Rebold Lumber Co. v. Scripture

279 S.W. 586
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 18, 1925
DocketNo. 50. [fn*]
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 279 S.W. 586 (Rebold Lumber Co. v. Scripture) 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
Rebold Lumber Co. v. Scripture, 279 S.W. 586 (Tex. Ct. App. 1925).

Opinion

RIDGELL, J.

Appellant corporation instituted suit in the district court to recover the title and possession of three certain lots located in the city of Eastland against appellees E. A. Scripture and Scripture Lumber Company, a corporation. In the first count, appellant’s suit was in the form of trespass to try title. In the second count, appellant alleged that the land in controversy was purchased with funds belonging to it, through its agent, Scripture, that the legal title was taken in Scripture’s name for convenience, but that the equitable title and estate had at all times remained in appellant.

Appellees answered by general denial, and specially that, if Scripture held said land in trust, it was conveyed to him in March, 1922, by virtue of a contract between himself and appellant, which contract was partly oral and partly in writing, and by .virtue of the oral part the land in controversy was relinquished ■to Scripture.

Appellees by their answer contended that by a contract between Scripture and Rebold Lumber Company, made in March, 1922, Re-bold Lumber Company, in consideration of the assumption of certain of its indebtedness by Scripture, agreed to transfer and convey to Scripture certain real and personal property, which agreement was in writing, and, for the same consideration, by verbal agreement relinquished to Scripture certain other real estate, including the land in controversy, the legal title to which already stood in the name of said Scripture, and that these several agreements constituted one contract, partly in writing and partly parol.

The first, second, and fourth propositions really involve the same question of law, and we will undertake to treat the same together; the said propositions being as follows:

First proposition: An equitable interest in, or title to, real estate may be conveyed by an instrument in writing only.

Second proposition: Parol testimony is not admissible to enlarge upon a written contract when the part sought to be proved by verbal evidence was by the parties intentionally omitted from the written contract

Fourth proposition: Land-of a corporation cannot be transferred by a verbal declaration of its acting attorney, not an officer or stockholder of the corporation, to the effect that it was not necessary to include the land in the written contract.

The trial court filed conclusions of law and fact as follows:

“I find that about February, --1922, trustees in bankruptcy of Harrell Lumber Company sold *587 certain real and personal property, consisting assets of tlie bankrupt, to E. A. Scripture, for a consideration of $12,750; that title to the property was taken in the name of E. A. Scripture, but that plaintiff, Rebold Lumber Company, paid the entire amount of the consideration, and that a trust was impressed upon said property in favor of said Rebold Lumber Company.
“I further find that on or about the 15th day of March, 1922, in pursuance of negotiations looking to that end, Rebold Lumber Company, acting by and through all of its stockholders except defendant E. A. Scripture, made and entered into an agreement with said E. A. Scripture, to sell and convey to the latter all of the property and assets of the Rebold Lumber Company, with some minor exceptions, in consideration of the promise and agreement by said Scripture to pay all of the indebtedness of said Rebold Lumber Company, with certain minor exceptions not necessary to mention; that a part of the property agreed to be conveyed and transferred to said Scripture was what was known in a general way to the contracting parties as the ‘Eastland investment,’ consisting of lumber, lumber yard stocks, fixtures, accounts, etc., and all of the real estate owned by the Re-bold Lumber Company in the state of Texas, including the land described in plaintiff’s pleading and involved in this suit; that, after the agreement was reached,' Rebold Lumber Company or all of its stockholders except one other stockholder, E. A. Scripture, requested its attorney, one Mr. Shelton, in conference with Scripture and his attorney, a Mr. Carter, to prepare the necessary papers to effectuate and evidence the agreement; that said attorney of Rebold Lumber Company, and the said E. A. Scripture and his attorney, between them prepared a written proposal of purchase to be signed by the said E. A. Scripture, and a written acceptance thereof to be signed by the said E. A. Scripture, and a written acceptance thereof to be signed by Rebold Lumber Company, embodying most of the terms and provisions of the contract of sale, save and except at the instance and request of the. attorney of Rebold Lumber Company no mention was made of the real estate described in plaintiff’s petition, for the reason that the legal title, to same already stood in the name of E. A. Scripture, and it would be an unnecessary conveyance to do so, from which I further find the purpose and intent to confirm the title to said real estate in Scripture by relinquishment of the trust.
“I further find that the agreement for the transfer'of assets by Rebold Lumber Company to Scripture was finally consummated about the 29th day of March, 1922; that E. A. Scripture paid indebtedness of Rebold Lumber Company in the sum of $10,000 or more, and that the conveyances of property that were in writing and held in escrow pending the payment of such indebtedness were duly delivered to him, after which the items theretofore carried on the books of account of Rebold Lumber Company, styled ‘Eastland investment,’ and which I find to include the real estate described in plaintiff’s petition, were charged off the books of account of said company.
“I further find that the relinquishment by Re-bold Lumber Company of its interest as cestui que trust in the land described in plaintiff’s petition, as a part of the contract of purchase and sale mentioned above, was fully authorized by the board of directors of Rebold Lumber Company, but, if there was any informality or irregularity in the manner of such transfer, nevertheless each and all of the stockholders of Rebold Lumber Company participated therein; that such relinquishment was a part of the consideration moving to the said Scripture for the payment of the indebtedness of Rebold Lumber Company; that the corporation, Re-bold Lumber Company, got the benefit of such consideration, and is estopped by the act of all of its stockholders to claim that the relinquishment was without proper authority.
“I conclude that the relinquishment of the trust of Rebold Lumber Company in the land involved in this suit vested the ownership thereof in E. A. Scripture by virtue of his legal title thereto, and that plaintiff is not entitled to recover herein.”

There is sufficient evidence to support the findings of fact found by the court, and the legal conclusions justify the judgment of the court.

The appellants insist that, even though the record shows that the legal title to the land in controversy was vested and in the name of appellee, and that the trust sought to be imposed upon same was established by parol, parol testimony would not be admissible to show relinquishment of the trust.

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Bluebook (online)
279 S.W. 586, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rebold-lumber-co-v-scripture-texapp-1925.