Tate v. Tate

299 S.W. 310
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 21, 1927
DocketNo. 347.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 299 S.W. 310 (Tate v. Tate) 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
Tate v. Tate, 299 S.W. 310 (Tex. Ct. App. 1927).

Opinion

PANNIBL, C. J.

The appellee, A. A. Tate,, brought this suit - in trespass to try title against the appellants, who were his living children and certain grandchildren, being the-children of his deceased children by his first, marriage, to recover certain lands situated-in Comanche county. The petition is in two-counts ; the first being in trespass to try title with general allegations as prescribed by statute. In the second count the appellee pleaded his title specially, and alleged that he de-raigned his title under a deed of conveyance from W. H. and E. N. Key to himself and his deceased wife, Sallie Tate, the mother and grandmother of the appellants, and-from M. J. Coggin to appellee; that the land described in the deed from Coggin to appellee covered part of the land described in the previous conveyance from Key and wife. The further allegation was made that the entire consideration recited in each of the deeds referred to was paid out of appellee’s separate-funds inherited by him from his deceased father; that the Key deed referred to was made during the lifetime and marital relations of plaintiff and his said wife, Sallie, and, while the name of his said wife appears as one of the grantees, in truth and in fact no community funds were used directly. or indirectly in the purchase of said property. The petition shows that the deed from M. J. Coggin to appellee was made after the decease -of his first wife.

There was a trial below to the court with *311 out a jury and judgment in favor of appel-lee for all tlie land sued for; hence this appeal.

The principal points made by. appellants are two: First, that the petition is insufficient, because the appellee, having pleaded his title specially, was confined to the title pleaded in the second count, and could not rely upon his general allegations of trespass to try title, if the title pleaded was insufficient, and that the second count was insufficient, in that, the petition showing on its face that the deed to appellee and his wife covered all the lands, including that part deeded to him by Coggin, an allegation of payment out of his separate funds was insufficient to vest title in appellee to the exclusion of his wife, because the presumption would be that, if he bought and paid for the land with his separate funds, and took the deed partly in the name of his wife, there was a gift or advancement to her, and that no facts were pleaded showing any trust in the wife in favor .of appellee; and, second, that the evidence is wholly insufficient to support the judgment of the trial court, in that the evidence did not raise the issue of a trust in favor of appellee.

These contentions will be briefly reviewed in their order.

It is the law that in trespass to try title the plaintiff is not required to plead his title specially, but, if he does so, he is confined to proof of that title, and, if his allegations are not sufficient, a general demurrer should be sustained. Plaintiff cannot, in order to resist a general demurrer to a count, pleading his title specially, fall back on his general action in trespass to try title. National Lumber & Creosoting Co. v. Maris (Tex. Civ. App.) 151 S. W. 325.

It is further held that, where the plaintiff pleads his title specially, and it is necessary to show any matter of fact which will connect him with the deeds relied upon, such as heirship, that his plea, to be sufficient, must allege such facts that will show a vesting in him of title under the deeds relied upon. Edwards v. Barwise, 69 Tex. 84, 6 S. W. 677.

It is further generally held that, where the title is taken in the name of the husband, proof by him that payment was with his separate funds is sufficient to establish his separate interest in the property, but, where the husband furnishes the considera'tion from his separate estate, and takes the title in the name of his wife or in himself and wife jointly, the presumption is that he intended the interest, so far as cast by the deed upon his wife, to be a gift or advancement from him. Smith v. Strahan, 16 Tex. 314, 67 Am. Dec. 622; Kennedy v. Kennedy (Tex. Civ. App.) 210 S. W. 581; Cummins v. Cummins (Tex. Civ. App.) 224 S. W. 903; 2 Devlin on Deeds (3d Ed.) p. 2192, § 1168; Pom-eroy’s Equity Jurisprudence (4th Ed.) p. 2354, § 1039.

If the wife had not been named in the conveyance as a grantee, the plaintiff’s allegation that the property was paid for with his own separate funds would have been sufficient to constitute it his separate property, but, where she is named as a grantee, it would seem necessary under the authorities noted to allege facts which would show that it was not the intention to make a gift to his wife in taking the deed partly in her name where his separate funds were used in the purchase of the property. So we are inclined to hold that the second count of appellee’s petition was insufficient.

The question as to the effect of the omission in this petition was raised by the appellants both by general demurrer and special exceptions. The petition showing upon its face that the deed from Key and wife, who were common source of title, covered all the land involved in appellee’s suit, including the 175 acres described in the subsequent deed from Coggin to appellee, and there being no allegation showing any divesting of title out of appellee’s wife, the exceptions to the petition, in our judgment, should have been sustained.

In view of appellants’ strong insistence that the evidence was wholly insufficient to divert the title from the status created by the deed introduced by appellee, and that the judg-’ ment should be rendered by this court in their favor, and having in view another trial of the ease, a brief review of the testimony will follow:

The plaintiff relied upon W. H. Key as common source of title, and introduced in evidence a bond for .title from C. C. Campbell to W. H. Key, dated April 1, 1876, conveying the S. E. % of the Joseph Rubart headright of one league and labor of land in Comanche and Eastland counties, describing this tract as beginning at the southeast corner of said survey, with boundary lines running east and west of 2,582% varas, and boundary lines north and south of 1,678 varas. This bond for title recited a consideration of $300 and the execution by Key of a promissory note for $391.93, dated March 27, 1876, bearing 10 per cent, interest, and binding the said Campbell and wife to make said Key a good and warrantable title to the land described upon the payment of said note. A warranty deed from said Key, joined by his wife, dated August 5, 1876, to Allen Tate and Sallie Tate, reciting a consideration of $300, paid by them and describing th,e land as described in said bond for title. A warranty deed from W. H. Key and wife to M. J. Coggin, dated February 20, 1879, reciting a consideration of $300, and conveying to said Coggin 175 acres out of the southeast corner of the tract previ *312 ously conveyed to A. A. and Sallie Tate. A warranty deed from C. C. Campbell and Julia A. Campbell to W. H. Key, dated July 18, 1881, for a recited consideration of $500 cash, describing tbe S. E. Vs of said Joseph Rubart survey as described in the bond for title, except a tract theretofore sold to L. E. Johnson and son,' and another supposed to contain 177 acres. These tracts attempted to be excepted are not otherwise described. A warranty, deed from M. J. Coggin to A. A.

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299 S.W. 310, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tate-v-tate-texapp-1927.