Walker v. Simons

243 S.W.2d 600, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 2461
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 18, 1951
Docket2964
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 243 S.W.2d 600 (Walker v. Simons) 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
Walker v. Simons, 243 S.W.2d 600, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 2461 (Tex. Ct. App. 1951).

Opinions

TIREY, Justice.

This is a suit to recover 3.47 acres of land in McLennan County. On January 4, 1943, appellant purchased a tract of land in McLennan County, “being estimated as 62 acres more or less”; in November, 1945, he filed his original petition in trespass to try title to recover -the above tract; in June, 1947, he filed his second amended original petition which was in three counts, the first count being a suit in trespass to try title, and in the second he alleged substantially that it was the mutual intention of the parties at the time the trade was made to convey the 3.47 acre tract in the original deed, and in the third count he charged the defendants, R. L. Betz and wife, Mary Betz, C. S. Simons and wife, Hattie Simons, with fraud and sought in effect to reform the deed so as to include the 3.47 acre tract, and also sought to cancel a deed from defendant Betz and wife to E. G. Black and wife, which deed conveyed a 1.66 acres out of the 3.47 acre tract. This is the second appeal of this case. See 197 S.W.2d 223.

On the second trial the defendants seasonably filed their motions for instructed verdict, which the court overruled, and the case was submitted to the jury. The jury in its verdict found substantially (1) that defendant Simons, in making the trade [602]*602with plaintiff Walker, did not represent to Walker that the tract of land he was selling to Walker included the 3.47 acres of land; (4) that defendant Betz did not represent to Walker that the land Simons was selling to Walker included the 3.47 acres of land; (8) that defendant Betz and Simons were not acting jointly in effecting the sale of the land to Walker; (10) that the reasonable cash market value of the land on January 14, 1943 described in the deed from Simons and the Calvert State Bank to Walker was $3000; (10-A) that the reasonable cash market value on January 14, 1943 of the tract of land described in the deed from Simons and the Calvert State Bank to Walker, plus the 3.47 acres of land in controversy, was $3075; (11) that in the deed from Betz to Simons of the 62 acres of land, more- or less, the 3.47 acres of land in controversy was not left out through mutual mistake between the defendant Betz and the defendant Simons; (12) that in the deed from Simons to Walker of the 62 acres of land more or less, the 3.47 acres of land in controversy was not left out through mutual mistake between the defendant Simons and the plaintiff Walker; (13) that in the purchase of the tract of land by Walker from .Simons, that Mrs. Mary Betz was not acting as agent for her brother C. S. Simons; (14) that in the purchase of the tract of land by Walker from Simons that Mrs. Mary Betz was not acting as agent for her husband R. L. Betz.

The defendants seasonably filed motion for judgment, which was granted, and in the judgment the court found that after considering the verdict of the jury and the undisputed evidence the trial court made the following findings of fact, to the effect: (1) that Walker had no title or interest in the 3.47 acre tract of land in controversy; (2) that E. G. Black and Edith M. Black are the owners by fee simple title of 1.66 acres of land described in the deed from R. L. Betz and wife to E. G. Black and wife; (3) that R. L. Betz is the owner in fee simple of the title of the 3.47 acres of land in controversy, less the 1.66 acres of land above referred to; (4) that R. J. Walker is the owner of a windmill complete, windmill tower, elevated tank, tank tower, pipes, and equipment used in connection with said windmill, tank, and tower situated on approximately one acre of land out of the south end of the 44 acre tract of land conveyed to R. L. Betz by R. F. Brown and referred to the deed, with the right of ingress and egress over and upon said one acre of land in and to said well and said windmill, tower and tank tower, for the purpose of taking water from said well to be used in connection with said 62 acre tract of land conveyed to Walker by the Citizens State Bank of Calvert and C. S. Simons and wife, and that except as to said rights Walker had no right, title and interest in and to said land.

The decree followed the verdict of the jury and the findings of the trial court. Walker seasonably perfected his appeal.

Appellant, in oral argument, stated that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the findings of the jury, but says the judgment should be reversed and remanded for seven procedural errors made over the timely objection of appellant. After a careful examination of the record we are of the opinion that under the undisputed evidence the court should have granted defendants’ motion for an instructed verdict and the alleged errors of procedure became immaterial and we do not pass upon them. Because of the foregoing view a statement is neces,-sary.

Defendant Betz, by various purchases beginning on October 6, 1916 and ending November 17, 1924, acquired 74.68 acres of land. Thereafter McLennan, County took 6.14 acres for a public highway, leaving Betz the balance of 68.54 acres- and about 6½ acres of the tract lay in what is designated as the “little neck” on the west side of the highway, forming the south point of the land which lay to the west of the highway. This 6½ acre tract was a part of the original purchase of a tract of 26.67 acres made by Betz from Brown on October 6, 1916, and at that time Betz, was a single man. The 3.47 acres of land in controversy was at the north end of this “neck” and was out of the tract owned by Betz as his separate property. “The status of property as separate or community [603]*603is fixed as of the time of the inception of the title.” See John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Bennett, 133 Tex. 450, 128 S.W.2d 791, point 1, at page 795. See also: Welder v. Lambert, 91 Tex. 510, 44 S.W. 281, at page 3; Van v. Webb, Tex.Civ.App., 237 S.W.2d 827, p. 2 (writ ref.N.R.E.); Welder v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 5 Cir., 148 F.2d 583, point at page 585; 21 Tex.Dig. Husband and Wife, @=>249. At the time Betz acquired the foregoing tract his father and mother and sister were living and he used this tract as a home for his father and mother, and the sister still lives on this tract. On November 6, 1940, defendant Betz and wife conveyed to his wife’s brother, C. S. Simons, 62 acres out of the 68.54 acres which he owned at that time. Judge James R. Jenkins, who prepared this deed, testified to the effect that he was instructed by Betz to draw the conveyance to Simons so as to keep all of the ■land which was located in the “neck” designated for the use of Betz’ sister; that he was very careful in-working out the field notes and drafting the deed from Betz to Simons and had in his possession the carbon copy of such deed and a memorandum of the figures and calculations that he made and the original plat that he drew and followed; that in this plat he labeled the respective tracts which Betz had acquired, the person from whom he acquired it, and the book and page where the deeds were recorded; he outlined the boundaries in red pencil of the lands Betz was conveying to Simons and showed the 5.2 acres in the “neck” and made the notation thereon, “Betz kept.

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Walker v. Simons
243 S.W.2d 600 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
243 S.W.2d 600, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 2461, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walker-v-simons-texapp-1951.