Plummer v. McLain

192 S.W. 571, 1917 Tex. App. LEXIS 121
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 8, 1917
DocketNo. 654.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 192 S.W. 571 (Plummer v. McLain) 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
Plummer v. McLain, 192 S.W. 571, 1917 Tex. App. LEXIS 121 (Tex. Ct. App. 1917).

Opinion

WALTHALL, J.

This is an action of trespass to try title, which was brought by appellees against appellants and in which judgment was rendered for the plaintiffs. The cause was tried on appellees’ second amended original petition, in which they alleged that they own and have patents from the state of Texas to the three tracts of land in question, situated in Culberson county, describing each tract by metes and bounds, and designated, respectively, as the Kyle mining • claim,’ . the Dott mining claim and the Virginia mining claim, each containing about 160 acres of land. Appellees allege:

That “an error exists in some of the calls of the field notes of the particular description of said premises by metes and bounds, inasmuch *572 as that in the patent to the said Kyle mining claim said land herein described as first tract is described as follows: [Then follows the description of the three tracts as they are described in the patents: First tract: That certain 160 acres'of land situated and being in Oulberson county, Tex., and known as the Kyle mining claim, situated about 165 miles northeast of the county site of El Paso county, Tex., and described by metes and bounds as follows: Beginning at the S. W. corner of said Kyle mining claim, said corner being 36,142 vrs. E. and 7,165 vrs. S. from the S. W. corner of block 61, Tp. 2, T. & P. surveys, established by Paul McCombs, said beginning point being in the west line of block No. 45, public school land, as established on the ground; thence north along said line of said block 45, public school land 950.4 vrs. to stake and stone mound for N. W. corner of this survey; thence E. 950.4 vrs. to stake and rock mound for N. E. corner of this survey; thence S. 950.4 vrs. to rock mound for S. E. corner of this survey; thence W. 950.4 vrs. to place of beginning. Second tract: That certain other tract of land containing 160 acres, situated and being-in the county of Culberson, state of Texas, and being known as the Dott mining claim, situated about 160 miles northeast of the county site of El Paso county, Tex., and described by metes and bounds as follows: Beginning at a stone mound the S. E. corner of the Dott mining claim, said comer being 32,723 vrs. E. and 9,401 vrs. S. from the S. W. comer of block 61, Tp. 2, T. & P. Ry. Co. surveys as established by Paul McCombs; thence N. 950.4 vrs. to stone mound for N. E. comer of this survey; thence W. 950.4 vrs. to stone mound for N. W. corner of this survey; thence S. 950.4 vrs. to a stake and rock mound for S. W. corner of this survey; thence E. 950.4 vrs. to place of beginning. Third tract: Also that certain other tract of land containing about 160 acres situated in Culberson county, Tex., and known as the Virginia mining claim, land particularly described as follows, to wit: Beginning at a cedar stake and rock mound the N. W. corner of the Virginia mining claim, said corner being 29,373 vrs. E. and 11,736 vrs. S. from the ,S. W. comer of block 61, Tp. 2, T. & P. Ry. survey as established by Paul McCombs; thence -S. 9° 50' W. 844 vrs. to a 4x4 pine post and rock mound for the S. W. comer of this survey; thence ,S. 80° 10' E. 1,031 vrs. to a rock mound for S. E. corner of this survey; thence N. 9° 50’' E. 844 vrs. to a stake and rock mound the N. E. corner of this survey; thence N. 80° 10' W. 1,031 vrs. to place of beginning — following which, appellees allege:] That said calls of the particular descriptions by metes and bounds in each of said patents are erroneous in describing said lands by metes and bounds as they are described in said patents, and in not locating and describing said lands as same are respectively described herein as ‘first tract,’ ‘second tract,’ and ‘third tract,’ and which errors in said several patents your petitioners show were errors of the surveyor, either in making out his field notes or in locating the true corners and boundaries of said throe tracts of land hereinbefore described at the time same were surveyed for patents, and which corners of each of said tracts of land and boundaries thereof were located upon the ground when said surveys were made for said patents and at the time said patents were issued, and had been so located from, to wit, August 6, 1895, the date of application of petitioners’ predecessor in titles, to wit, John B. Stone, to purchase said mining claims under Acts of Í895, and were of great notoriety, and your petitioners show that said patents vest in them, and it was the intention of the state of Texas to vest in them the title to said Kyle mining claim, to said Dott mining claim, and to said Virginia mining claim, which, as aforesaid, they allege had been surveyed out on the ground and monuments erected at each of the corners thereof at the date .of the original application to purchase said land, and which corners and boundaries thereof and monuments designating the same are still intact, and have been ever since their location; that plaintiffs’ predecessor in title, John B. Stone, caused each of said mining claims to be surveyed out under the act of 1895, and the field notes thereof, together with the plat thereof, to be filed in the general land office of the state of Texas, and which surveys on the ground embrace the identical land described as ‘first tract,’ , ‘second tract,’ and ‘third tract’ in this petition; and plaintiffs say that it was the intention of the state of Texas, as disclosed by said patents, to embrace, and each of said patents to them respectively for the said Kyle mining claim, the said Dott mining claim, and the said Virginia mining claim do embrace, said lands described herein as ‘first tract,’ ‘second tract,’ and ‘third tract,’ and that said error in said calls of said patents should be so corrected as to conform to said three several mining claims, as aforesaid, and herein particularly described.”

Then follow the allegations that petitioners, under said patents, have not claimed or taken possession of any public lands other than said three claims, but have been in full possession of said three tracts from the time of their said application to purchase said three tracts; that appellants had full knowledge and are charged with notice of appellees’ claims to said lands as described in the petition, and had said knowledge and notice long prior to the inception of any rights on their part to said land or any part thereof. Appellees alleged an unlawful •entry by appellants, and that they were threatening and preparing to make excavations, borings, and drillings upon said land for minerals contained thereon and to remove same therefrom. Appellees prayed . that they have judgment for the title and possession of said lands, for writs of restitution, for injunction, and that their patents be corrected as aforesaid, that appellants’ claims to said lands be canceled and held for naught, and that the cloud thereby cast upon their title to said lands be removed, for costs, and for relief legal and equitable, general and special.

The appellants filed a general demurrer, general denial, a plea of not guilty, and especially pleaded that the plea for the correction of the field notes or calls in ap-pellees’ three patents were barred by the statute of limitation of four years.

The ease was tried before the court without a jury. At the request of appellants, the court filed its findings of fact and conclusions of law. The findings of fact are as follows:

“I find that the land in controversy was patented by the- state of Texas to the plaintiffs, D. R. McLain, T. Stonewall Kyle, and St.

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Bluebook (online)
192 S.W. 571, 1917 Tex. App. LEXIS 121, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plummer-v-mclain-texapp-1917.