West v. Cashin

83 S.W.2d 1001, 1935 Tex. App. LEXIS 1414
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 26, 1935
DocketNo. 10080.
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 83 S.W.2d 1001 (West v. Cashin) 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
West v. Cashin, 83 S.W.2d 1001, 1935 Tex. App. LEXIS 1414 (Tex. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

*1002 LANE, Justice.

This suit was brought by D. M. Cashin against J. M. West, West Production Company, and H. R. Cullen to recover for a commission or compensation for certain services alleged to have been rendered by him in assisting the defendants in making a sale of defendants’ one-half interest in oil properties known as the Lockwood Dome, sometimes called Thompson’s Ridge or Rabb’s Ridge; it being alleged that such assistance was rendered at the request of J. M. West for defendants.

Plaintiff further alleged that on and prior to November, 1931, he was and is still engaged in the business of procuring purchasers for and making sales of oil, oil royalties, oil leases, and oil lands for others and in making and preparing reports and appraisals of such oil properties; that J. M. West represented to him that he (West) together with H. R. Cullen owned one half of the Lockwood Dome property and the other half was owned by the Gulf Refining Company; that he (West) employed plaintiff in selling and assisting in the sale of said properties owned by himself and Cullen; that under such employment plaintiff began negotiations for the sale of said properties; that plaintiff advised West that it was necessary to have a geological report and appraisal of the land in order to make a sale of the properties; that upon such advice West, on behalf of himself and his co-defendants, made and entered into the following verbal agreement with plaintiff:

“(1) That plaintiff prepare a geological report and appraisal upon said properties. (2) The plaintiff was authorized to sell the interest of defendant and his co-defendants in said Lockwood Dome properties. (3) That if the plaintiff obtained a purchaser to whom such properties were sold, that defendant would pay plaintiff the ordinary broker’s commission for such sale. (4) That in the event a sale of such properties was made to a purchaser other than one procured by plaintiff, and in the sale to whom plaintiff’s assistance was invoked by defendant, that defendant would pay plaintiff what would be a fair commission under all the circumstances for his services in assisting in such sale, which commission, ft was agreed, should be less than the ordinary broker’s commission paid in cases where the broker made a sale to a purchaser procured by him. (S) That upon the completion of said report and appraisal, plaintiff would be paid by defendant the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), which would subsequently be deducted from any commission earned by plaintiff, and that if' a sale was made of the properties by defendants to a purchaser not procured by plaintiff and in the sale to whom plaintiff was not called upon by defendants to assist, whether or not such sale was made before the completion of such report and appraisal by plaintiff, that plaintiff would then be paid the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for his work thereon.

“That in pursuance of said agreement plaintiff completed said report on about the 11th day of January, 1932, and, in view of the increased cost and expense thereof, by reason of delays occasioned by defendants, their agents and employees, in failing to furnish plaintiff with necessary data and on account of necessary added costs of drafting and blue-printing of maps and sections and other details, which had not been estimated by plaintiff and defendant in determining the cost of such report and appraisal, defendant, J. M. West, agreed to and did pay to the plaintiff the said sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) and the added amount of Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00), or a total of Thirteen Hundred Dollars ($1300.00) at which time said report was delivered by plaintiff to the said defendant, J. M. West.”

Plaintiff further alleged that West, acting for himself and his codefendants, requested plaintiff to assist defendants in making a sale of said properties to the Humble Oil & Refining Company, and that upon such request he did assist in making such sale which subsequently took place; that the consideration paid by the Humble Company was $3,000,000 in cash, and $17,-000,000 to be paid out of oil, and a further consideration of an overriding royalty in the oil, gas, and sulphur produced from the Lockwood Dome properties; that by reason of the premises defendants became bound to pay the plaintiff $500,000, which would be a fair compensation under all the circumstances, though less than the ordinary broker’s commission in a case where the broker procured a purchaser; that a fair compensation under the circumstances of this case would be $500,000, by reason of the assistance given by him in the sale of the properties.

Plaintiff’s prayer was for a recovery of the sum of $500,000 and interest thereon from the 10th day of March, 1932, until paid.

*1003 Defendant J. M. West answered for himself and West Production Company by a general demurrer and general denial.

Defendant H. R. Cullen answered by general demurrer, general denial, and specially averred that the agreements alleged by the plaintiff were not made by him nor by any one authorized by him to make the same'; that if such agreements were made they were without his knowledge or consent; and that he has not ratified or confirmed same.

After all parties had rested, the court, upon motion of defendant H. R. Cullen, directed a verdict in his favor and upon the return of such verdict judgment was rendered for him.

The controversy as between the plaintiff and defendant West was submitted to the jury upon special issues in answer to which this jury found: (1) That the defendant J. M. West agreed with the plaintiff, D. M. Cashin, that in the event a sale of the Lockwood Dome properties known as the Cullen and West properties was made to a purchaser other than one procured by the plaintiff, and plaintiff’s assistance was invoked by the defendant West, that the defendant West- would pay plaintiff what would be a fair commission under all the circumstances for his services in assisting in said sale. (2) That J. M. West, on or about March 10, 1932, invoked the services of plaintiff, Cashin, to assist in making sale of the Lockwood Dome properties to the Humble Oil & Refining Company. (3) That plaintiff rendered services in assisting in making the sale of the properties in question to the Humble Oil & Refining Company. (4) That $25,000, if paid in cash on April 1, 1932, would be a fair and reasonable compensation for plaintiff’s services, if any, in assisting in the sale of the West Production Company’s one-fourth interest in the Lockwood Dome properties. (5) That the plaintiff, Cashin, did not agree with defendant J. M. West that in consideration of the $1,300.59, paid by West for the geological report made by Cashin on the Lockwood Dome properties, that he (Cashin) would explain said report and its contents to West, or his associates, or to any prospective purchaser of said properties without additional compensation.

Upon such findings the court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff, D. M. •Cashin, against J. M. West and the West Production Company for the sum of $25,-000, with interest thereon at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum from the 1st day of April, 1932, until paid, and from such judgment J. M. West and West Production Company have appealed.

By appellants’ proposition No.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Travel Masters, Inc. v. Star Tours, Inc.
830 S.W.2d 614 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992)
H. E. Butt Grocery Co. v. Pena
592 S.W.2d 956 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company v. Dewett
460 S.W.2d 468 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1970)
Daltex Inc. v. WESTERN OIL & FUEL COMPANY
148 N.W.2d 377 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1967)
Simmons v. Capital Diesel & Industrial MacHine Works, Inc.
380 S.W.2d 191 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1964)
Stalder v. Bowen
373 S.W.2d 824 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1963)
Longoria v. Violet Gin Company
309 S.W.2d 484 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1958)
Hancock v. Sammons
267 S.W.2d 252 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1954)
Winkler v. Cox
243 S.W.2d 248 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1951)
Kothmann v. Phipps
214 S.W.2d 201 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1948)
Hicks v. Frost
195 S.W.2d 606 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1946)
Brazos River Conservation & Reclamation Dist. v. Harmon
178 S.W.2d 281 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1944)
Traders & General Ins. Co. v. Wilder
186 S.W.2d 1011 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1943)
Houston Natural Gas Co. v. Kluck
154 S.W.2d 504 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1941)
Cullen v. Commissioner
41 B.T.A. 1054 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1940)
Broughton v. Humble Oil & Refining Co.
105 S.W.2d 480 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1937)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
83 S.W.2d 1001, 1935 Tex. App. LEXIS 1414, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/west-v-cashin-texapp-1935.