Parr v. Merritt

532 S.W.2d 154
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 9, 1976
DocketNo. 17673
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 532 S.W.2d 154 (Parr v. Merritt) 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
Parr v. Merritt, 532 S.W.2d 154 (Tex. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

OPINION

SPURLOCK, Justice.

This is a suit brought by Olin Merritt, plaintiff (appellee), against Eugene Parr, defendant (appellant), to enjoin defendant from maintaining obstructions upon and across a public road which is on the property adjoining plaintiff’s land, and to require defendant to remove all obstructions from said public road. The defendant contends in his answer that he owns 564 acres of land adjacent to and east of the land owned by plaintiff; the said road meanders across defendant’s land on the west boundary line for a distance of 666 varas; he owns the land; the gates are across a private road; he has been compelled to lock gates along the road because he was plagued by trespassers and cattle thieves; that he holds the legal title to all the land; and has a legal right to lock all the gates.

The court submitted the case to the jury on two issues: “Special Issue No. 1: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that the roadway in question was continuously used and traveled by the public generally, whenever it saw fit, for a period of ten (10) years or more, substantially along and upon the same route and across the lands of the owners thereof? Special Issue No. 2: Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that such use and travel over said road on the part of the public was open, obvious, and adverse to the landowners, and without objection by them?” The jury answered each of these issues in the affirmative. Judgment was then rendered against the defendant ordering him to remove all [156]*156locks and chains from all gates across said public road and he was further enjoined from locking the gates across the road in the future.

We affirm.

A witness, advanced in years, testified that the use of the road by the public had been continuous and without interruption and had been open, notorious, hostile, and adverse since 1900 until the last few years.

The County Commissioner of Montague County, the county in which the land is located, testified that as a county employee and now as a County Commissioner of that precinct, he, on behalf of the County, and at the expense of the County, had maintained this road continuously on an average of once or twice a year from 1948 to the present time. This work was done at the request of various persons. The County was supposed to maintain public roads. The County did not have deeds to many of the public roads maintained by Montague County. Another witness testified that the road had been used as a public road by the public in general, without interruption, from 1936-1942; another witness testified that to his knowledge everybody had used the road as a public road continuously from 1927-1942, and during this period of time there were no gates or other obstructions across the road. Another witness testified that said road had been used by the public in general continuously for 26 years. Other witnesses testified to the same effect. Each witness testified that they did not seek permission from anyone to use the road because it was a public road.

Appellant’s first three points are as follows:

“FIRST POINT: The evidence showing that the use of the roadway was merely permissive, such use could never ripen into a prescriptive right against the owner so as to constitute the roadway a public road.
“SECOND POINT: In the face of the undisputed testimony that the use made of the roadway by others was subservient to the rights of the owner of the land upon which said roadway exists, the Court erred in failing to grant Defendant’s Motion for Instructed Verdict.
“THIRD POINT: In the face of the undisputed testimony that the use made of the roadway by others was subservient to the rights of the owner of the land upon which said roadway exists, the Court erred in submitting Special Issue No. 2 inquiring as to the adverse use.”

Appellant groups these three points. It is noted that his first point is an abstract statement of law and does not complain of any action by the trial court. He assigned no points of error asserting there was no evidence or insufficient evidence to support the jury’s answer to such issue.

We overrule these points.

In Weldon v. Quaite, 175 S.W.2d 969 (Waco, Tex.Civ.App., 1943, no writ hist.) that court stated:

“It is the duty of the trial court to submit in his charge to the jury for its determination all ultimate controlling issues of fact raised by the pleadings and tendered by the evidence. Such issues may be tendered by direct evidence or by proof of sufficient facts and circumstances to form the basis for a legal conclusion with respect thereto. It is only when there is no evidence, direct or circumstantial, tendering issues essential to a recovery, or when the evidence relating to one or more of the controlling issues raised by the pleadings is undisputed and is such that reasonable minds may not differ in the conclusions to be drawn from the evidence in respect thereto, that the court is authorized to withdraw a case from the jury or to direct a verdict. In passing upon the sufficiency of the evidence to tender issues raised by the pleadings, it is the duty of an appellate court to view the evidence, and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom, in the most favorable light from the standpoint of the prevailing party.”

[157]*157Bearing in mind the foregoing rules of law, we have carefully reviewed the evidence and are of the opinion that the trial court did not err in overruling defendant’s motion for an instructed verdict or in submitting said issue or in rendering judgment for the plaintiff. The evidence was sufficient to sustain the trial court’s ruling, the submission of said issue, the jury’s answer thereto, and the judgment rendered herein. We also hold that the jury’s answers to said issues were not against the greater weight and preponderance of the evidence.

In Weldon v. Quaite, supra, that court stated:

“The right to use private property as a public thoroughfare may be acquired by prescription, but in order to do so it is necessary to show that an uninterrupted use of the way has been made by the public under an adverse claim of right for the statutory period of limitation. The use by the public must be with the actual or implied knowledge of the owner, adversely under claim or color of right, and not merely by the owner’s permission. . . .
“The adverse claim of right may be proved by circumstantial evidence, sufficient to sustain the conclusions, and may be inferred from the circumstances of the manner of the use thereof. Hall v. Austin, supra (20 Tex.Civ.App. 59, 48 S.W. 53); Texas & P. Ry. Co. v. Gaines, Tex.Civ.App., 27 S.W. 266. It is generally a question of fact to be ascertained by the jury. Texas Western Ry. Co. v. Wilson, 83 Tex. 153, 18 S.W. 325; Ladies’ Benevolent Society v. Magnolia Cemetery Co., supra (288 S.W. 812, Tex.Com.App.); Boone v. City of Stephenville, supra (37 S.W.2d 842, Tex.Civ.App.).

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Bluebook (online)
532 S.W.2d 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parr-v-merritt-texapp-1976.