Sparks v. Chandler

201 S.W.2d 252, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 884
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 20, 1947
DocketNo. 4504
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 201 S.W.2d 252 (Sparks v. Chandler) 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
Sparks v. Chandler, 201 S.W.2d 252, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 884 (Tex. Ct. App. 1947).

Opinion

SUTTON, Justice.

This is an appeal from the 94th District Court of Nueces County. The plaintiff. Sidney P. Chandler, sought and obtained

a judgment in a trial to the Court for the specific performance of a claimed contract to sell and convey certain city property situated in the City of Corpus Christi and fully described in the petition and in the • judgment. From that judgment the defendant has appealed.

Plaintiff has a motion to dismiss' the appeal, and in the alternative to strike the statement of facts, or to allow him time in which to prepare a brief. The motion was passed to be disposed of with the case. Ample time has been had for the preparation and filing of the briefs and time allowed for the filing of supplemental briefs.

[253]*253The grounds upon which a dismissal, or the striking of the statement of facts, is sought, are that the defendant did not mail or deliver to the plaintiff, nor file with the clerk of the trial court a designation in writing, under Section (c) Rule 377, Texas Rules Civil Procedure, of the portions of the testimony, either in narrative or question and answer form, desired to be brought up. ■ And further, that the statement of facts prepared and on file in this casé was never presented to the plaintiff for examination and approval or rejection, or other proper action thereon, but was presented to the trial court and an approval secured thereof on the belief on the part of the Court Rule 377 had been complied with.

It is apparent from the statement of facts on file- herein that it was the purpose of the appellant to bring up a full and complete statement of the facts and not an abbreviated one. In that situation it was not necessary to take the steps provided for in Section (c) of the Rule. Section (d) contemplates, we think, that the statement of facts when prepared will be submitted to the opposing party for action thereon, but there is no provision that does in anywise condemn one prepared, certified and approved as a full and complete and true statement of the facts adduced on the trial. It is true the statement of facts is not signed by plaintiff and there is nothing to indicate it was ever submitted to the plaintiff except the statements contained in the certificates, but it is certified to by the Court Reporter as being a “full, true and co’rrect -transcript in question and answer form of my shorthand notes made of the testimony in the trial” of the case. The trial court signed a certificate (apparently prepared by the Reporter) wherein it is recited the record was prepared by the Reporter; made available to the parties for examination and Objections; that-no objections had been made, arid that the same was approved as the statement of facts in the case.

As we understand plaintiff his contention is the statement of facts is only incomplete in that there is omitted from the initial letter relied upon by him a part of one sentence indicated as follows“In other words I am. making you a give and take proposition, subject, of course, to your title being a merchantable title (or my title being the same, a merchantable title) if you and your son buy me out.” The wo'rds in parenthesis were omitted. ■ They are immaterial. And the further Pbjection that exhibit 11- is omitted. That-is a letter offered for the purpose only, as stated when offered, to show an admission on the part of the defendant of the existence of a contract and that she knew the property unde'r consideration. Plaintiff there stated he was aware the contract was already in existence before that letter was written. It is our conclusion no injury has been done and that all the facts necessary for the prope'r disposition of the questions presented on the appeal are here, and notwithstanding there may have been some irregularity in the procedure to secure the approval of the statement of facts, Rule 377 has been sufficiently complied with and its purposes met. Plaintiff had and still has the right to make the statement of facts complete, if he desi'res to do so, under the provisions of Rule 428. Aside from what has just been said, the Statement of Facts' and transcript were filed in the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals on the 17th day of September, 1946, and the Motion made by plaintiff was filed in this court on the 25th day of November, 1946. -In such circumstances it was held in Leoney v. Wing, Tex.Civ.App., 195 S.W.2d 557, under the provisions of Rule 404, Texas Rules Civil Procedure the objections were waived. For all the reasons indicated the motion is overruled.

The defendant has briefed five points of error but we deem it unnecessary to discuss any but the first since we regard it as decisive of the case. It is the trial court erred in its finding and judgment .there was a valid contract between the parties fo'r the sale and purchase of the real property in controversy. The contract sought to be enforced is contained in correspondence initiated on January 31, 1946, when the plaintiff wrote the defendant, sending a carbon copy of the letter to her son at Alice, Texas. In that letter he submitted a give or take proposition to sell his interest to her or to her son, or to buy de[254]*254fendant’s interest in “our lot” for a cash consideration of $6,000.00 net, subject to merchantable title. These are the sole stipulated or' expressed terms. The record discloses the parties became joint owners of the lot in question through litigation concerning it in which plaintiff represented defendant as her attorney.

To the initial letter of January 31st, defendant’s son replied on February 14, 1946, as follows:

“Thank you for the carbon copy of your letter dated January 31, 1946, addressed to my Mother, regarding the real estate in Corpus Christi.
“I regret the delay in answering your letter, but X have been in bed with a severe cold all this week and am still not fully recovered.
“I am writing my Mother regarding this letter today and shall attempt to give you an answer within the next week o'r ten days.”

On the following day, February 15, 1946, plaintiff replied as follows to the letter of the 14th:

“I have your letter of February 14, 1946, in reply to my letter to your mother of January 31, 1946.
“First, I shall appreciate you'r mother writing me, rather than you, for she is the one who has the title to the lot, unless she has conveyed it away recently, or if anyone has title to it with me. If she wants to take up my proposition she should so write me herself. ,
“Second, I will not accept a ‘special warranty deed’ for I have never seen fit to accept such in the past for myself o'r any client of mine. Such a deed is a warning to the world that the maker has doubt as "to his or her title and the guaranty title certificate is not usually issued by any title company with such a deed in the chain of title. I will want a deed from your mother, direct, in the usual warranty deed form. I will draw the instruments to be executed by he'r and by you and your wife.
“As to the time of closing, it will be about 30 days after the new city officials have taken office, and, only then if Congress has passed the law releasing any claim to the submerged lands of Corpus Christi Bay. You know that there has been a recent claim that the United States owns all of the shore water lands on the' entire coast, including Texas, and Congress is now considering an act to release the claim.

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Bluebook (online)
201 S.W.2d 252, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 884, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sparks-v-chandler-texapp-1947.