Rodriguez v. Garcia

519 S.W.2d 908, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2417
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 20, 1975
Docket914
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 519 S.W.2d 908 (Rodriguez v. Garcia) 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
Rodriguez v. Garcia, 519 S.W.2d 908, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2417 (Tex. Ct. App. 1975).

Opinion

*909 OPINION

NYE, Chief Justice.

The appellant in her first motion for rehearing asserts that this Court erred in assuming certain facts from the plaintiff’s pleadings that were not in evidence. After reviewing the record, we find that the appellant is correct on several of these assertions. For this reason, our original opinion and our opinion on motion for rehearing have been withdrawn and this opinion is substituted therefor.

This is a suit to cancel a mineral deed. Suit was brought by Refugio Garcia, the appellee, against Evila Garcia Rodriguez, Refugio Garcia’s niece. Mr. Garcia sought to cancel and set aside two warranty deeds which conveyed to his niece the mineral interest to 10.29 acres. Trial was before a jury and the case was submitted on speical issues. The jury found: (1) that plaintiff Refugio Garcia on September 1, 1971, and on October 8, 1971, did not have the mental capacity to sign and deliver the two mineral deeds in question; and (2) that the defendant Evila Garcia Rodriguez used undue influence upon plaintiff Refugio Garcia to get him to sign and deliver the two mineral deeds in question. The trial court entered judgment for Garcia cancel-ling and setting aside the two deeds. It is from this judgment that the niece has perfected her appeal to this Court.

Mr. Garcia was a seventy-three (73) year old male of Mexican ancestry. He resided in Raymondville, Texas, during the period in question. He was and still is unemployed. Garcia’s only source of income at that time was royalty payments of approximately $60.00 per month from the property in question. At the time of trial, Garcia could not and never has been able to read, write or understand the English language. He had several physical disabilities. His niece, Evila Garcia Rodriguez, resides in Houston, Texas.

Sometime after August 20, 1971, but prior to September 1, 1971, the niece took Mr. Garcia from his residence in Ray-mondville, Texas, to her home in Houston. The purpose of this trip was for Mr. Garcia to receive medical attention for a gall bladder and a prostate condition which was causing him some trouble. On September 1, 1971, prior to Mr. Garcia’s going to the hospital for the first time, the niece took her uncle to the office of her attorney, Henry V. Sanchez, to have a deed drawn up. The deed conveyed Garcia’s interest in his 10.29 acre royalty interest to his niece. The deed dated September 1, 1971, was executed on the same date. The niece gave no actual consideration for this conveyance. The deed, dated September 1, 1971, was prepared pursuant to the attorney’s instructions. The deed was witnessed by Gloria Garza, notarized by Mr. Sanchez, and signed by Mr. Garcia, in the attorney’s office in Houston. Thereafter Mr. Garcia entered the hospital and remained there for approximately a week. He was then released and stayed out of the hospital for a period of approximately two weeks, and then he went back again. A short time after being discharged for the second time, Mr. Garcia executed the second deed in question.

This second deed, executed October 8, 1971, purported to be the same as the one executed September 1, 1971, the only difference being an addition to the descriptive language. The alleged reason for this second deed was “so that proper description of Mr. Garcia’s interest would be included”. This later deed was witnessed by Rose Rodriguez, the niece’s daughter-in-law, notarized by Gloria G. Perez, the attorney’s secretary, and signed by Mr. Garcia.

Suit was filed by Garcia against his niece to cancel and set aside these two deeds. Mr. Garcia contends that he did not know that he was signing a deed; that he was unable to read, speak, or understand English; and that he was told that he was signing an application for Social Security benefits and pension. He states that the two deeds were obtained through *910 the exercise of undue influence by his niece and that he would not have signed these deeds but for such undue influence. The niece on the other hand contends that her uncle was made fully aware of the fact that he was signing the deeds conveying the mineral interest to her and that the conveyance was made to her because of his love and affection for her. She stated that the deeds were translated into Spanish for him so he would understand them and that he, in fact, did understand what he was signing.

Appellant’s first point of error was that the trial court should not have submitted, over defendant’s objections, special issues numbers 1 and 2 because the issues as submitted are too broad, general, and/or multifarious in that each issue inquires about too great a portion of the total factual picture and/or inquires about several different facts when each such fact should be inquired about in a separate special issue.

This point is not properly before us. These objections were dictated to the court reporter by agreement of counsel and with permission of the court and they appear in the statement of facts. However, the objections were not filed with the clerk, they do not have the official signature of the judge endorsed thereon, nor were they included in the transcript, all of which is required by Rule 272, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. This rule provides in part as follows:

“ . . . The requirement that the objections to the court’s charge shall be in writing will be sufficiently complied with if such objections are dictated to the court reporter in the presence of and with the consent of the court and opposing counsel, before the reading of the court’s charge to the jury, and are subsequently transcribed and the court’s ruling and official signature endorsed thereon and filed with the clerk in time to be included in the transcript. . . . ” (Emphasis added.)

The basis for requiring the trial court to endorse the “objection to the court’s charge” by placing his official signature thereon is to give the court an opportunity to formally attest to the correctness of the form and substance of the objections. The court can visually observe the written objections and check the exactness of its rulings in connection with the charge. This requirement is for the protection of the trial judge. In the absence of a compliance with this rule, appellant’s objections were not properly preserved for appellate review. This point cannot be considered by us. Cody v. Mahone, 497 S.W.2d 382 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio 1973, writ ref’d n. r. e.); Long v. Smith, 466 S.W.2d 32 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1971, writ ref’d n. r. e.); Mergele v. Houston, 436 S.W.2d 951 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio 1968, writ ref’d n. r. e.); City of Temple v. Thomas, 507 S.W.2d 858 (Tex.Civ.App.—Austin 1974, writ ref’d n. r. e.); Grabes v. Reinhard Bohle Machine Tools, Inc., 381 S.W.2d 395 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1964, writ ref’d n. r. e.); Maryland Casualty Company v. Golden Jersey Creamery, 389 S.W.2d 701 (Tex.Civ.App.—Corpus Christi 1965, writ ref’d n. r. e.); Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company v.

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Bluebook (online)
519 S.W.2d 908, 1975 Tex. App. LEXIS 2417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriguez-v-garcia-texapp-1975.