Texas Department of Public Safety v. Cocke

292 S.W.2d 827, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1717
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 13, 1956
Docket10404
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 292 S.W.2d 827 (Texas Department of Public Safety v. Cocke) 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
Texas Department of Public Safety v. Cocke, 292 S.W.2d 827, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1717 (Tex. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinions

GRAY, Justice.

Appellant, the Texas Department of Public Safety, has appealed'from a judgment of the County' Court at Law of Travis County sustaining appellee’s pleas in abatement, pleas to jurisdiction and special exceptions to its petition seeking, an affirmative finding under the provisions of Sec. ‘ 22 of Art. 6687b, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. This judgment recites that “it is the opinion of the court that the facts alleged are insufficient and the law is with the defendant.”

There is no statement of facts before us but tlie record consists of a 'transcript only. The judgment then is on the pleadings and will be so treated.

On -May IS, 1955, appellant filed a petition in the Corporation Court of the City of Austin complaining of appellee and praying for an affirmative finding authorizing a suspension of appellee’s operator’s license. The petition alleges that “defendant is an habitual violator of the traffic law; has [828]*828been responsible as a driver for' an accident resulting in serious property damage, ⅝ * ⅜»

The petition alleges that appellee has been charged with three separate offenses of speeding; one offense of negligent collision; one offense of making an illegal left turn and one violation of a stop sign control ordinance for which the sum of $3 was paid and credited to appellee in Cause No. 166,778 on the docket of the Corporation Court. The allegations give the date of the alleged offenses resulting in the alleged charges and refer to the records of the Clerk of the Corporation Court of the City of Austin as showing said charges. The petition further alleges “That, heretofore, on or about the 9th day of December, 1953, defendant, while driving and operating a motor vehicle in or about the 1200 block of Rio Grande, within the corporate limits of the City of Austin, Travis County, Texas, did cause said motor vehicle to strike and collide with another motor vehicle resulting in serious property damage.” It was alleged that this collision resulted in the charge of negligent collision supra.

By letter dated April 8, 1955, and sent by registered mail the Director of the Department notified appellee of steps taken. This letter in part is:

“We regret that it becomes necessary' to summon you to appear before the Judge of the Corporation Court of the City of Austin, at 9:30 A.M., ón April 29, 1955, at which time.we intend jto present evidence showing cause for the suspension of your Operator’s License for a period of time not to exceed one year, as provided in Section 22, Article 6687b, R.C.S.
“A copy of the charges that will be heard at that time is attached.
“ * * * Enel. Registered Mail Return Receipt Requested.”

Thereafter appellee filed an answer and on April 29, 1955, an .affirmative finding authorizing the suspension of appellee’s operator’s license for a period not to exceed one year was made. The finding recites that the charges, testimony of witnesses and' argument of counsel were heard.

Appellee appealed from the above finding to the County Court at Law of Travis County. Appellee’s petition on appeal was filed April 29, 1955. It recites that the appeal is filed “under Section 31 of Article 6687b, V.R.C.S., and as provided, under said statute” and again the petition-recites that appellee takes “the right of appeal granted under the provisions of Article-6687b, Section 31, V.R.C.S.” and that the petition is filed within the thirty day_ period provided by law. The petition prayed' that the Corporation Court be directed to transmit a transcript of the record in the-cause to the -County Court at Law, that appellant be notified of the filing of the petition, that the suspension of appellee’s-operator’s license be abated until the ap--peal is determined and that the cause be set down for hearing etc.

On April 29, 1955, the County Court at Law entered its order granting appellee’s-prayer and providing that the revocation of the driving privilege of appellee “as-contained in the order of the Texas State Department of Public Safety and the orders entered in said Corporation Court on/. April 29, 1955, be, and the same are hereby, abated until the final' determination of this appeal.”

There is nothing in the record before us showing that the driving privilege of appellee has been revoked or suspended or that any action toward that end was taken subsequent to the affirmative finding süpra,. and appellee’s petition makes no allegation that any such action was taken.

Appellee’s petition before the County Court at Law urged that appellant’s petition should be abated and dismissed. It urged a plea of jurisdiction, pleas in abatement, special exceptions, general and special denials. We deem it not necessary to> [829]*829here set out and discuss these pleas and exceptions for reasons later stated.

Appellee has filed a motion to dismiss this appeal and urges that it is an appeal from an administrative order and that this Court is without jurisdiction because no right of appeal from an adverse finding is given by Art. 6687b, supra, to the Department.

In support of the above motion appellee cites Prince v. Garrison, Tex.Civ.App., 248 S.W.2d 241. No writ history. The appeal there was from an affirmative finding by the County Court and the Court of Civil Appeals dismissed the appeal. At any rate the appeal there was under Sec. 22(a). In the case before us the appeal was to the County Court at Law which appeal is authorized by Sec. 31 and not by Sec. 22(a). On the question of jurisdiction of an appeal under Sec. 31, see: State Department of Public Safety v. Cox, Tex.Civ.App., 279 S.W.2d 661, er. ref., n. r. e.; Department of Public Safety v. Robertson, Tex.Civ.App., 203 S.W.2d 950. No writ history.

The appeal in State Department of Public Safety v. Cox, supra, was from the County Court at Law No. 2 of Dallas County. In Department of Public Safety v. Robertson, supra, the appeal was from the County Court ■ of Brown County where there is no County Court at'Law. Art. 1970, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. In the latter case the Court of Civil Appeal expressly held that it had jurisdiction of the appeal. In the former case the .Court of Civil Appeals necessarily held it had jurisdiction of the appeal for otherwise it would have dismissed the appeal instead of reversing and remanding the cause. 3rA Tex.Jur. p. 42, Sec. 34.

Supra we have quoted from appellee’s petition appealing from the affirmative finding wherein it is stated that the appeal is taken under Sec. 31.' In the motion now under consideration appellee says that it is obvious that this was error :.

' “In citing that the appeal.was in accordance with Section 31 rather than Section 22, appellee may have been in error, for the' act is ‘somewhat confusing’. ' The error, if such there was, is obvious on its face, and it is conceded throughout by the appellant that ‘an affirmative finding of fact’ and not a suspension, revocation or denial of one’s Operator’s License by the Department is the subject matter of the appeal.”

In appellee’s brief it is said that appellee:

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State v. Gracia
56 S.W.3d 196 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
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753 S.W.2d 799 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1988)
Williams v. Texas Department of Public Safety
371 S.W.2d 747 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1963)
Forbes v. Texas Department of Public Safety
335 S.W.2d 439 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1960)
Goff v. State Board of Insurance
319 S.W.2d 383 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1958)
Texas Department of Public Safety v. Cocke
292 S.W.2d 827 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)
Texas Department of Public Safety v. Gil
292 S.W.2d 832 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1956)

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Bluebook (online)
292 S.W.2d 827, 1956 Tex. App. LEXIS 1717, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-department-of-public-safety-v-cocke-texapp-1956.