Walker v. Cleere

171 S.W.2d 151, 1943 Tex. App. LEXIS 320
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided April 9, 1943·No. No. 2354·Published·Cited by 11 cases

Opinion

FUNDERBURK, Justice.

In this suit by Clarence A. Cleere et ux. against Hall Walker and Commercial State Bank of Ranger, Texas, to cancel a $12,500 note executed by plaintiffs and E. L. Brown to said Hall Walker, and an $1,800 note executed by plaintiffs to Commercial State Bank of Ranger, and seeking recovery of damages against Hall Walker in the sum of $2,500, both defendants, being non-residents of the county, filed pleas of privilege to be sued in Eastland County. Venue was sought to be sustained as to both defendants under exceptions 7, 9, and 29a, and as to the Bank under Exception 23 (R.S.1925, Art. 1995, Subsections Numbered 7, 9, 23 and 29a, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St. Art. 1995, subds. 7, 9, 23, 29a). Upon a jury trial of the issues of venue, judgment was rendered overruling the pleas of privilege, from which order defendants have appealed.

There is a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that since the transcript was filed in this court more than 20 days after rendition of the order appealed from (actually 69 days after the date of such order and 38 days after the date of order overruling motion for new trial), and no motion having been filed within 25 days seeking any extension of time for such filing, that this Court is without jurisdiction to determine questions involving the merits of the appeal.

Assuming the validity of Rule 385, Rules of Civil Procedure, its effect is to require [152] the filing of the transcript in this court within twenty days after rendition of the order appealed from, or, as an alternative, the filing within five days after the expiration of such twenty day period, of a motion showing good cause for the Court’s granting a reasonble extension of time in which to file such record.

In our opinion, as respects the question for decision, Rules 385 and 386 are subject to the same construction; or, in other words, decisions applicable to Rule 386 are authority upon the construction of Rule 385.

The subject matter of Rule 386 is the same as Vernon’s Annotated Statutes, Art. 1839, which said Rule supersedes, interpreting which there are many decisions. We regard the proposition as settled by the decisions that in order to vest a Court of Civil Appeals with jurisdiction to determine the merits of an appeal, the transcript must be filed “with the clerk of the Court' of Civil Appeals within sixty days from the final judgment or order overruling motion for new trial, or perfection of writ of error”, or, failing which, a motion must be filed “before, at, or within a reasonable time, not exceeding fifteen days after the expiration of such sixty day period, showing good cause to have existed within such sixty day period why such transcript * * could not be so filed,” and thereafter such transcript, under leave of the order granting such motion, be filed within the extended time. Hunter v. Moore, 122 Tex. 583, 62 S.W.2d 97; Red v. Bounds, 122 Tex. 614, 63 S.W.2d 544; Mineral Investing Corp. v. Bishop Cattle Co., 124 Tex. 387, 78 S.W.2d 174; Reese v. Owens, 123 Tex. 493, 72 S.W.2d 1113; New Amsterdam Casualty Co. v. Pugh, 124 Tex. 34, 73 S.W.2d 94; Parks v. Purnell, Tex.Civ.App., 120 S.W.2d 895; Stolz v. Wood Sherman Construction Co., Tex.Civ. App., 67 S.W.2d 412; Reed v. Great Am. Ind. Co., Tex.Civ.App., 47 S.W.2d 860; Adams v. Bida, Tex.Civ.App., 83 S.W.2d 420; Upsher County v. Throckmorton Independent School District, Tex.Civ.App., 20 S.W.2d 1105; Stemmons v. Briggs, Tex.Civ.App, 73 S.W.2d 1050; O’Keefe v. Power, Tex.Civ.App, 94 S.W.2d 203; McCollum v. Tudor, Tex.Civ.App, 100 S. W.2d 739; Tavera v. O valle, Tex.Civ. App, 143 S.W.2d 634; Reese v. Owens, Tex.Civ.App, 48 S.W.2d 697; Florence v. First State Bank, Tex.Civ.App, 60 S.W. 2d 834; A. Harris & Co. v. Boswell, Tex. Civ. App, 64 S.W.2d 1029; Green v. White, Tex.Civ.App, 65 S.W.2d 1112; Jenkins v. Runnels, Tex.Civ.App, 69 S. W.2d 810; Shipp v. Metzger Dairies, Tex. Civ.App, 88 S.W.2d 660.

In the statement of the foregoing proposition, effect is given to the words “to determine the merits of an appeal” as qualifying the word “jurisdiction”. In one sense, of course, the perfection of an appeal gives the Court of Civil Appeals jurisdiction of the case, but not that jurisdiction to determine the merits of the appeal which it only acquires upon the timely filing of a transcript. Other qualifying words are sometimes used, such as “jurisdiction of the appeal.” Upsher County v. Throckmorton Ind. School Dist, supra. Sometimes the word jurisdiction or jurisdictional is used without qualifying words, but, nevertheless, in the same qualified sense, as, for example, in Stolz v. Wood Sherman Construction G>, supra [67 S. W.2d 413], wherein the court said: “The question of the right to file the record being one of jurisdiction, the statute (Rev. St. 1925, Art. 1839, as amended by Acts. 1931, c. 66 [p. 66]) granting such jurisdiction cannot be altered or enlarged by agreement of the parties.” The only importance in the present inquiry as to different meanings of jurisdiction is to enable us to determine whether the foregoing proposition is affected by operation of Rules 404 and 405, or either of them.

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Walker v. Cleere, 171 S.W.2d 151, 1943 Tex. App. LEXIS 320 (Tex. Ct. App. 1943).

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