West Lumber Co. v. Henderson

252 S.W. 1044
CourtTexas Commission of Appeals
DecidedJune 30, 1923
DocketNo. 412-3775
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 252 S.W. 1044 (West Lumber Co. v. Henderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Commission of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
West Lumber Co. v. Henderson, 252 S.W. 1044 (Tex. Super. Ct. 1923).

Opinion

POWELL, J.

The nature and result of this case have been admirably stated by the Court of Civil Appeals as follows:

“F. B. Henderson, as guardian of Tom Moore, who was alleged to be non compos mentis, filed this suit in the district court of Polk county, Tex., May 14, 1915, against the West Lumber Company, in trespass to try title for 117 acres of land known as block 36 of the J. S. Garner league in Polk county, and being a subdivision of the estate of A. P. Garner, deceased, and for damages on account of timber cut by defendant on said land. ■ Pending this suit, Moore was adjudged to have recovered his sanity, and on July 4, 1918, he intervened as plaintiff, and on trial judgment was awarded him for the land and for damages for the value of the timber cut therefrom, with 6 per cent, interest from the date of the filing of the suit for its cutting in 1915.
“The defendant answered by general demurrer, general denial, plea of not guilty, and specially pleaded that plaintiff claimed the land by virtue of an executory contract of sale dated [1045]*1045July 20, 1877, between the heirs of A. P. Garner and plaintiff, Tom Moore, in which the superior title to the land was retained in the Garner estate to secure the purchase money; that the purchase money for said land had never been paid by said Moore or any one for him, and hence plaintiff had no title to said land; that after said executory contract, Moore having failed to pay the purchase money, the estate of said A. P. Garner and the heirs entitled to same rescinded said executory contract, conveyed said land to A. B. Garner and Inez Garner, two of said heirs, and by legal conveyances said land had passed to defendant, and that by reason of said rescission and conveyances thereunder, defendant was the owner of the land.
“To defendant’s answer, plaintiff replied by supplemental petition, and denied the matters therein contained, averred that plaintiff had fully paid the note’ given for the purchase money for said property, and, in the alternative, that, if - mistaken as to the payment of said note or any part of same-then plaintiff offered to do and perform all such acts and things as in law or equity he should do, and.to pay into ■court such sum as the court might find due.
“The case was tried before the court without a jury. Plaintiff recovered judgment for the land and for 1,312,213 feet of timber, at $3.50 per thousand, with interest at the rate of 6 per cent, on said amount from May 15, 1915, to date of trial, totaling the sum of $6,406.95, with interest thereon from date of judgment, and costs of suit; from which defendant has appealed.”

Upon appeal the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the judgment of the district court. See 238 S. W. 710. Upon proper application therefor the Supreme Court granted the Lumber Company a writ of error “on conflict with San Antonio v. Pfeiffer (Tex. Civ. App.) 216 S. W. 207.” It was alleged in the petition for writ of error that there was no basis in the pleadings in the 'case at bar for the award of any interest between the time of the filing of the suit and' the date of the judgment entered therein on the actual value of the timber cut; that, in the absence of such pleading, the award of such interest, as made by the trial court and affirmed by the Court of Civil Appeals, was in conflict with the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals at San Antonio in the aforesaid Pfeiffer Case.

For additional preliminary facts in the case, we quote further from the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals: •

“Both parties claimed title to the land involved through the common source of the estate ■of A. P. Garner, deceased. No question is raised as to the amount of the judgment, except the contention that the pleadings of plaintiff do not support the award of interest on the .judgment for timber cut. The record discloses that A. P. Garner died prior to 1877, and that during the year 1877, and afterwards, administration of his estate was- pending in the probate court of Polk county, Tex., and that W. H. Garner and E. T. Garner were the administrators; that, in accordance with an order •of sale granted by the court, said administrators on July 3, 1877, sold numerous portions of the land belonging to the estate of said A. P. Garner, and among them was block 36 of the J. S. Garner league, containing 117 acres, to Tom Moore, and at the same time one house and lot in the town of Livingston and 49% blocks of land in the old town of Swartwout were sold to said Moore the whole for the consideration of $260.70, which sale was duly reported to the court, and by the court approved, and deed to said property duly made to said Tom Moore by said administrators July 20, 1877; that in accordance with the terms of sale Moore duly executed his note payable to said administrators for said sum, to wit, $260.70, with H. E. Moore and John E. Ca^r signing same as sureties, and also executed and delivered to said administrators a mortgage on all of said property to secure the payment of said note.”

We shall first consider the assignment involving the aforesaid conflict between the case at bar and the San Antonio Court of Civil Appeals.

The instant suit was filed May 15, 1915, shortly after the timber had been cut from this tract of land. Aside from a recovery of the land plaintiff sued for the value of the timber so cut by the lumber company. The allegations as to damages were as follows:

“(a) 1,755,000 feet of pine timber of the stumpage value of $5 per thousand or a total of $8,775, and that said timber when so manufactured into lumber was worth at least the sum of $12 per thousand, and at which price the total amount then would be $21,060.
“(b) 250,000 feet of hardwood timber cut for the manufacture of ■ staves, which was of the stumpage value the sum of $5 per thousand, or $1,250, and in its manufactured state was worth the sum of $20 per thousand, or the sum of $5,000.”

The prayer closing the petition was as follows:

“Wherefore plaintiff prays the court that the defendant be cited in the terms of the law, and that on trial thereof plaintiff have judgment over and against the defendant for the title and possession of said land, and for damages for the manufactured value of the timber cut and removed from said land in the sum of $26,060', or, in the alternative, if plaintiff is denied ■ a recovery for the manufactured value, that he have judgment over and against the defendant for the sum of $10,025, or such other sum in either event as the facts may show him entitled to. .‘Plaintiff prays for such other and further relief, special and general,” etc.

The district court found that 1,302,213 feet of pine bad been cut, as well as 40,000 feet of bardwood, and that each character of timber so cut was worth $3.50 per thousand. The court than awarded a judgment for aforesaid value, aggregating $4,697.75 and interest from May 15, 1915, to June 9, 1921, at 6 per cent, per annum, on last-mentioned sum. This interest aggregated $1,709.20, and, when added to the principal sum of $4,697.75, [1046]*1046made a grand total in the judgment of $6,-406.95. As already stated, the judgment of the court was for said last-named amount, with interest thereon from its date, June 9, 1921, at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum.

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Bluebook (online)
252 S.W. 1044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/west-lumber-co-v-henderson-texcommnapp-1923.