Trevino v. Sample

565 S.W.2d 93, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 3106
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 5, 1978
Docket6721
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 565 S.W.2d 93 (Trevino v. Sample) 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
Trevino v. Sample, 565 S.W.2d 93, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 3106 (Tex. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinions

OPINION

OSBORN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment non obstante veredicto in a case arising out of the refinancing of a note and a subsequent attempted foreclosure of a lien on a house in Kerrville. The Appellants brought suit initially to enjoin a sale under a deed of trust. A temporary injunction was granted pending a trial on the merits. The case was tried upon theories of breach of a confidential relationship, fraudulent misrepresentations and usury. The jury found for the Appellants on the first two theories, and found actual and exemplary damages and a sum for attorney’s fees. We affirm the judgment entered n. o. v.

It is necessary to review many of the facts from a week-long trial, which included [95]*95over twenty witnesses and nearly fifty exhibits. Joe Trevino and wife, Jovita, lived in Kerrville for many years. Mr. Trevino could not read, write or speak the English language. His wife could speak and understand English, but they both were without any formal education. Joe worked as a sheep shearer, and his wife did domestic work and was employed occasionally at the Kerrville State Hospital. Each summer, they usually travelled to the northeast part of the United States to do migrant farm work for about four months, always returning to Kerrville. In 1958, they bought a small house in Kerrville from A. L. Lewis. They paid partly in cash and signed a note for $1,625.00, which was payable in monthly installments of $20.00 each.

E. E. Sample is also a longtime resident of Kerrville and has known Mr. and Mrs. Trevino for many years. He owns some real estate and operated a small loan business for several years.

In 1964, Mr. Sample made a loan to Mr. Trevino to be used for the purchase of a truck. In 1966, he made a loan to Mr. Trevino to be used for the purchase of an automobile. In April, 1967, he rented a house to Mr. and Mrs. Trevino because the family was too large for the one they had purchased from Mr. Lewis nine years earlier. At that time, Mrs. Trevino began to rent the house they owned and use the rent money to make the note payments to Mr. Lewis. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Lewis moved to Cuero and it was difficult for Mrs. Trevino to make her cash payments to him. She asked Mr. Sample about refinancing her note with him and continuing to use the rent money to make her monthly payments. At that time, the balance on the Lewis note was $1,426.76. Mr. Sample agreed to refinance the Lewis note and, on July 3, 1968, the Trevinos executed a new note to Mr. Sample for $1,999.26, with monthly payments of $35.00 each. In addition to paying off Mr. Lewis, the new note included sums necessary to pay back taxes, purchase a title policy, pay attorney’s fees and recording fees.

A few days after the note and deed of trust were executed, Mr. and Mrs. Trevino left Kerrville for nearly four months to do migrant farm work and did not return to Kerrville until late October or November, 1968. They then remained in Kerrville until March 6, 1969, when they moved to Indiana where they have continued to live since that time. During the time they lived in Kerrville, Mrs. Trevino had at various times borrowed small cash sums from Mr. Sample which were paid back at the end of the month. When she worked at the State Hospital, she regularly borrowed money from Mr. Sample and signed an authorization for him to pick up and endorse her check each month to apply toward the payment of sums she had borrowed. Out of these checks, Mr. Sample was, on occasions, paid the $35.00 monthly note payment. No payments were made by Mr. or Mrs. Trevino on the note after they moved to Indiana in 1969.

It was the contention of Mrs. Trevino that part of the agreement in connection with refinancing the note with Mr. Sample was that he would rent the house each year while she and her husband were out of the State doing migrant farm work. Mr. Sample denied that any such agreement was made. In this connection, Mrs. Trevino testified as follows:

“Q. What was your understanding of what your arrangement with Mr. Sample was on the refinancing?
“A. The only thing I suggest to him, ‘If you refinance my house,’ that ‘whatever I get from rent on the house would be added to the note’ — to his — you know, to the note he was going to refinance me. That was my understanding between me and him. And I talked to Joe about it, and Joe say, ‘Okay, whatever we get from the rent, we can add it into the — as payment into the note.’
“Q. Okay, was there any discussion between you and Mr. Sample about the house rent when you’d be out of town?
“A. Yeah, we talk about it, and I told him that whenever I’m out of State — He knew I was going out of the State for [96]*96four months out of the year, so, I told him that anytime I’m out of town, he have the right to collect rent to put it into the note.
“Q. What did he say?
“A. ‘All right.’"

Mr. Sample did in fact rent the house, but there were occasions when it was vacant and the note payments were not made. On some occasions, he applied the rent money to pay debts incurred in making repairs on the house. On one occasion, he telephoned Mrs. Trevino in Indiana and advised her that the house was vacant, but she was unable to return to Texas at that time. Later, the family came to Kerrville, but she could not locate Mr. Sample. A letter advising of default and foreclosure was first sent in 1974. There was no sale at that time. In October, 1975, another letter giving notice of a foreclosure sale was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Trevino. At that time, they retained counsel and, in November, 1975, obtained a temporary injunction to enjoin any sale. The trial on the merits followed in April, 1977.

The jury found: (1) a confidential relationship existed between the parties when they discussed refinancing the Lewis note and when the Sample note was signed; (2) that Sample abused his confidence by failing to disclose to Jovita Trevino the significant aspects of the Lewis note transaction prior to having the Sample note and deed of trust signed; (3) that Mr. and Mrs. Trevino would not have signed the Sample note and deed of trust except for the abuse of confidence; and (4) this resulted in injury to Mr. and Mrs. Trevino. They also found: (5) that prior to the signing of the note and deed of trust, Sample represented that he would keep the property rented and collect the rent when the Trevinos were out of State; (6) that such representations were made by Sample with the intention that they would not be kept; (7) that such representations were believed and relied upon by the Trevinos; and (8) that such representations were a material inducement to the Trevinos in executing the note and deed of trust. The jury also made findings favorable to the Appellants with regard to the failure of Mr. Sample to properly credit some rental payments, the damages which they sustained, and attorney’s fees.

The critical issues in this appeal are Issues Nos. 1 and 5. By the answer to the first issue, the jury found that a confidential relationship existed between Mr. Sample and Mrs. Trevino when they discussed financing the Lewis note and when the note payable to Sample was executed. The Appellants alleged in their last amended pleading that they trusted Mr. Sample explicitly, and that there existed a “fiduciary relationship” between these parties. The trial Court concluded that there was no evidence to support the jury’s answer to Special Issue No. 1.

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565 S.W.2d 93, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 3106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trevino-v-sample-texapp-1978.