Summers v. Campbell

254 S.W. 356, 1923 Tex. App. LEXIS 492
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 13, 1923
DocketNo. 6613.
StatusPublished

This text of 254 S.W. 356 (Summers v. Campbell) 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
Summers v. Campbell, 254 S.W. 356, 1923 Tex. App. LEXIS 492 (Tex. Ct. App. 1923).

Opinion

BLAIR, J.

This suit was filed by appellant, J. A. Summers, against appellees, R. L. Campbell and A. .A. Jeffres, primarily for the cancellation of certain deeds and deeds ■of trust, executed by the parties to each other, in a contract of exchange of properties, because of the alleged fraud of Campbell in making the trade for the exchange of properties, and, in the alternative, for damages, if a rescission and cancellation of the contract, deeds, -etc., could not be had.

Appellant alleged that Campbell represented a gin he traded him to be in good condition, and the machinery to be practically new, etc., when, in fact, it was old and worn, and would not gin cotton as represented. He alleged further that, in executing a deed of trust to secure the notes for the difference in the price of the property exchanged by appellant and the gin re-, ceived, he signed a deed of trust upon 39 acres of land not included in the original transaction, and, upon protest, Campbell agreed that he would not consider the notes a lien upon said 39 acres of land. Appellant further alleged that Jeffres knew of this fraud, and that he entered into a conspiracy with Campbell, and had the notes and deeds "of trust transferred to him so as to claim same as an innocent puehaser, for value.

Both Campbell and Jeffres answered by general and special denial, and Jeffres pleaded that he was a purchaser of the notes, before maturity, for value, and without notice of the fraud, ahd filed his cross-bill, praying judgment for the amount of his notes and foreclosure of the deed of trust lien upon the property securing the same.

A trial was had before a jury, and upon a general charge a verdict.was returned in favor of all the appellees and against appellant, and that he take nothing by his suit, and that appellee Jeffres have judgment for his debt, as evidened by the notes, and for a foreclosure of his deed of trust lien upon the property described. Upon this verdict the trial court rendered judgment as directed, whereupon appellant filed his motion for a new trial, which was overruled, and he appeals.

*357 The facts are that appellant and appel-lee Campbell traded certain real estate, including Campbell’s cotton gin, and Campbell was due a difference in value of the properties exchanged, the sum of $2,600, for which appellant executed his notes, secured by a deed of trust on the gin property, and also on 39 acres of land belonging to ap-pellee, which was not a part of the trade in exchange of properties, which deed and notes were transferred to A. A. Jeffres by Campbell, before maturity, for a valuable consideration, and without notice of any defense against them.

The issues of fact joined were that Campbell had fraudulently and falsely represented the condition of the gin,- and that the 39 acres, though described in the deed of trust, were not in fact security for the debt, and that it was agreed that it would not be so considered and that Jeffres was not an innocent purchaser of the notes. Upon all these issues of fact the jury found against appellant, and we find their verdict is supported by sufficient evidence to sustain it.

Along with the submission of this case, we took under consideration appellee Campbell’s motion to dismiss the appeal herein. He was not joined in the motion to dismiss by appellee Jeffres. The motion stated as grounds for dismissal: First, because appellant’s brief was not filed in time as required by law and the: rules of this court. This we do not sustain, because it was filed before the submission of the case, and appellee Campbell replied thereto before the date of the submission by filing his brief in this court, showing thereby that no injury resulted by reason of the delay.

The second ground urged is that a statement of facts was not filed in time required by law. The record shows that the statement of facts was filed before the time for filing the transcript had expired. Article 2073, as amended, provides that it is legal to file a statement of facts as long as it is legal to file a transcript in the appellate court. City of Aransas Pass v. Eureka Fire Hose Mfg. Co. (Tex. Civ. App.) 227 S. W. 330.

The third ground urged for the dismissal is because it is alleged that appellant has settled the judgment rendered against him in favor of Jeffres since the appeal of the case, and that it should be dismissed for want of matters in controversy. Appellee Jeffres did not join in this motion to dismiss. Appellee Campbell attached to his motion to dismiss certified copies of deeds of trust recorded in Coryell county, which recite that they are given in consideration of the settlement of the judgment rendered in this cause in favor of Jeffres. Campbell was sued herein for a rescission of a contract and for cancellation of certain deeds and deeds of trust, because they were obtained by fraud. He was also sued in the alternative for damages, if the contract could not be rescinded, and the deeds and deeds of trust could not be canceled. It is evident, therefore, that, should we reverse this case, the suit for damages for false representation of the condition of the gin would still be pending against Campbell. One suing on contracts induced by fraud may elect to rescind, or, in the event a rescission cannot be had, may sue for damages for the difference in value of the property received and that which he should have received under the contract had no fraud been practiced. Campbell is therefore, still an interested party, and liable in this suit in case of a reversal, and would not be entitled to a dismissal of the appeal because other parties to the suit who had not joined in the motion to dismiss had settled their differences in the litigation, being matters which the record discloses Campbell was npt interested in. The motion to dismiss the appeal is therefore overruled.

The record proper only presents one question for our determination. The appellant contends that the court erred in failing to charge the jury affirmatively on all of the issues raised by the pleadings and the evidence. This matter was raised by objections to the court’s charge in not incorporating the matters complained of as being left out, and in refusing to give a special requested charge by appellant, incorporating such alleged matters. The special bharge is as follows:

“Now should you find from a preponderance of the evidence that at the time said trade in question, as defined in the main charge, was made, and that the same was procured by the fraudulent matters pleaded by plaintiff, and as defined in the court’s main charge, and that the said defendant, Campbell, caused the deed of trust to Dan E. Graves to be executed by the plaintiff by telling plaintiff that same would not incumber his said 39 acres of land, and that he (Campbell) would see that same did not incumber said 39 acres of land, and that said deed of trust was procured by the fraud of the said R. L. Campbell, as defined in main charge, then, in that event, you will find for the plaintiff. And should you further find that the defendant Jeffres had knowledge of said fraud, as defined in main charge, and as herein defined, then you will find for plaintiff against both R. L. Campbell and A. A. Jeffres.”

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Related

City of Aransas Pass v. Eureka Fire Hose Mfg. Co.
227 S.W. 330 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1921)

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Bluebook (online)
254 S.W. 356, 1923 Tex. App. LEXIS 492, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/summers-v-campbell-texapp-1923.