Taylor-Link Oil Co. v. Anderson

92 S.W.2d 499, 1936 Tex. App. LEXIS 215
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 4, 1936
DocketNo. 8167.
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 92 S.W.2d 499 (Taylor-Link Oil Co. v. Anderson) 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
Taylor-Link Oil Co. v. Anderson, 92 S.W.2d 499, 1936 Tex. App. LEXIS 215 (Tex. Ct. App. 1936).

Opinion

BLAIR, Justice.

Appellee, G. R. Anderson, sued' appellant, Taylor-Link Oil Company, to recover the amount due on a written contract to drill an oil well, which "contract .was attached to and made a part of the petition and provided that appellant would pay ap-pellee $1 per foot for drilling the well to the depth of 1,700 feet and for any additional depth at the same rate of pay; and also provided that if the well proved to be a dry hole, appellee would plug it in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Railroad Commission, appellant agreeing to pay one-half of the expense of plugging the well. Appellee alleged that he drilled the well in compliance with the contract to a depth of 1,730 feet; that the well was accepted as a dry hole; and that he plugged same in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Railroad Commission at the reasonable expense of $80. Appel-lee also sued for an item of $60 as the purchase price of an oil tank sold by him to appellant. He alleged that the drilling contract was completed in July, 1931; that under its terms and for the oil tank appellant was due him the sum of $1,830, which sum appellant refused to pay, to appellee’s damage in the sum of $2,000; and appellee prayed for interest at the rate of 6 per cent, on the amount due from and after January 1, 1932. Appellant answered by a general denial; a plea of payment of $500 on the drilling contract; a plea of set-off or counterclaim of an alleged indebtedness of $1,325.67 against appellee, which was alleged to have accrued under another contract as expense of equipping and operating an oil well, executed by appellant and Yount Lee Oil Company on the one hand and ap-pellee on the other, appellant alleging that Yount Lee Oil Company had assigned its interest in the alleged indebtedness to appellant. Appellant also alleged that ap-pellee had not plugged the well in accordance with the terms of the contract .sued upon or in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Railroad Commission, and for that reason appellant had elected to terminate, cancel, and hold for naught the contract sued upon as authorized by the terms of the contract.

The case was submitted to the jury upon three special issues, all of which were answered favorably to appellee. Issues Nos. 1 and 2 submitted the issue of whether appellant had paid $500 on the contract in the manner alleged. The jury found that the payment was not made as alleged, which finding was fully supported by the evidence, and concluded the plea of payment of $500 on- the contract against appellant. Issue No. 3 submitted the disputed issue of whether appellee had plugged the well in accordance *501 with the rules and regulations of the Railroad Commission. The jury answered in the affirmative; and since their finding was fully supported by the evidence, the issue was therefore concluded against appellant. Appellant sought to offer in evidence in support of its plea of set-off or counterclaim a purported verified account of the indebtedness alleged to be due by appellee. The trial court correctly refused to admit the purported verified account in evidence, and appellant having offered no other proof of said indebtedness, no issue was submitted nor requested submitting the plea of set-off or counterclaim. In accordance with the above findings of the jury and the undisputed evidence, judgment was rendered for appellee for the sum of $1,830, being $1,730 for drilling the well to the depth of 1,730 feet at the contract price of $1 per foot; $40 as one-half the expense of plugging the well; and $60 as the purchase price of the oil tank. Appellee also recovered $247 as the interest due on the $1,830 from and after January 1, 1932, the total judgment being for the sum of $2,077.

Appellant presents several assignments of error and several propositions, neither of which is sustained. Only two defenses were pleaded by appellant to the contract sued upon: (1) A plea of payment of $500; and (2) a plea that appellee had not plugged the well in accordance with the provisions of the contract. Both of these issues were concluded against appellant by the jury.

But appellant contends that there were no jury findings as to the amount due appellee on the contract, and therefore no 'basis for the judgment. Appellant made no objection to the court’s charge, nor requested that any issue be submitted to the jury to determine the amount due appellee on contract or for the oil † — iR. In its pleadings and defense of the case, appellant proceeded on the theory that the well had been completed a dry hole; but that appellee had been paid $500 and had not plugged the well. Appellee testified that the well was completed a dry hole at the depth of 1,730 feet. This testimony was in no way controverted. Appellee also testified and offered other proof that he had plugged the well in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Railroad Commission at an expense of $80. The amount of this expense was in no way controverted, and other evidence showed that $100 would have been a reasonable expense for plugging the well. Appellant in no way controverted the amount of this expense; but merely offered evidence tending to show that appel-lee had not effectively plugged the well, and that oil and gas were still seeping therefrom. Appellee also testified that appellant purchased an oil tank from him for $60, giving him a requisition for the purchase price at the time, which had not been paid. Appellant in no way controverted this evidence. The contract for drilling the well was offered in evidence. It provided that appellant would pay appellee $1 per foot for drilling the well and one-half the expense of plugging same if a dry hole. Judgment was therefore rendered for $1,830,' being the total of the three items sued for.-(1) $1,730 for drilling the well 1,730 feet at $1 per foot; (2) $40 as one-half of the $80 expense of plugging the well; and (3) $60 for the purchase price of the oil tank.

The controverted defenses urged by appellant to the contract sued upon were submitted by special issues to and by the jury determined against it; and since appellant in no way controverted the amount of either item sued for, and made no request that a special issue or issues be submitted to the jury to determine the uncontroverted amount due on each item sued for, the trial court correctly rendered judgment for the total of the three items, although there was no jury finding as to the amount of the three items. This view is sustained by the cases which hold that undisputed matters should never be submitted to the jury where the case is tried on special issues. Luckel v. DeVor (Tex.Civ.App.) 17 S.W.(2d) 1097; Texas Employers’ Ins. Ass’n v. Russell (Tex.Civ.App.) 16 S.W.(2d) 321; Ingle v. Nicola (Tex.Civ.App.) 15 S.W.(2d) 129; Liverpool, etc., Ins. Co. v. Cabler (Tex.Civ.App.) 271 S.W. 441. There was no doubt or suspicion cast upon the amount due on either item sued for by appellee, and the case comes clearly within the rule announced by this court in Luling Oil & Gas Co. v. Edwards, 32 S.W.(2d) 921, 926, as follows: “The rule that the uncorroborated testimony of interested witnesses, although not controverted, does not conclusively establish a fact, is not applicable where the nature of the testimony is such that it might readily be discredited, if it were not true, and the adverse party offers no disparaging proof whatever.”

Appellant raises the same objection to the judgment for $247 as interest from and after January 1, 1932, on the amount due appellee on the contract and for the .purchase price of the oil tank. It

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Bluebook (online)
92 S.W.2d 499, 1936 Tex. App. LEXIS 215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/taylor-link-oil-co-v-anderson-texapp-1936.