Ætna Life Ins. Co. v. Matthews

47 S.W.2d 667
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 6, 1932
DocketNo. 11132
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 47 S.W.2d 667 (Ætna Life Ins. Co. v. Matthews) 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
Ætna Life Ins. Co. v. Matthews, 47 S.W.2d 667 (Tex. Ct. App. 1932).

Opinion

VAUGHAN, J.

This is a compensation suit, the judgment appealed from having been rendered in the following eauses duly consolidated, oviz.: No. 82427, Ætna Life Insurance Company v. Mrs. Jessie Matthews, Jack Matthews, and Anita Matthews; and No. 92429-A, Joan Matthews, by Next Friend, etc., v. Ætna Life Insurance Company. All proceedings had, leading up to and including the consolidation of said causes, not being in any respect questioned, only the proceedings subsequent thereto and as to the liability of appellant being presented for our review, we find it only necessary to make the following statement in reference to the nature and result of the suit:

Appellee Mrs. Jessie Matthews is the surviving wife of Orville Le Roy Matthews, and appellees Jack, Anita, and Joan Matthews are the minor children of deceased and said MJrs. Jessie Matthews. On September 1, 1928, deceased, then an employee of the Republic National Bank & Trust Company of Dallas, while on his way to the bank to begin work, was shot and killed by one V. Ray Adams upon a public street in the city of Dallas. Several days previous to thie homicide, a wager was made on the result of a certain primary election to select the candidate for United States Senator. One Ben C. Richards, Jr., acting for others, bet $1,000 on one candidate, and one T. W. Ramsey, Jr., bet $1,000 on the other candidate. Both parties to the bet went into the Republic Bank and requested deceased, who was in charge of the new accounts department, to act as stakeholder; this he agreed to do, provided each of the parties would obtain a cashier’s check for $1,000 made payable to his (Matthews’) order. Said checks were obtained and handed to deceased to be delivered by him to the winner. In the primary election, the race was won by the candidate on whom Ramsey had bet.

Richards prepared a forged order from Ramsey authorizing deceased to pay the wager to one Clyde R. Vest, and gave the forged paper to one A. A. Crabb, who took same to Waco and affixed thereto a McLen-nan county notary seal. Crabb telegraphed deceased from Waco, under the name of Ramsey, about the payment of the money to Vest. The next morning, deceased indorsed and delivered the two checks to Crabb, who posed as Vest, and the checks were cashed and Richards took the money, less what he paid to Crabb for .his services. Later, Ramsey and Adams, the parties to the bet, demanded the money from deceased, who told them he had paid it to Vest upon Ramsey’s order. This demand was renewed several times, and deceased not complying therewith, on the grounds above stated, was shot and killed by Adams.

From an award of. the Industrial Accident Board, awarding compensation to the widow and two minor children, appellant appealed to one of the district courts of Dallas county. Later, claim was made, for compensation on behalf of Joan Matthews, a posthumous child, and, from a board order refusing to hear the claim, suit was filed in one of the district courts of Dallas county on behalf of said minor. The suits were consolidated by proper orders, and on January 3, 1931, the consolidated suit was tried to a jury on special issues. Upon the findings of the jury, judgment was rendered against appellant in favor of appellees for $7,055.36, with 6 per [669]*669cent, interest and costs, apportioned one half to the widow and the other half divided equally among the three minor children.

Under the view we take of this appeal, it is not necessary to detail the findings of the jury, in response to the several special issues submitted, further than to say all were in favor of appellees; this because the validity of the judgment rendered must be determined upon and by appellant’s assignment of error No. 1, viz.: That the court erred in refusing to give to the jury its special charge No. 1, instructing the jury to return a verdict for appellant, said refusal being assigned as error on each of the following grounds, to wit:

“(a) Because it was uncontroverted under the evidence that at the time of the killing the deceased was not engaged in or about the furtherance of the affairs or business of his employer;
“(b) Because there was in the record no competent evidence that the killing had to do with and originated in the work,' trade, business or profession of the employer;
“(c) Because, if there was evidence that the killing originated and had to do with the holding of the stakes, it was uncontroverted that the holding of the stakes was a part of an illegal transaction, to-wit: a wager on the result of a public election; that the holding of the stakes was no part of the business of the bank; that the holding of the stakes was an act which the bank under its charter and the law was not empowered or authorized to do; that in holding the stakes deceased was not acting for the bank; and that in holding the stakes the deceased was acting in his individual capacity;'
“(d) Because it was uncontroverted that the killing was the act of a third person intended to injure the deceased and there was no competent evidence that the act of killing was not directed against deceased because of reasons personal to him and not directed against him as an employee, or because of his employment.”

In order to pass upon the above grounds, it was necessary that we carefully consider and give due probative effect to all of the evidence that, in any respect, supports the judgment rendered in favor of appellees. This duty we have discharged and present what we believe to be all of the cogent facts established by the evidence, supporting said judgment, viz.: Said Richards, witness for appellees, 'testified that he was interested in working for Senator Mayfield’s election in the May-field-Connerly senatorial election of 1928; that he then officed on the eighth floor of the Republic National Bank Building; that he had something to do with a bet made on that election. In reference to the bet being placed and what took place in reference thereto, we think it well to quote the testimony of said witness, viz.:

“Q. Tell the jury when that matter first came to your — when the matter of the making of the bet first came to your knowledge? A. Well Morris Mayfiel,d, a brother of Earle, called on me and asked me if I would hold stakes and I told him I was not accustomed to holding stakes in an election bet. He then asked me if I would get someone to hold' stakes in this election bet, and I told him that I would do my best. He then asked me who would I suggest and he said, ‘well you office in the Republic Bank Building,’ of course I said, ‘yes,’ and he asked me would I go down to the bank and get someone there in the bank to hold the stakes. He sent this man Adams and a man by the name of Weir who was connected with the Mayfield headquarters with the money that he wanted to bet in this election. I then went down to the bank and he paid me the money. We went down to see Mr. Gannon, who is there in the bank. Mr. Gannon could not be interviewed for sometime. This was about twelve o’clpck. I could not talk to Mr. Gannon and then we talked to Mr. Matthews.
“Q. That is O. L. Matthews? A. Yes sir, the young man at the Republic National Bank. I had known Mr. Matthews there in connection with opening up my account there in the bank; I did my business with the Republic National Bank and I asked him would he hold stakes in this election bet.

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Bluebook (online)
47 S.W.2d 667, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tna-life-ins-co-v-matthews-texapp-1932.