Texas Machinery & Equipment Co. v. Gordon Knox Oil & Exploration Co.

434 S.W.2d 182, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2791
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 28, 1968
DocketNo. 7876
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 434 S.W.2d 182 (Texas Machinery & Equipment Co. v. Gordon Knox Oil & Exploration Co.) 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 Machinery & Equipment Co. v. Gordon Knox Oil & Exploration Co., 434 S.W.2d 182, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2791 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

NORTHCUTT, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment granted by the trial court giving relief to ap-pellee, Gordon Knox Oil & Exploration Co. from a writ of garnishment judgment caused to be issued by Texas Machinery & Equipment Co., a non-entity, purporting to act by and through its attorney of record. From such judgment Texas. Machinery & Equipment Co. and the attorney of record have appealed. The other defendant, Ed Darnell, Sheriff of Midland County, Texas has not appealed.

Chronologically, the events leading to the judgment are as follows: On March 26, 1962, Texas Machinery & Equipment Co. through its president, vice president and secretary executed a Statement of Intent to Dissolve Texas Machinery & Equipment Co., which was filed in the office of the secretary of state on April 2, 1962.

On March 26, 1962, the same corporation, acting by and through its president and secretary sold, assigned and transferred to Le Torneau Manufacturing & Equipment Co., an Illinois corporation; James Talcott, Inc., a New York corporation and Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co., a Connecticut corporation, all of its assets, including all accounts, claims and [184]*184judgments. (All emphasis herein are ours unless otherwise shown.)

On May 1, 1962, in Cause No. 38,725 Texas Machinery & Equipment Co. obtained a judgment in Lubbock County against Frank Montgomery for $11,080.00. No written transfer of such judgment was ever filed in the office of the district clerk of Lubbock County in compliance with Art. 6636, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.St., and the court issuing the garnishment was not apprised of the transfer.

On July 16, 1962, Texas Machinery & Equipment Co.’s right to do business in Texas was forfeited by the secretary of state.

On February 27, 1963, in answer to an inquiry of February 22, 1963, by the Honorable Robert S. Calvert, Comptroller of Public Accounts, as to whether Texas Machinery & Equipment Co., domiciled in Amarillo, Texas had assets in such county from which a judgment for franchise taxes, penalty and court costs could be satisfied, the Tax Assessor-Collector of Potter County endorsed thereon “none”.

On March 14, 1963, the office of Attorney General of Texas advised the Secretary of State of the determination by the Comptroller’s office of lack of assets of the named machinery company with which to satisfy a judgment for delinquent franchise taxes and its approval for forfeiture of the company’s charter.

On the same day the Secretary of State signed an order stating “ * * * that the charter of the above named corporation be and the same is hereby forfeited and made null and void * * ”

On June 29, 1967, more than four years after its corporate charter had been forfeited, the former machinery company, acting by and through its attorney of record, filed a sworn application for writ of garnishment against Gordon Knox Oil & Exploration Co. seeking thereby to satisfy the Frank Montgomery judgment of May 1, 1962, assigned to foreign corporations more than five years previously.

On July 31, 1967, default judgment was entered against appellee on the garnishment application in favor of Texas Machinery & Equipment Co., whose corporate charter had been forfeited (without the trial court’s knowledge) more than five years previously.

On October 2, 1967, appellee filed its petition in the nature of a bill of review seeking to void the judgment awarded on the garnishment application.

On October 18, 1967, the attorney of record for Texas Machinery & Equipment Co. filed an answer to the bill of review proceeding in which it was stated that “ * * * five (5) years before the sworn application for writ of garnishment was filed the Frank Montgomery judgment which was the foundation for the writ of garnishment, was sold to the non-resident corporations above named and that Texas Machinery & Equipment Co. is a dissolved corporation.”

In their first point appellants contend the trial court erred in granting ap-pellee’s petition in the nature of a bill of review for the reason there was neither pleading nor evidence to prove the necessary elements for granting relief under a bill of review. Appellee responds by contending the trial court did not have jurisdiction to render a default judgment in the garnishment proceedings because there was no legal entity with legal capacity and a remedial interest in the Montgomery judgment during all stages of the garnishment proceedings and additionally the judgment was void on other grounds.

Statutory availability by bill of review for relief from a judgment after expiration of 30 days from the date thereof is found in Rule 329b(5), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The Supreme Court of Texas in Hanks v. Rosser, 378 S.W.2d 31 (Tex.Sup.1964) has recognized that the [185]*185stated rule prescribes no standards by which actions of defaulting parties must be measured except “for sufficient cause” and that it be filed “within the time allowed by law.” There is no question in our case of compliance with the latter prescribed statutory measurement.

As shown in the chronology of activities leading to the garnishment judgment, Texas Machinery & Equipment Co.’s charter to do business in Texas had been forfeited more than four years before the garnishment was issued. Additionally, all of its assets, including all accounts, claims and judgment had been assigned to the foreign corporations. There is not any evidence in this case that the appellants were representing such corporations in their effort to take $11,080.00 away from a completely innocent party.

With respect to the requisites necessary to permit a party to sue, it has been textually stated in McDonald’s Texas Civil Practice, Vol. 1, Sec. 3.03.2.-B, P. 225 that the courts “ * * * have required that the plaintiff have an actual or legal existence, * * * and establishes under the substantive law a valuable right of interest, either personal or representative, in the subject matter of the controversy, * *

None of such conditions are present here. There is no evidence in the record to show the dead corporation was representing the true foreign corporate owners of the Montgomery judgment, and it had no legal existence.

In order for the court to have had jurisdiction in our case it must have had jurisdiction of the person seeking the judgment, and of the subject matter. Martin v. Sheppard, 145 Tex. 639, 201 S.W.2d 810 (1947). Of course, the court must also have had power to render the particular judgment.

The decisions in this state hold that a void judgment is one entirely null within itself, and which is not susceptible of ratification and confirmation and such nullity cannot be waived. Easterline v. Bean, 121 Tex. 327, 49 S.W.2d 427 (1932). “Such is the judgment of a court having no jurisdiction over the subject matter adjudicated.” Easterline v. Bean, supra. Ours being an action in personam, the same rule would apply. Simms Oil Co. v. Butcher, 55 S.W.2d 192 (Tex.Civ.App.-Dallas, 1932, writ dism’d).

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Bluebook (online)
434 S.W.2d 182, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 2791, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-machinery-equipment-co-v-gordon-knox-oil-exploration-co-texapp-1968.