Thornton v. Rains

299 S.W.2d 287, 157 Tex. 65, 1957 Tex. LEXIS 552
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 6, 1957
DocketA-5724
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 299 S.W.2d 287 (Thornton v. Rains) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thornton v. Rains, 299 S.W.2d 287, 157 Tex. 65, 1957 Tex. LEXIS 552 (Tex. 1957).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Culver

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Our former opinion is withdrawn and the following substituted therefor.

In 1914 C. H. Medlin executed a deed purporting to convey to his two minor children a tract of land in consideration of One Dollar and love and affection. On the same day, it was acknowledged before a notary public and filed for record and recorded four days later. The rents, revenues, use and possession of the land were reserved by the grantor during his lifetime.

Some two years later C. H. Medlin, joined by his wife whom he had married subsequently to the date of the 1914 deed, conveyed the same land by general warranty deed for a consideration of Thirty-four Hundred and No/100 ($3,400.00) Dollars to W. L. Powell, and in 1918 Powell conveyed the land to J. J. Med-lin, a brother of C. H. Medlin by warranty deed. In 1951 J. J. Medlin and wife conveyed the land to R. L. Thornton. In 1952 the grantees in the 1914 deed, Amos W. Medlin and Hattie Mae Medlin Beckwith, for the recited consideration of Ten Dollars [68]*68quitclaimed all of their interest in the land to H. E. Rains. Respondent, Rains, sued petitioner, Thornton, in trespass to try title. The trial court’s judgment in favor of Thornton was reversed and rendered for Rains. 286 S.W. 2d 174. We are of the opinion that the trial court’s judgment should be upheld.

Among other issues answered, that are irrelevant to a decision, the jury found that, at the time the deed from C. H. Medlin to his two children was filed for record, Medlin did not intend to convey the land to his children.

Respondents contend that the language of the special issue is vague and ambiguous and improperly inquires as to grantor’s intention at the time the 1914 deed was filed for record. They correctly say that the intention of the grantor at the time of the recordation of the deed is not necessarily controlling or in most cases material for the reason, that if Medlin did execute and deliver the 1914 deed with the intention to vest the “remainder estate” in his children it would not matter that he changed his intention at the time it was filed for record. However, the only objection leveled to the issue by respondents was: “Because the same is a question of law and further because there is no evidence to support said issue.” Of course the recording of a deed is not essential to the conveyance of title, but without delivery title will not pass. We think the issue as submitted was not one that could be answered as a matter of law. The controlling question then is whether or not there is any evidence to support the jury’s finding.

It is well settled that where a deed has been signed, acknowledged and placed of record the presumption is that the grantor intended to convey the land according to the terms of the deed, but this presumption may be overturned where there is proof that the recording of the instrument was for some other purpose or through fraud, accident or mistake. Koppelmann v. Koppelmann, 94 Texas 40, 57 S.W. 570; McCartney v. McCartney, 93 Texas 359, 55 S.W. 310.

Even if C. H. Medlin had caused the deed to be recorded, that fact of itself would not have been determinative of the question of delivery of the deed and his intention to place title in his children. If there was no intention on.his part to deliver it or divest himself of title the deed was not effective as a conveyance. McGuire v. Clark, 85 Neb. 102, 122 N.W. 675; Younge v. Gilbeau, 70 U.S. 636, 18 L. Ed. 262.

[69]*69The question of delivery of a deed is one of intention on the part of grantor to be determined from all the facts and circumstances. Pou v. Dominion Oil Co., 265 S.W. 886 (Com. App. judgment adopted) ; Taylor v. Sanford, 108 Texas 340, 193 S.W. 661.

There is some evidence, even though negative in character, upon which the jury might rely in support of its verdict. The proof showed that Medlin married his second wife shortly after signing the deed and although he lived 38 years after 1914 he never told his children nor anyone else about the 1914 deed. Neither the notary who took the acknowledgment, nor the county clerk testified. The children did not learn of the execution when recordation of the deed until after their father’s death when Rains solicited the quitclaim deed from them in 1952. J. J. Med-lin, after he acquired the land from Powell, lived on and cultivated it and paid the taxes for thirty-three years. The brothers, C. H. Medlin and J. J. Medlin, were neighbors for years and visited each other many times. C. H. never told his brother of the 1914 deed to the children. If Medlin had caused the deed to be recorded with the intention of conveying title to his children he must have knowingly been guilty of perpetrating a fraud upon his subsequent grantee and permitting a brother likewise to be defrauded.

The case of Ford v. Hackel, 124 Texas 402, 77 S.W. 2d 1043, is relied upon by petitioner, Thornton. The facts there in all material aspects run closely parallel to those in our case. Rutherford executed a deed of gift to a daughter and the deed was filed and recorded four days later. Five years later Rutherford conveyed by warranty deed for a valuable consideration an undivided one-half interest in the same land to another daughter. The grantor had continued to treat the land as his own, living on it and having many discussions about the land without disclosing that he had executed the first deed. Although the grantor lived for eighteen years after the date of the first deed, the daughter was not aware of the deed or the record of it until after his death.

In Ford v. Hackel the court holds that although the evidence is wholly circumstantial, a fact issue is raised saying: “On the other hand, the fact that neither of the grantors ever apprised their daughter, Mrs. Hackel, of the instrument, or of the gift which it purports, together with the subsequent conduct of the grantors respecting the land, as shown above, including their act in deeding part of the land to another daughter, present a [70]*70state of facts from which an inference may be fairly drawn that the grantors did not know that the instrument was recorded, and therefore did not authorize the recording of it. It is thus seen that the question of delivery of the instrument was one for determination by the jury. The contention of the plaintiffs in error is no evidence to show that the grantors authorized the instrument to be put of record, is overruled.” The facts before us seem every whit as strong to raise a fact issue as they do in Ford v. Hackel.

The respondent, Rains, seeks to distinguish the Ford case and to avoid its application here for the reason that the grantor, Medlin, in the deed to his children reserved the use of the property to himself for his lifetime, and later conveyed the fee simple title to another, whereas in the Ford case the grantor gave a fee simple title to his daughter and thereafter for a valuable consideration deeded one-half of the property to another daughter. The respondent argues that since the grantor, Medlin, retained a life estate which he had the right to enjoy and which he could convey, the execution of the 1916 deed would not necessarily conflict with or contradict the 1914 deed. In other words he says that the 1916 deed conveyed and only conveyed the life interest retained by the grantor.

We think this makes no material distinction. Certainly both deeds conflict with each other; they are inconsistent and both cannot stand.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
299 S.W.2d 287, 157 Tex. 65, 1957 Tex. LEXIS 552, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thornton-v-rains-tex-1957.