter referred to as the Turners, instituted suit in the District Court of Waller County on August 26, 1952, against appellants, E. N. O’Haver and wife, hereafter referred to as the O’Havers, Southern States Life Insurance Company, hereafter referred to as the Insurance Company or the Company, and R. L. Cowling sometimes referred to as Trustee. The Turners alleged in their verified petition, among other things, that by deed dated March 17, 1952, the O’Havers conveyed to them 2805.1 acres of land, more or less, situated in Cameron County, Texas, describing the same by [630]*630metes and bounds and attaching a copy of the deed to- their petition as Exhibit “A”; that on April 2, 1952, the Turners executed and delivered to the Insurance 'Company and its Trustee a note in the principal sum of $102,500, due and payable in semiannual installments of $3,333.30 each, the first installment to become due and payable on September 20, 1952, and a similar installment to become due and payable each six months thereafter until the entire note was paid, together with a deed of trust covering the land in controversy as security for the payment of such note and they attached a copy of the deed of trust to their petition as Exhibit “B”; and that on or about April 3, 1952, the Turners executed and acknowledged an instrument in the nature of a deed dated March 17, 1952, which upon its face purported to convey to the O’Havers an undivided ½ interest in the lands in controversy and delivered such instrument or deed, a copy of which was attached to their petition as Exhibit “C”, in escrow to Paul Y. Cunningham for delivery to the O’Hav-ers only when Turner should thereafter instruct the said Cunningham to do so; that it was not the intention of the parties that such instrument should become effective as a conveyance until such time as Turner should instruct the escrow agent to deliver the same to the O’Havers; and that such instructions were never given and “notwithstanding there was no authority for any delivery of the foregoing instrument, the defendants, E. N. O’Haver and wife, Katherine O’Haver, or their attorney or agents, obtained possession of such instrument in sortie unauthorized manner and caused the same to be recorded in the Deed Records of Cameron County, Texas, on or about May 15, 1952.”

The Turners further alleged that although no payment had become due under the terms of the note and deed of trust dated April 2, 1952, the Insurance Company was unlawfully asserting, or threatening to assert, a right to accelerate the maturity of the full principal sum of the note and that the Company was asserting, or threatening to assert, a right to demand that its Trustee proceed to sell the lands of the Turners under an alleged power of sale contained in the deed of trust and thereby “to disturb plaintiffs’ possession of said lands and to cast a cloud upon their title thereto.” They further alleged that the O’Havers owned an undivided interest in and to the lands in controversy prior to the time they executed and delivered to the Turners the deed dated March 17, 1952; and, notwithstanding the-execution and delivery of such deed, it was; agreed between the O’Havers, the Turners- and the Insurance Company that the-O’Havers, although they were thereby placing the legal title to the lands in the Turners, would nevertheless retain and did', retain an equitable undivided one-half interest in such lands; that the lands were of the estimated value of $275,000; and that,, by reason of the facts therein alleged, such lands were not susceptible of an equitable division or partition in kind, thereby making it necessary for the court to decree a sale of such lands in order that the proceeds to be derived from such sale might be applied to the payment of the note held by the Insurance Company and the remainder thereof divided between the Turners and the O’Havers. The prayer in their petition was as follows :

“Wherefore, Plaintiffs pray that defendants be cited to answer this petition; that defendants Southern States Life Insurance Company and R. L., Cowling, Trustee, be temporarily enjoined, and upon final hearing hereof' they be perpetually enjoined, from accelerating the maturity of plaintiffs’' $102,500.00 note and proceeding with, or making sale of plaintiffs’ lands by reason of the execution and acknowl- • edgment and/or delivery of that certain deed, copy of which is attached as. Exhibit ‘C’ hereof; that they have judgment decreeing defendants E. N. O’Haver and wife, Katherine E. O’Haver, principally and primarily - liable, and plaintiffs liable only as. sureties to Southern States Life Insurance Company (or other holder) as to - the one-half of all the obligations represented by the note of plaintiffs to_said . insurance company assumed by said defendants, E. N. O’Haver and wife, . Katherine E. O’Haver, and the Deed of ; [631]*631Trust, copy of which is attached as Exhibit ‘B’; that plaintiffs have judgment for partition between themselves and defendants, E. N. O’Haver and wife, Katherine E. O’Haver, of subject lands by sale, subject to or with payment therefrom of the aforesaid note of Southern States Life Insurance Company; and such other and further relief to which they may show themselves entitled, and for costs.”

The Insurance Company and its Trustee answered the petition of the Turners with special exceptions, a general denial and a special denial that they ever agreed with the Turners or with the O’Havers that the latter were to retain or to have any equitable interest in the lands in controversy after they had executed and delivered to the Turners their deed of conveyance dated March 17, 1952, or that they had any knowledge until August 18, 1952 of any intention on the part of the Turners to reconvey to the O’Havers an undivided ½ interest in the lands as evidenced by their deed dated March 17, 1952 to the O’Havers. They further denied that any agreement was ever made by them, either with the Turners or the O’Havers, to accept the O’Havers as the primary obligor for one-half of the total amount of the indebtedness evidenced by the note and deed of trust in controversy. Their pleadings were verified by the oath of their attorney.

The O’Havers answered the petition of the Turners in the due order of their pleadings with verified pleas of privilege, in abatement and in bar. Their plea of privilege was grounded upon allegations to the effect that this is a suit for the recovery of lands and damages thereto, or to remove encumbrances from the title to such lands, within the meaning of subdivision 14 of Art. 1995 of Vernon’s Tex.Civ.Stats.; that disputed issues of title to such lands are the principal issues involved in the case; that the lands in controversy lie wholly within Cameron County; and that no exception to exclusive venue in the county where the land in controversy lies, as provided by law, exists in the cause. They prayed that the Court sustain their plea and transfer the .cause to a District Court of Cameron County,. Texas.

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Bluebook (online)
259 S.W.2d 629, 1953 Tex. App. LEXIS 1874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohaver-v-turner-texapp-1953.