Reed v. Hester

44 S.W.2d 1107
CourtTexas Commission of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 6, 1932
DocketNo. 1504—5795
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 44 S.W.2d 1107 (Reed v. Hester) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Commission of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reed v. Hester, 44 S.W.2d 1107 (Tex. Super. Ct. 1932).

Opinion

SHARP, J.

O. D. Reed and wife sued T. I. Hester, T. G. Oliver, and R. W. Plant, for the'sum of $9,700, and for a writ of injunction to restrain Hester from selling, transferring, or hypoth-ecating five promissory notes for $700, executed by O. D. Reed to Hester in the trade or exchange of land owned by O. D. Reed and wife in Caldwell county and land owned by Hester in Hidalgo county. Reed and wife alleged, in substance, that T. G. Oliver and R. W. Plant were land brokers or agents for T. I. Hester in the exchange and sale of 27⅞ acres of land in Hidalgo county to the Reeds for a small improved tract in Caldwell county, the Reeds taking the land in Hidalgo county at $9,500 and putting in their property at $6,000 and executing to Hester vendor'.s lien notes for the difference against the land received by them; that they were deceived and misled by Hester through his agents, Oliver and Plant, in that they represented to them that the land in Hidalgo county was first class citrus fruit land and would grow any of the crops ordinarily grown in the valley, and .that they believed and acted on these representations and made the exchange anil gave the notes to Hester for the balance, but after they moved down upon the land, shortly after the exchange, they discovered that the [1108]*1108land was so badly water-logged that it would not grow any crops and was not good citrus fruit land and would not grow tbe ordinary crops grown in tbe valley, and was practically ruined from water-logging and seepage.

Tbe Reeds further alleged that there was an old barn located on the Hidalgo County property when they purchased same; that after entering into the contract of purchase and before the Reeds moved to said land from Martindale, Tex., T. I. Hester took said barn off said property and appropriated same to his own use and benefit or authorized a third person unknown to them to remove said barn to their damage in the sum of $200.

It is shown that the property the Reeds were to exchange to Hester for his land in Hidalgo county was first conveyed to Hester, but at the request of Hester and his associates the deed was made to Plant and certain vendor’s lien notes described therein which retained a vendor’s lien against the place for the payment thereof; that the Reeds accepted the deed from Hester to the property in Hi-dalgo county and moved thereon; that they sued for damages because of fraudulent misrepresentations, etc.

Hester denied that Plant and Oliver were his agents in the sale of the land described and denied that either of them had any authority to represent him in the sale or exchange of the property. Hester, in the alternative, asked for judgment over against Oliver and Plant for any judgment that might be recovered by the Reeds against him. The death of Plant was suggested and he was dismissed from the suit, and- a jury having been chosen after the conclusion of the testimony on the part of the Reeds, the court instructed a verdict for T. I. Hester and T. G. Oliver and against O. D. Reed and wife. Reed and wife appealed from this judgment to the Court of Civil Appeals at San Antonio, and that court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. 28 S.W.(2d) 219. The Supreme Court granted a writ of error upon the application of Reed and wife to review the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals.

Counsel for the Reeds contend that the trial court erred in directing a verdict for Hester and Oliver and against them.

The evidence, in substance, as disclosed by this record, tends to show that Oliver and Plant were real estate agents; that they took O. D. Reed to the Rio Grande Yalley and showed him the land owned by Hester and represented to him that the land was good and first-class citrus land and would grow any of the crops ordinarily grown in the valley and was as good citrus fruit land as could be found in the valley; that they could sell him Hester’s land for $9,500 and that Hester would take the Martindale property which was the separate property of O., D. Reed’s wife in on the sale at $6,000 and take his notes back against the 27½ acres in Hidalgo county for the balance of $3,500; that Reed was not familiar with the land nor its value in the Rio Grande Valley and relied upon the representations of Oliver and Plant as to its character and quality; that Hester executed the deed to the 27½ acres to the Reeds; that before the deal was closed Oliver and Plant told the Reeds that they had bought the Mar-tindale property from Hester and requested that the deed that had been executed by the Reeds to Hester be destroyed and that a deed be executed by the Reeds conveying the property to Plant; that such deed was executed in which a $4,000 vendor’s lien note was described and made to Oliver; that with respect to the .transaction regarding the conveyance of Reed’s property to Plant, the note described therein was executed purely at the request of Oliver and Plant upon their representation to Reed that they had purchased the property from Hester; that Oliver and Plant concealed from him the seeped and water-logged condition of the land and only showed him a small part of the land and that he was unfamiliar with an irrigation district and knew nothing about that character of land; that after the Reeds , moved upon the land they learned that it was so badly seeped and water-logged that it would not grow citrus trees or the usual crops that grow in the valley, and that it was not first-class fruit land. The evidence.further shows that the Reeds paid Oliver the sum of $125 as' a commission for 'making the exchange of the lands, and that Hester told Reed that he had to pay a commission out of his $500 to Oliver.

It is further shown that, prior to the time the suit was filed, Reed went to see Hester about getting something done towards adjusting their matters and stated the conditions .to him and asked for an adjustment of their differences, but Hester refused and demanded his money, and then the Reeds filed this suit.

The testimony further shows that, after Reed had traded for the land in Hidalgo county, Hester, or some one authorized by him, removed a barn off the premises of the reasonable value of $200.

It is a familiar rule that the jury, in the trial of a case, are to find the facts from the evidence introduced. The jury decide upon the weight of the evidence and upon the credibility of the witnesses, Tbe work of the jury is confined to the determination of the ultimate facts which are the subject of the issue. If there is such evidence . as would cause reasonable men to draw different conclusions, the case should be submitted to the jury. In other words, it can only become a question of law when the facts and circumstances are such that but one reasonable conclusion can be drawn therefrom. Wininger v. Ry. Co., 105 Tex. 56, 143 S. W. 1150; Daugherty v. Wiles (Tex. Com. App.) 207 S. W. 900, 902; Sigmond Rothchild Co. v. [1109]*1109Moore (Tex. Com. App.) 37 S.W.(2d) 121; Clem y. Fulgham (Tex. Com. App.) 14 S.W. (2d) 812; Ins. Co. v. Kemendo, 94 Tex. 367, 61 S. W. 1102; Lee v. R. R. Co., 89 Tex. 583, 36 S. W. 63; Dashiell v. Johnson, 99 Tex. 546, 91 S. W. 1085.

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44 S.W.2d 1107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reed-v-hester-texcommnapp-1932.