Todd v. Hunt

127 S.W.2d 340, 1939 Tex. App. LEXIS 572
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 2, 1939
DocketNo. 3799.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 127 S.W.2d 340 (Todd v. Hunt) 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
Todd v. Hunt, 127 S.W.2d 340, 1939 Tex. App. LEXIS 572 (Tex. Ct. App. 1939).

Opinion

WALTHALL, Justice.

L. H. Todd, plaintiff in the trial court, appellant in this appeal, brought this suit against J. M. Hunt and H. F. Hunt and a number of other parties as defendants, ap-pellees here.

Plaintiff’s first amended original petition is in two counts, the first count is in trespass to try title, and in the second count plaintiff undertakes to set aside a trustee’s deed to the land involved by reason of the grounds. pleaded.

The lands sued for is described as : All of lots 5 and 6 in Section 34 of the fourth subdivision of the Taft Farm Lands, as shown by the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company’s map. of the Taft Farm Lands, containing 146.14 acres of land, more or less, situated in San Patricio County, Texas.

The second count in the petition sets out many special issues involving the construction of a deed of trust which was foreclosed and the land sold; the construction of a power of attorney; the construction of the trustee’s deed; ‘the 'construction of the written assignment of certain installment payments from the Federal Land Bank of Houston, Texas, to the Sinton National Farm Loan Association, as well as its delivery by the Bank and its acceptance by the Association; and other issues appearing in propositions submitted.

In explanation of the above statements from appellant’s brief, we make the following statement from appellees’ brief:

The appellant, Todd, plaintiff in the trial court, on January 19, 1929, borrowed $6000 from the Federal Land Bank at Houston, Texas, through the Sinton National Farm Loan Association and, to secure the indebtedness, on said date Todd and wife executed and delivered to M. H. Gossett, Trustee, a deed of trust covering the land involved in this suit. The $6000 loan was repayable on the amortization plan in seventy-two semi-annual payments.

The first five semi-annual installments of the $6000 loan were not paid and went delinquent and on February 12, 1932, the Federal Land Bank of Houston assigned said five delinquent installments, together with the pro rata part of the deed of trust lien, to the Sinton National Farm Loan Association.

Todd testified that he was in possession of the land until the Association closed him out. J. M. Hunt, one of the appellees, who, with his brother, H. F. Hunt, later purchased the land from the Association, testified that Todd moved off of the land about a year before they, Hunt brothers, bought the place and took possession; and that before the Hunt brothers bought the land from the Association he, H. F. Hunt, had a conversation with Todd in which Todd told him that he was going to lose the land and was going to have to move off and give it up; and that Todd did move off with all of his stock about two months later.

On February 16, 1932, M. H. Gossett, Trustee, executed and delivered to C. I. Albertson a power of attorney authorizing Albertson to act as Trustee under him and in his name, place and stead. .

*342 On April 5, 1932, the said Albertson, as agent and attorney-in-fact for the Trustee, offered the land for sale at the courthouse door at Sinton, Texas, after having given the proper notices, and sold same to the Sinton National Farm Loan Association for $500 cash, and subject to the balance due the Federal Land Bank of Houston.

On April 8, 1932, the said Albertson, as agent and attorney-in-fact for the Trustee, executed and delivered to the Sinton National Farm Loan Association, as grantee, one of appellees, a deed of said land, subject to the remaining indebtedness due to the 'Federal Land Bank of Houston.

On November 26, 1932, the Sinton National Farm Loan Association deeded the land to J. M. Hunt arid H. F. Hunt, two of appellees, subject to the balance remaining unpaid on the $6000 amortization note executed by Todd to the Federal Land Bank of Houston.

J.'M. Hunt and H. F. Hunt paid the balance due on the $6000 note to the Federal Land Bank of Houston.

Hunt brothers moved on to the place when they bought the land and on July 1, 1933, they executed and delivered to Homer P. Lee, as lessee, an oil, gas and mineral lease, which lease was assigned by the said Lee to Sun Oil Company, an appellee herein, on July 31, 1933.

Hunt brothers thereafter sold a portion of the minerals in the land, subject to the oil and gas lease, together with a portion of the royalty provided for in the lease, and the numerous other appellees herein are such royalty owners holding title under Hunt brothers by virtue of numerous such mineral and royalty deeds.

Oil was 'discovered on the land in 1935 and eight producing wells were drilled thereon by Sun Oil Company prior to 1937.

This suit was thereafter filed by Todd, appellant herein, as plaintiff in the trial court, upon two counts, the first being in trespass to try title, and the second to cancel and set aside the trustee’s deed of the land.

The judgment of the trial court of March 9, 1938, was that plaintiff, Todd, take nothing.

Appellant’s contentions apparently are, in general, that the deed of trust executed by appellant did not authorize the foreclosure ; whereas, appellees’ contention is that the deed of trust did authorize the foreclosure and each and every step of it and that the foreclosure did divest appellant of all the title to the land.and that appellees were entitled to their judgment upon the showing of legal title out of appellant.

Opinion.

Appellant’s first three propositions have reference to the common source of title to the land in controversy.

As in the above statement, appellant sued in trespass to try title and to cancel and set aside a trustee’s deed made under a deed of trust by appellant and wife. The record shows that all appellees deraign title through the deed of trust and the trustee’s, deed thereunder, and therefore deraign title through appellant, being the same title, as we view it, which appellant offered for common source purposes. Appellees admit that appellant had title at the time he and his wife executed the deed of trust, and appellees’ contention here is that they acquired appellant’s title through the foreclosure of the deed of trust which appellant executed to the Federal Land Bank of Houston.

The law seems to be as stated irt 41 Texas Jurisprudence, at page 513, that,, “where the defendant deraigns title from the plaintiff, the latter is the common source of title,” and refers under paragraph 44-to a number of cases as so holding, among-them Temple Lbr. Co. v. Arnold, Tex.Civ.App., 14 S.W.2d 926. We think appellees’ burden was fully discharged as to common, source when they showed they had appellant’s title directly from him through the-trustee’s deed.

The deed of trust executed by appellant and wife to the Federal Land Bank of Houston is too lengthy to quote here, and for that reason we state only such of its. provisions, without quoting them, as are applicable to the propositions presented.

The assignment of delinquent installments from the Federal Land Bank of Houston to the Sinton National Farm Loam Association was authorized by the deeds of trust executed by the appellant.

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127 S.W.2d 340, 1939 Tex. App. LEXIS 572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/todd-v-hunt-texapp-1939.