Poenisch v. Quarnstrom

386 S.W.2d 594
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 6, 1965
Docket14332
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 386 S.W.2d 594 (Poenisch v. Quarnstrom) 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
Poenisch v. Quarnstrom, 386 S.W.2d 594 (Tex. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

BARROW, Justice.

This is the second appeal of this case. Appellants brought this action in trespass to try title and for partition of Lots 11 and 12 in Block “T” of the City of Brownsville. On the prior appeal the judgments of the District Court and the Court of Civil Appeals upholding the limitation claim of ap-pellee, Mamie Quarnstrom, were reversed and the cause remanded with instructions. 361 S.W.2d 367, 372 (Tex.1962). 1

On remand, appellee asserted a claim for taxes and redemption money paid by her, together with interest on said payments, and for improvements made to said property during the time she had occupied the land. She pleaded that the house located on the front part of Lot 12 was her home and asked that this property be set aside to her. Appellants urged that all issues were determined on the prior appeal, and, in the alternative, denied that appellee was entitled to be reimbursed for her expenditures because of her hostile claim, and urged an offset for the reasonable rental value of the. property during the time appellee had been in exclusive possession, and for rents received by appellee.

After a non-jury trial, the court found that appellee was entitled to partition in kind *596 for the value of her interest in the property, which was found to be $9,000. It was ordered that the commissioners give her property of this value off the rear of Lots 11 and 12. The remaining property was ordered sold, and after appellee was paid $5,634.39, the balance divided among appellants in accordance with the interest of each as found by the Supreme Court. The house located on the front of Lots 11 and 12 was ordered sold and the proceeds divided ¿4 1° appellant Poenisch and 14 to appellee.

One of the primary complaints on this appeal relates to the trial court’s finding that appellee’s interest was partitionable in kind. Rule 770, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, provides: “Should the court be of the opinion that a fair and equitable division of the real estate, or any part thereof, cannot be made, it shall order a sale of so much as is incapable of partition, * * Appellants assert that there is no evidence to support the trial court’s finding that appellee’s interest was susceptible to partition in kind, or, in any event, same is so contrary to the great weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be manifestly unjust.

It is urged that in determining this issue the trial court could not consider appellee’s interest in the two lots as a whole, in that the front 55' of these lots was severed from the rear 65' by the opinion of the Supreme Court, supra, and each owned by different co-tenants, and not subject to partition under Art. 6082, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Stats. Appel-lee owned no interest in the front 55' of Lot 11 and owned a one-half interest in the front 55' of Lot 12 with appellant Rose Marilyn Hall. Appellee owned a one-fourth interest in the rear 65' of Lots 11 and 12 with appellants Poenisch, Lula George, Mary Helen Ammann, J. C. George, Jr., and Mary Kathryne Whitelaw. It is further seen that the tax rolls carried the property as four separate tracts, in that the front and rear parts of the two lots were listed separately. We cannot say, however, that the trial court abused its discretion in considering the two lots as a unit.

Two real estate appraisers testified on behalf of appellants and both treated the lots as a whole in determining the value. In fact, each testified it would destroy the value of the lots if divided into small tracts. All appellants presented a common defense and appellant Poenisch testified that he had a contract to acquire the interest of appellant Miss Hall.

Appellants urged and their two expert witnesses testified that the highest and best use of the property was as a parking lot, and that it would ruin the property to cut it up into small tracts. On cross-examination, each admitted that there were many lots in downtown Brownsville and close to these two lots, which were divided into tracts containing less than 3000 sq. ft. There was testimony that the most valuable part of the tract was the front 55' of Lot 12, because it was on the corner and provided access from two streets. There was no testimony that the value of the whole tract would be destroyed if the property were divided into only two tracts. There is evidence that the property is partitionable in kind, and the trial court’s finding is not so against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence as to be manifestly unjust. Irons v. Fort Worth Sand & Gravel Co., Tex.Civ.App., 284 S.W.2d 215, n. r. e.; Burton v. Williams, Tex.Civ.App., 195 S.W.2d 245, n. r. e.

The trial court determined that appellee’s one-half interest in the front of Lot 12 was of the value of $5,500, and that her one-fourth interest in the rear of Lots 11 and 12 was of the value of $3,500, and ordered the commissioners to set aside land of the value of $9,000 from the rear part of Lots 11 and 12. 2 These valuations were determined in this way: Realtor Thomas P. Bent-sen testified that the whole property was valued at $32,500, and on cross-examination *597 he broke this valuation down as follows: Front of Lot 12, $11,000; Rear of Lot 12, $8,000; Front of Lot 11, $7,500; Rear of Lot 11, $6,000. He said, however, that the total value would be destroyed if the property were cut up into four tracts. Realtor John A. McRay testified that the value ■of the two lots was $35,000, and on cross-examination broke it down as follows: Front of Lot 12, $12,000; Rear of Lot 12, $8,000; Front of Lot 11, $9,000; Rear of Lot 11, $6,000. Realtor E. B. Duarte testified on behalf of appellee that the property could be cut up in several ways into tracts of 3000 sq. ft., and be in conformity ■with other business property in downtown 'Brownsville. He valued the front 55' of Lots 11 and 12 at $15,000 to $16,000, and ‘the rear 65' at $13,000. He also testified that the front 55' of Lot 12 was valued at $10,000 and the rear 65' at $8,000. On Lot 11 he valued the front at $6,000, and the rear at $5,000.

It is seen that there is sufficient evidence to support the trial court’s findings of the value of appellee’s one-half interest in the front of Lot 12 and one-fourth interest in the rear of Lots 11 and 12.

Appellee was allowed reimbursement from appellants for expenditures made in connection with the rear 65' of Lots 11 and 12. Appellants asserted that the instructions of the Supreme Court on remand did not authorize the filing of claims by appel-lee or the hearing of evidence on same. On oral argument, appellants waived their points complaining of this action, but urged that the trial court erred in several particulars in adjusting the equities be-twTeen the co-tenants.

It is asserted that since appellee had pleaded and claimed adverse possession against appellants during the first trial, appellee could not have reimbursement for expenditures made during the time she claimed adversely and held exclusive possession. See Vermillion v. Haynes, 147 Tex. 359, 215 S.W.2d 605 (1948); 15 Tex.

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386 S.W.2d 594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/poenisch-v-quarnstrom-texapp-1965.