Southwestern Investment Co. v. Alvarez

442 S.W.2d 862, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2545
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 28, 1969
DocketNo. 5971
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 442 S.W.2d 862 (Southwestern Investment Co. v. Alvarez) 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
Southwestern Investment Co. v. Alvarez, 442 S.W.2d 862, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2545 (Tex. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

OPINION

FRASER, Chief Justice.

Appellee states that he, as plaintiff below, instituted this suit against appellant, defendant below, for the conversion of plaintiff’s automobile in violation of an agreement made between the plaintiff and defendant (hereafter appellee will be referred to as plaintiff and appellant as defendant). The case was tried before a jury and the trial court entered judgment for plaintiff on the jury’s findings that the agreement had been made and that it was violated by the defendant’s act of conversion. The trial court awarded actual and exemplary damages in favor of plaintiff.

The defendant’s brief sets forth that the plaintiff amended his petition so that he asked for only the sum of $711.11 actual damages. The case was submitted to a jury, which determined that the market value of the car was $1,500.00. On such pleadings and the verdict of the jury as returned, the trial court entered judgment against the defendant in the sum of $1,-500.00 actual damages and $5,000.00 exemplary damages.

Plaintiff testified that in February and March of 1964 he was out of a job and became two months late on payments for the car in question, which was a 1962 Ford station wagon. He states that he went to the offices of the defendant to ask for an extension before he became two months’ delinquent, which would be some time prior [865]*865to March 20, the due date of the payment. He testified that the agent of the defendant told him that he would take the car until plaintiff made up his two delinquent payments, and it was agreed that the defendant would pay a late charge for the two delinquent payments at the time they were to be made. Plaintiff further testified that one week after he had given up temporary possession of the car to defendant, he went to the offices of the defendant with the payment in hand and was told to talk to a certain agent, but that the agent was busy. He returned the next day, which was Saturday, but the offices were closed. He testified that he returned the following week with both payments in hand, at which time the agent for the defendant told the plaintiff that the car was at El Paso Ford and to “go and take it”. Plaintiff alleges that he went down to the El Paso Ford and found that his car had been sold “a few days ago”, and that he then returned to the office of the defendant with the two payments in hand in order to take possession of his automobile. Plaintiff maintains that this testimony reveals that defendant had delivered the car to El Paso Ford and that El Paso Ford had sold the car, all within ten days after plaintiff had given the car to the defendant in reliance upon the agreement. Plaintiff maintains that by virtue of defendant’s prior conduct toward plaintiff in months and years past regarding late payments, it had become estopped to assert an inconsistent course of action by which it breached its agreement with the plaintiff and which it knew would cause damage to the plaintiff.

Defendant’s first point charges the trial court with error in overruling defendant’s oral motion in limine. This motion asked the court to forbid any testimony about prior transactions of a similar nature between the parties; in other words, defendant asked that the court preclude any testimony of prior delinquencies and agreements to take care of them, as has been heretofore set forth. We have examined the record and find other instances between the same parties where the plaintiff fell behind in his payments and was permitted to retake his car and resume his payments. There is also testimony by the defendant that depending on the circumstances, the company might let a man make up “several” unpaid payments depending upon the man’s prior record, etc. We see no harm in this sort of testimony and further believe it admissible because it tends to show the manner of business that had been transacted for many years between the parties, such manner amounting practically to a “system”. We do not find any instance where the parties’ past negotiations should be harmful to defendant, or improperly included in the testimony. This point is overruled.

Appellant’s second and third points allege that the court erred in awarding actual damages to the plaintiff in the sum of $1,500.00. We do not think these points have merit, as plaintiff was damaged not only for the difference between what he owed and the sale price to the third party, but by the failure of the defendant to credit the tradein for initial down payment on the automobile in question. It is apparent that the jury, having heard the testimony and viewing the exhibits, felt that plaintiff was damaged in the sum of $1,500.00 by the violation of the agreement between himself and defendant. We feel that the record shows ample evidence to substantiate this finding. These points are therefore overruled.

Appellant’s Points 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 maintain that the trial court was in error in holding in favor of the plaintiff and the jury’s verdict because there is no evidence that this defendant had, by reason of its conduct, precluded itself from either taking or disposing of plaintiff’s automobile under the powers vested in the defendant and the provisions contained in the note and chattel mortgage executed by plaintiff; that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the court’s action. We believe these points must be overruled because, as already stat[866]*866ed, there had been a long series of similar transactions between the parties, and plaintiff had the right to rely upon the same system being employed here, especially in the absence of any evidence to the contrary. True, there was a note and chattel mortgage, but the evidence is ample to show that the payments and penalties under same had been mutually extended by oral agreement between the parties concerned. These points are therefore overruled.

Appellant’s Points 9 and 10 charge the court with error in entering judgment on the jury’s verdict because plaintiff failed to establish by any evidence, or sufficient evidence, that he was relieved of a contractual obligation as contained in the note and chattel mortgage held by defendant, and therefore was by the court erroneously relieved from said contractual obligations. We feel that these points must also be overruled by virtue of the oral contract or agreement relating to the note and chattel mortgage. If, of course, plaintiff had not lived up to them, or tried to, a different result would be reached; but the record reveals that he made several efforts to keep up with the matter and presented himself with the money at the premises of defendant. Plaintiff testified that one week after he had given up temporary possession of the car, he went to the offices of the defendant with the payment in hand. He testified that he had attempted to pay the money or discuss the matter, but the agent was busy, and the next day being Saturday plaintiff could not gain admission because the office was closed. He testified further that he returned the following week with both payments in hand, at which time the agent for the defendant then told the plaintiff that the car was at El Paso Ford, and to “go and take it”. As stated above, he found that El Paso Ford had sold his automobile. We agree with plaintiff that defendant was in error, as the testimony reveals that it had delivered the car to El Paso Ford, and that El Paso Ford had sold the car, all within ten days after the plaintiff had given the car to defendant in reliance upon the agreement. We feel estop-pel does apply here because of the transactions between the parties in months and years past, where plaintiff had turned in the car and then redeemed it.

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442 S.W.2d 862, 1969 Tex. App. LEXIS 2545, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southwestern-investment-co-v-alvarez-texapp-1969.