Pershing v. Henry

236 S.W. 213, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1281
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 12, 1921
DocketNo. 1859. [fn*]
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 236 S.W. 213 (Pershing v. Henry) 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
Pershing v. Henry, 236 S.W. 213, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1281 (Tex. Ct. App. 1921).

Opinion

HUPP, C. J.

The appellant, Pershing, sued Henry in one count of his petition in trespass to try title for iz/tn in certain designated subdivisions of land out of the Haskell county school lands, and in his second count he alleged that appellee, on January 23, 1920, took a deed to the land described in the petition and held the legal title in his name under an agreement made prior to and at the time of the execution of such deeds; that appellant should have 12/01 of the land sued for; that the deed was made to Henry to hold in trust and for the convenience of the parties, but that appellant was the beneficial owner of such interest in the land by virtue of a' prior oral agreement; that the title thereof was involved in the suit of Groos v. Hoover et al., and that a compromise and adjustment of the conflicting claims involved in the suit resulted in a judgment being entered in pursuance to an agreement made out of court, whereby the legal title was placed in Henry by deeds, with the agreement and understanding that appellant was the equitable beneficiary of the interest set out in the petition; that it was part of the agreement that Henry would deed to appellant such interest as soon as partition could be made or an accounting otherwise satisfactory had; that appellee still holds the land as trustee, but refuses and fails to account to appellant therefor or deed him his interest; that the market value thereof was about $20 per acre, in which sum appellant alleged he had been damaged by the conduct of appellee in appropriating the land and proceeds thereof and in a refusal to account to appellant therefor. The prayer is fo.r title and possession of his interest, for partition, and, if this could not be done, that he have judgment for the value thereof with a lien fixed against the land and a foreclosure thereof, etc. The appellee answered by general denial, not guilty, and as by way of cross-action for title and possession, of the land.

This case was submitted and tried with the case of White et al. v. Ed. P. Mann et al., which case is on appeal in this court under No. 1860, Mann v. White, 236 S. W. 783. The facts set out in that case, in so far as they are material to this case, will be adopted. The cases were submitted on special issues, and those relating to this case, and upon which judgment was rendered, are, ‘ with the jury’s answers, as follows:

“(2) Did R. S. Pershing agree with E. D. Henry that he would furnish, upon the trial of the suit of Gus J. Groos v. Ira J. Hoover et al., testimony showing that the trustee’s sale by Haskell county was invalid? Answer: Yes.
(3) Did R. S. Pershing fail to furnish for said trial said testimony? Answer: Yes.
(4) Did R. S. Pershing agree, at Port Worth, Tex., with E. D. Henry, that all expenses incident to the proposed litigation would first be paid before any division was had between E. D. Henry and R. S. Pershing? Answer: Yes.
(5) Was it the understanding between E. D. Henry and R. S. Pershing, at Port Worth, Tex., that any division between them was to be made out of the net proceeds of land recovered *214 by their joint undertaking, if any, at the ratio of 11 to 39? Answer: Xes.”

The court, upon these findings, rendered judgment for Henry for the entire interest in the land sued for, describing it, decreeing that—

“E. D. Henry do have and recover of and from the said R. S. Pershing the title and possession of the land described in plaintiff’s petition herein, and that he be quieted in his title as against all manner of claims of the said R. S. Pershing in and to said land.”

Pershing, the facts show, claimed to have earned commissions due to him from Morris & Elynt in the sale of the Haskell county school land to them and for services rendered them, and also commissions on other sales * from them to Hoover, for which he had instituted suits and in one case had sued out an attachment and perhaps in another filed lis pendens notice. Henry’s claim was for money loaned to Morris & Elynt to pay the annual interest due Haskell county on the school land purchased, which he claims amounted to $39,000. The facts show in this case that, after Henry had loaned the money to Morris & Elynt, in order to secure him and as one of the grounds of the sale, Morris & Flynt conveyed the land purchased from Haskell county to Hoover, who executed his note to Elynt for $53,000. This $53,000 note was delivered to Henry as collateral security on the advances made by him to Morris & Elynt, and it appears that he secured money on this note from Groos, to whom he turned over the Hoover note and who held that note. After Hoover became the purchaser of the Haskell county school land the evidence shows he defaulted in the interest payment due the county, and the county, exercising its option, declared the entire indebtedness due, and under the powers of a deed of trust sold the land at trustee’s sale and bought in the land for the county. After the county bought in the land at trustee’s sale it seems that they made some order to again sell the land to Hoover, but for some reason they did not carry out this order and make the sale to Hoover, but the order was canceled and an order made to sell the land to Ed. F. Mann, who purchased the land at $10 an acre. The evidence is not very clear, but it seems to have been the understanding that Mann would pay the interest due the county upon which Hoover had defaulted. At any rate, Mann sold to E. W. Miller all but 3,985.2 acres, which he retained in his own name, and it seems that Miller paid the county the interest for which Hoover had defaulted, and in addition paid Mann something like $40,000. This $40,000 or more paid by Miller seems to have been divided up at that time between several parties, upon which there is a suggestion in this record of its questionable character, but which is not a direct issue in this case. After' the sale of the land to Mann and Miller it seems that Hoover brought one or more suits assailing the sale of the county to Mann and Miller, and finally, by some sort of settlement or payment made to Hoover, he abandoned further effort to recover the land or set it aside. After this sale to Mann and Miller it seems that Pershing and Henry had concluded that the trustee’s sale by the county cut off their opportunity or chance to recover, the one the money he claimed as commission, something over $11,-000, and the other $39,000 advanced, or the $53,000 note executed by Hoover, which was a second vendor’s lien note on the school land; and that finally a conference was had between Henry and Pershing in the office of Penry & Penry at Port Worth, by which they reached an agreement, the substance of which is as found by the jury, and the testimony is sufficient to support the finding of the jury on the agreement made in Penry’s office. After entering into this agreement Mr. Henry, through Gus X Groos, brought suit against Miller, Mann, Pershing, Elynt, and others, challenging their title and seeking apparently to establish the lien against the land for the $53,000 note executed by Hoover. The issues made in that case are not brought up in this record, but it appears that after they had gone into trial Mann and Miller made a proposition to Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
236 S.W. 213, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 1281, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pershing-v-henry-texapp-1921.