Owen Development Company v. Calvert

292 S.W.2d 839
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 21, 1956
DocketNo. 6889
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 292 S.W.2d 839 (Owen Development Company v. Calvert) 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
Owen Development Company v. Calvert, 292 S.W.2d 839 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

DAVIS, Justice.

Appellees-plaintiffs, Roy'Calvert and F. A. Cotey, sued appellant-defendant, Owen Development Company, a corporation, for damages as the result of a fire which occurred August 24, 1954, which destroyed or damaged a building belonging to appellant and leased by appellant to appel-lees, in which building appellees had two trucks, large quantities of oil and other equipment necessary to the carrying on of appellees’ business in greasing and otherwise servicing oil well pumps and oil producing equipment. Appellees alleged that their property and equipment situated in the building at the time of the fire was destroyed or damaged by said fire and listed each item of property in the building at the time; the total alleged value of all of said property immediately before said fire was $12,879.22. The total value of all remaining property not completely destroyed being alleged to be $2,401; thus making a total of damages alleged to the property damaged and/or destroyed to be-$10,478.22. Appellees also alleged damages in the sum of $3,100 for the loss of the use of their trucks for a period of 31 days following the fire and that they were compelled to expend the sum of $760 “for the purpose of cleaning up the debris, cleaning and restoring the plaintiffs’ salvaged property to a usable condition.”

Appellant is engaged in the real estate business and had acquired a part of the old Camp Fannin Army site near Tyler, Texas, for the purpose of developing said property into a rural community for its [841]*841profit. Appellees had leased one of the old Army buildings for a place from which to carry on their business.

On August 24, 1954, appellant had its own fire department with a paid Fire Chief, a man by the name of E. R, Grant. The weather was extremely dry and the grass covered a large part if not all of the unoccupied areas (amounting to some 500 or 600 acres on such date), and covered around the building occupied by appellees, in such quantities as to create a fire hazard. On said date the Fire Chief of appellant’s fire system, assisted by four volunteer employees of other, tenants, upon instructions from an authorized agent of appellant, was engaged in burning the grass from such property. The grass was burned from'the area adjacent to the building leased to ap-pellees in the forenoon. The Fire Chief, El R. Grant, and his assistants stopped such burning operations around 10:00 a. m. on said date because the wind had commenced to blow. They extinguished the fire, except for some smoldering chunks of wood or refuse that was scattered over the burned area and probably some smoldering embers in the edge of the weeds and grass of the burned area which extended to within 30 to 50 feet of the building occupied by appellees. One inspection of the burned area around said building was made ’ by said Fire Chief about noon of said date and no blazing fire was. noted in the remaining grass around said building at that time, but the chunks of wood or other refuse were still smoking at such time. Around 2:30 or 3:00 o’clock that afternoon, a man was passing along the highway which runs near such property and - noted the building that was occupied by'appellees to be on fire near the ground. He reported the fire but it had gained such headway before the fire fighting equipment ¡ could reach the building from another area where they were then engaged-in burning grass that the entire building was almost completely destroyed and large quantities of personal property belonging to. appel-lees were completely destroyed and the remaining property of appellees in said building at such time was damaged.

Appellees alleged that smoldering embers or sparks from the burning chunks of wood or refuse had set the remaining grass around the building on fire and that such fire spread to and ignited said building and resulted in the. damages alleged by appel-lees.

Appellees alleged a number of acts of negligence, among which were failure to properly, put out the fire and the failure of appellant or its agent, servants or employees to notify appellees or their employees that such grass was to be burned.

The evidence shows that after the fire was discovered all the grass around said building had burned. Appellant contended that the building :had caught on fire from some other cause and that the fire from the building had set the grass, but there is no evidence in the record that any part .of the grass was burning at the time of or after the fire was discovered.

Upon the answers of the jury to 18 special issues, judgment was .entered for ap-pellees. An appeal was duly perfected to this Court and appellant brings forward seven points of errqr, each of .which is challenged by appellees. In view of the fact that three of the appellant’s points of error complain of eight of the special issues in the court’s charge as being comments on the evidence, w.e copy all the special issues, with the jury’s answers thereto, as follows: , . '

' “Special Issue No. 1:
“Do you find from» a preponderance of .the .evidence that the failure of. the defendant,. Owen . Development Company, to notify Roy Calvert and F. A. Cotey or their employees that the- grass fire was to be set was negligence?
“Answer ‘Yes* or'‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.
[842]*842“Special Issue No. 2:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the' failure of .Owen Development Company to notify -the plaintiffs or their employees that ■ the fire was to be set was a proximate cause of the fire to the plaintiffs’ prop-, erty.?
“Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.
• “Special Issue No. 3:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence .that the burning of the grass by E. R. Grant and the parties with him when neither the plaintiffs or their employees was present was negligence ?
“Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.
“Special Issue'No. 4: '
“Do you find from a preponderance,, of the evidence that the burning of the grass by • E. Ri Grant and' 'the parties with him at a time when neither of the plaintiffs or their employees were present was a proximate cause of the fire to the plaintiffs’ property?
“Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.
“Special Issue' No.'‘5:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the failure of E. R. Grant to make or to have made 'mdre than one ihspection of the area 'around the plaintiffs’ building after Grant and the other' parties had finished their grass burning'in that airea, if'-'yotf have so'-found', was negligence?
“Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’
“Answer: Yes.
“Special Issue No. 6:
“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the failure of E. R. Grant to make or to have made more than one inspection of the area around the plaintiffs’ building after Grant and the other parties had finished their grass burning in that area, if you have so found, was a proximate cause of the fire to the plaintiffs’ property and their damages, if any? .

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Related

Owen Development Company v. Calvert
302 S.W.2d 640 (Texas Supreme Court, 1957)
Thompson v. Robbins
297 S.W.2d 247 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)

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Bluebook (online)
292 S.W.2d 839, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/owen-development-company-v-calvert-texapp-1956.