Roswurm v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co.

181 S.W.2d 736, 1944 Tex. App. LEXIS 796
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 19, 1944
DocketNo. 14625.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 181 S.W.2d 736 (Roswurm v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co.) 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
Roswurm v. Sinclair Prairie Oil Co., 181 S.W.2d 736, 1944 Tex. App. LEXIS 796 (Tex. Ct. App. 1944).

Opinion

SPEER, Justice.

Anna J. Roswurm, joined by her husband and ten other persons, all alleged to be the collateral kin of Alice E. Crow, deceased, instituted this suit against Sinclair Prairie Oil Company, five other corporations and *738 19 individuals to recover (first count) 3/128ths royalty interest in 337.6 acres of land in Cooke County, Texas, fully described by. metes and bounds in the petition. In the alternative (second count) recovery was sought of a 3/128ths undivided mineral interest in said land. In addition to the asserted interest in the land, allegations are made that defendants had taken large quantities of oil from the land and they prayed judgment for the value of their proportionate part thereof.

Three individual defendants disclaimed and were discharged with their costs. All other defendants answered with general denials, not guilty, and alleged, at great length, the manner and means by' which Alice E. Crow and her husband parted with their title to the land.

The contesting defendants alleged that the land in which the interest is claimed by plaintiffs was the community property of Alice E. Crow and husband W. H. Crow; that they sold and conveyed all of same except a reserved and excepted 3/64ths mineral right and interest during the lifetime of Alice E. Crow, and that after her death W. H. Crow, for a valuable consideration paid to him in 1938 sold and conveyed all of that reserved and excepted • interest to John McLemore, who was an innocent purchaser for value, and that certain of the defendants claim title under the said John McLemore.

Plaintiffs countered with supplemental pleadings to the effect that the land was acquired by Alice E. Crow as her separate property in 1911; that she died intestate in 1926, left no children nor their descendants, and that her surviving husband, W. H. Crow, as such, inherited from her only one-half of the 3/64ths interest in the land.

Plaintiffs further plead actual and constructive notice to John McLemore of the separate property rights of Alice E. Crow in the land, and that the nature and character of the conveyance from W. H. Crow to John McLemore in 1938 constituted it only a quitclaim deed and such as would not support the defense of innocent purchaser, as pleaded by defendants.

The court instructed a jury verdict against plaintiffs and in favor of defendants. From this judgment, plaintiffs have appealed. We shall continue to refer to the parties as they were designated in the trial court.

Plaintiffs present nine points of error upon which they rely for a reversal of the judgment entered. These points are lengthy and are involved with asserted factual matters and arguments. We have studied them with much . care, and if we properly understand the matters presented, they may be grouped as follows: (1) A tract of 530½ acres of land, of which the land in controversy is a part, was acquired by Alice E. Crow in 1911, while she resided in the State of Oklahoma, paid for out of her separate property; that there was no community property law in that State at the time, and the tract of Texas land so acquired became the separate property of Alice E. Crow; (2) that said Alice E. Crow died intestate in 1926, leaving no child or children nor the descendants of such child or children, that she left surviving her W. H. Crow, her husband, and that plaintiffs in this case are collateral kin and entitled to inherit one-half of the real estate owned in her separate right, at her death; (3) that at the death of Alice E. Crow, she owned as her separate property an undivided 3/64ths mineral or royalty interest in the 337.6 acres of land described in plaintiffs’ petition; and (4) that John McLemore, under whom certain defendants claim title, had, when he purchased from W. H. Crow, actual and constructive notice that the interest in the land purported to be conveyed was the separate property of Alice E. Crow; that the imputed knowledge to him of the property-laws of Oklahoma, the nature and character of the various instruments in the chain, of title and the nature, effect and wording of the conveyance from W. H. Crow to him, were sufficient to put him on notice and to preclude a claim by defendants that he was an innocent purchaser.

As we view this record there is no material conflict in the pertinent facts. Plaintiffs proved many of the matters just referred to and defendants introduced a conveyance by W. H. Crow to John Mc-Lemore, under which certain of them claim. That instrument completes the chain of title but does not conflict in any way with those previously shown in the evidence.

We have reached the conclusion that the peremptory, take-nothing charge was properly given. We shall presently attempt to demonstrate why we have so decided.

The facts reveal that W. H. Crow and Alice E. (Foster) Crow were married at Dallas, Texas, on 'October 29, 1907, but that they in fact both resided at that time *739 in “Pittsburg County, (then) Indian Territory”.

Joseph H. Foster died in the early part of 1907. He was a brother of Alice E. Crow; by the terms of Foster’s will, Alice E. Crow and another sister, now Anna J. Roswurm (one of the plaintiffs in this case), were bequeathed certain residence property in McAlester, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory). The sisters subsequently partitioned their holdings thus acquired.

In 1911, Gillock conveyed by warranty deed to Alice E. Crow, “of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma”, 530½ acres of land situated in Cooke County, Texas, described by metes and bounds as being parts of the Toby and Ward Surveys. The consideration was $13,262.50, showing $8,962.50 paid in cash and the assumption by Alice E. Crow of the payment of $4,300 evidenced by a note and lien on the land, previously executed by Gillock to a named loan company. A vendor’s lien was retained by grantor until the note and lien should be paid and discharged. There was parol testimony at the trial showing that the cash consideration recited in the deed was in fact paid by a conveyance from Alice E. Crow and husband to Gillock of the Mc-Alester, Oklahoma, separate property of Alice E. Crow, taken by her under the will of her brother.

On June 9, 1915, W. H. and Alice E. Crow borrowed from Margaret M. Duncan $1,700, for which they executed their joint note and gave a deed of trust lien on the Texas land to secure its payment.

. In 1916 the Crows moved from Oklahoma to Dallas, Texas, where they resided for three years, and moved from Dallas to Denver, Colorado.

On September 12, 1917, by general warranty deed, W. H. and Alice E. Crow conveyed the Texas land to Francis Crow (shown by parol testimony to be the father of W. H. Crow). Consideration shown was $18,000. Recitation was made that $13,-700 was paid in cash and receipted for by grantors, and the assumption of payment by grantee of $4,300 payable to the loan company. No vendor’s lien was retained in the deed.

On January 21, 1918, Margaret M. Duncan released the deed of trust Fen on the Texas land and acknowledged receipt of payment of the $1,700 note secured thereby.

On May 7, 1918, Francis Crow and wife, by general warranty deed, conveyed the land to W. H. Crow and wife, Alice E. Crow, for a one dollar consideration, and further recites, “at her consideration, namely, the failure of Francis Crow paying the consideration in deed from Alice E. Crow, joined by her husband W. H.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

in the Matter of the Marriage of John Paul Moncey and Tammie Jo Moncey
404 S.W.3d 701 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Manuel Gutierrez Torres v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2008
Scanio v. McFall
877 S.W.2d 888 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
McCarver v. Trumble
660 S.W.2d 595 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1983)
Dallas Title & Guaranty Co. v. Valdes
445 S.W.2d 26 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1969)
Ing v. Cannon
398 S.W.2d 789 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1965)
Hudgins v. Lincoln National Life Insurance Company
144 F. Supp. 192 (E.D. Texas, 1956)
D. T. Carroll Corp. v. Carroll
256 S.W.2d 429 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1953)
Godwin v. Roberts
213 S.W.2d 571 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1948)
Paul v. Houston Oil Co. of Texas
211 S.W.2d 345 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1948)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
181 S.W.2d 736, 1944 Tex. App. LEXIS 796, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roswurm-v-sinclair-prairie-oil-co-texapp-1944.