Sexton v. Waggoner

66 So. 2d 634, 1953 La. App. LEXIS 749
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 30, 1953
Docket7962
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 66 So. 2d 634 (Sexton v. Waggoner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sexton v. Waggoner, 66 So. 2d 634, 1953 La. App. LEXIS 749 (La. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

66 So.2d 634 (1953)

SEXTON
v.
WAGGONER.

No. 7962.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 30, 1953.
Rehearing Denied July 20, 1953.

*635 W. M. Phillips, Shreveport, for appellant.

Campbell & Campbell, Minden, for appellee.

GLADNEY, Judge.

Plaintiff, Conrad Sexton, brought this suit against E. C. Waggoner, to have himself decreed the owner of five (5) acres of land, together with the improvements thereon in the form of a square, located in the Southeast corner of the Southwest Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼ of SW¼), Section Twenty-Seven (27), Township Twenty-Three (23) North, Range Nine (9) West, less and except one-half of the mineral rights as reserved by vendor.

After trial and rendition of judgment in favor of plaintiff, defendant secured orders of appeal to the Supreme Court of Louisiana. The appeal was duly perfected but the Supreme Court determined that it did not have jurisdiction of the appeal because the record did not affirmatively show the value of the thing in controversy exceeded $2,000.00, exclusive of interest. Accordingly, the case was transferred to this court. See Sexton v. Waggoner, 1953, 222 La. 680, 63 So.2d 423.

Plaintiff states for a cause of action that in 1946 he entered into a verbal contract to buy the above described property from defendant on terms of credit for the price of $900.00, payable at the rate of $30.00 per month, and immediately after the *636 agreement he took possession of the property by moving into the house situated thereon, and has been in continuous possession thereof as owner since April 27, 1946.

He further alleged that prior to July, 1948, he paid in monthly payments to the defendant, upon the purchase price of said property, the sum of $800.00 and in addition to this sum received a credit of $62.50, representing a credit which defendant receipted him in writing, as a share of a bonus paid for an oil and gas lease; that the defendant duly receipted him for all of the other partial payments which he had made; that in July, 1948, he borrowed $1,000.00 from the defendant who, incidentally, was the husband of plaintiff's sister, with the understanding that this amount, plus $37.50 due on the previous obligation, would be repaid at the rate of $50.00 per month and this latter loan was secured by the pledge of the various receipts above referred to; and that from August, 1948, until December, 1948, plaintiff made five (5) $50.00 payments, but that immediately after the December payment the defendant returned said payment, advising plaintiff that he was not going to accept further payments and was calling the whole thing off.

Plaintiff did not annex to his petition interrogatories on facts and articles, but in his prayer thereto asked to be permitted to interrogate on oath in open court the defendant as to the matters and things set forth in the petition. Plaintiff further prayed for judgment ordering the defendant to specifically perform his obligations and convey the described property to plaintiff upon the latter paying the balance of the purchase price consisting of $37.50.

Respondent filed an exception of no cause of action which was overruled, and answered to the merits. Plaintiff also procured a subpoena duces tecum to require the defendant to produce in open court the several receipts above referred to. In answer to the subpoena duces tecum defendant stated the receipts had been destroyed and, therefore, he was unable to produce them.

The substance of defendant's answer is contained in paragraphs 13 and 14 thereof:

"Further answering said petition defendant shows that in the spring of 1946 he and plaintiff entered into a verbal agreement under which defendant agreed to sell to plaintiff a tract of land near his home and a part of his home place; that said land is not correctly described in plaintiff's petition; that said sale was to be made for a consideration of Nine Hundred Dollars ($900.00) to be paid within one year of the date of said agreement; that no particular monthly payments were agreed upon, it being merely understood that the full purchase price would be paid within said time; that in said agreement the parties agreed that defendant would reserve for himself one-half of the minerals on said property, the other one-half thereof being then owned by persons who had reserved the same in their sale to him and it was agreed that no part of said mineral rights would be conveyed to plaintiff.
"That in said agreement defendant and plaintiff agreed, and it was thoroughly understood, that said property being almost in his own yard, defendant would have the exclusive right and option to repurchase the same, at any time that plaintiff desired to sell, for the price paid plus the value of any improvements placed thereon by plaintiff and it was further agreed that if, at any time prior to the execution of the deed, either of the parties should become dissatisfied with the agreement, he would be entitled to withdraw therefrom and that in such case defendant would repay to plaintiff the amount paid by him on the purchase price of the property and that their agreement would thereupon be at an end, and defendant would waive any claim for rent of the place."

After the filing of the answer by defendant, the second exception of no cause or right of action was filed and by the court was overruled.

*637 When respondent's answer to plaintiff's petition and his answers to the interrogatories propounded to him in open court are construed together, we find it clearly established from the evidence confessed by the defendant that he agreed to sell to plaintiff for the price of $900.00 five (5) acres located in the Southeast corner of the Southwest Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (SW¼ of SW¼), Section Twenty-Seven (27), Township Twenty-Three (23) North, Range Nine (9) West, the defendant reserving to himself one-half of the minerals underlying the property; and further that plaintiff paid defendant on the purchase price $800.00 for which he gave receipts.

Despite this substantial confession defendant urges the following defenses: The court erred in overruling the exception of no cause or right of action first filed by defendant before the interrogatories on facts and articles were propounded; and that the court erred in overruling the second exception of no cause or right of action filed upon the completion of the answers to the interrogatories on facts and articles, in that: first, the confessed evidence was insufficient to identify the shape of the five acre tract; and, second, by not recognizing defendant's right to withdraw from the verbal sale upon restitution of the amount paid to him.

It is also urged that if defendant is required to deed said property to plaintiff, the latter should be condemned to pay unto defendant the sum of $837.50. We cannot accord this point consideration inasmuch as defendant failed to file a reconventional demand.

Defendant's first contention is leveled at the failure of plaintiff to annex to his petition written interrogatories upon facts and articles. It is argued that a verbal agreement of sale of real estate is null until admitted in response to the interrogatories, and, therefore, plaintiff's petition did not state a cause of action. The procedure for use of interrogatories on facts and articles is regulated by articles 353-356 of the Code of Practice.

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

Related

Hancock v. Turner
969 So. 2d 830 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
City Bank and Trust v. Scott
575 So. 2d 872 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
Brumfield v. Brumfield
457 So. 2d 763 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Milton v. Milton
364 So. 2d 173 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1979)
Bostick v. Foret
351 So. 2d 238 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1977)
STAPLE COTTON COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION v. Pickett
326 So. 2d 337 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1976)
Bolin Farms v. American Cotton Shippers Association
370 F. Supp. 1353 (W.D. Louisiana, 1974)
Maryland Casualty Co. v. Midwest Dairy Products Corp.
211 So. 2d 675 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1968)
Blackwell v. Nagy
122 So. 2d 903 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1960)
Perry v. Perry
122 So. 2d 829 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
66 So. 2d 634, 1953 La. App. LEXIS 749, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sexton-v-waggoner-lactapp-1953.