Powell v. Rockow

58 S.W.2d 536, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 449
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 30, 1933
DocketNo. 2359
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 58 S.W.2d 536 (Powell v. Rockow) 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
Powell v. Rockow, 58 S.W.2d 536, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 449 (Tex. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

WALKER, Chief Justice.

This appeal is by writ of error, but the parties will be referred to as appellants and ap-pellees.

On or about the 29th of January, 1930, appellants, Ida H. Powell and her husband, J. O. Powell, sold to appellees, Lillian Rockow and her husband, Paul Rockow, their lease on the Angelus Hotel in the city of San Antonio, and the furniture and fixtures in the hotel for $4,000; $1,500 in cash and the balance in a note, to be paid in monthly installments of not less than $50, with 8 per cent, interest and with maturity clause upon default in the monthly payments, secured by a ■chattel mortgage upon the property. Appel-lees paid the installments due on February 1, March 1, April 1, and May 1, and on or about the 10th day of May, 1931, brought this suit to rescind the sale and to recover back the .■cash consideration paid, and to cancel the unpaid note on allegations that the representations upon which they purchased the property were falsely and fraudulently made. Appellants answered only by general and special ■demurrers, general denial, and by cross-action against appellees, praying for judgment for the balance due on the note, with foreclosure of their chattel mortgage. The following issues were submitted to the jury, answered as indicated:

“Special Issue No. 1: Did the defendant Ida H. Powell or the defendant, J. O. Powell, or either of them, represent to the plaintiffs Mrs. Lillian Rockow or Paul Rockow that the Angelus hotel was a hotel of a good reputation, that it had a lucrative patronage and that its patrons were of good reputation and of the best people, and that if these plaintiffs did purchase the good name of said hotel together with’the lease, furniture and furnishings from the defendants and operate said hotel, that plaintiffs could thereby earn for themselves a comfortable liying and save enough in addition to said living to, in two years from the operation of said hotel, pay off the note of twenty five hundred dollars?” To which the jury answered: “Yes.”
“Special Issue No. 2: Were the plaintiffs induced by said representations to purchase said hotel and to pay therefor the sum of fifteen hundred dollars in cash and execute their note for the sum of twenty five hundred dollars?” To which the jury answered: “Yes.”
“Special Issue No. 3: Were the representations as set out in Special Issue No. 1 true?” To which the jury answered: “No.”

On the verdict, judgment was entered in favor of appellees against appellants for $1,700, with foreclosure of the equitable lien pleaded by appellees against the property to secure the payment of the $1700 and for cancellation of the unpaid note. The appeal was to the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals, transferred to this court by order of the Supreme Court.

Under their evidence, appellees went to San Antonio in December, 1929, from Indiana, for the health of Mr. Rockow; they rented a room in the Angelus Hotel and in that way met appellant Mrs. Powell; Mr. Rockow was confined to his bed most of the time and his wife spent most of her time when in the hotel with him, and knew nothing about the business of the hotel or its general reputation or the class of its patronage; it was necessary for her to find work; Mrs. Powell was kind and sympathetic, visited them in their rooms, and when she learned they had $1,500 offered to sell them her furniture in the hotel and transfer to them the lease, and, in inducing them to make the trade, made the representations submitted to the jury by question No. 1; she represented further that the chief value of the property was the good will of the hotel, and that the furniture itself was worth only about $500; the price paid by appellees for the property was much more than it was worth. As to the representations made by Mrs. Powell, Mrs. Rockow testified:

“A. She said the place she had there she wanted to sell and wanted to get out of that business because she had 'been in it for so many years, and that it would be a nice little place for me to buy and I could look after Mr. Rockow and still have a suitable income and pay all of my expenses and have a good living.
“Q. What did she say to you with reference to the length of time the hotel had existed? A. Thirty some years.
“Q. What did she say with reference to the reputation. of the hotel? A. Wej.1, she told me that it was — -represented it to me as a good standing — of a long standing and good reputation, and lucrative patronage, and that its patrons were of good reputation, and that the people were of the best.
“Q. Well, what happened then with reference to the trade? A. Well, I put all trust and faith in her because I didn’t have any other friends,, didn’t know anybody here to go to, being a utter stranger in San Antonio, and I placed all confidence in her and thought she was trying to help me.
“ * * * Q. Did you rely tipon what she told you? A. Yes, every word.
“Q. Well, in accordance with those representations that you say she made to you, what happened? A. Well, I spoke to my husband about it and told him the way it had been represented that I thought if things were true, which was sure they were, because I didn’t feel like anybody should take advantage, tell me things that were, not true, — I said, ‘Well, it looks it’s about the best thing we could do if we take that and invest our money in there, and that if things were like they were repre[538]*538sented to us,’ which I believed they were,— ‘that I could take care of him and make a living for both of us.’
“Q. Did you agree then to take the hotel? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Prior to the transfer did you have any conversation with Mrs. Powell with reference to the possession of the hotel, seeing the landlord? A. Yes, we did, but she said that would not be necessary, that she would take care of all' that. She said if the landlord would see Mr. Rockow, see the condition that he was in and if he would take one look at me, she said we would be done for, because I was just about as inexperienced looking for anything like that, and his condition would make it all the worse.”

Appellant Mrs. Powell testified:

“Q. You didn’t represent to her that she could pay off that note by the operation of the hotel and earn herself a nice little living? A. Yes, sir, I told her that. I told her it would be a good home and business combined.
“Q. That it was a lucrative business and that she would be able to pay that note out from the rents — earnings from the hotel? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And at the same time too you told her she could look after him and wait on him if he needed attention? A. That is what I have done.
“Q. Well, I say, you told her that, didn’t you? A. Yes, sir. I have no unkind feeling at all towards the Rockows.”

On the issue that the representations were false and fraudulently made, Mrs. Rockow testified:

“Q. What was the character of the patrons that came up there after you took charge of it, so far as you saw? A. Well, people came up to me and asked for things which we did not have.
“Q. What do you mean, what ‘things’ which you did not have? A. Well, the things that had been served there before.
“Q.

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Bluebook (online)
58 S.W.2d 536, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powell-v-rockow-texapp-1933.