White v. Bond

355 S.W.2d 225, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 2267
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 19, 1962
Docket7109
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 355 S.W.2d 225 (White v. Bond) 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
White v. Bond, 355 S.W.2d 225, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 2267 (Tex. Ct. App. 1962).

Opinion

*227 CHAPMAN, Justice.

Appellees, Paul Bond, R. C. Jinkins, J. L. Harris and Ruby Smith, a widow, plaintiffs below, brought suit against John H. White under Art. 4004, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.Civ. St. to recover damages based upon fraud in the misrepresentation of material facts knowingly made to appellees by appellant White and his agent Orr concerning stock in a proposed uranium mining corporation. Upon motion by appellant all the cases were consolidated. The case was tried to a jury, which resulted in a verdict for all appellees for both actual and exemplary damages.

The jury found that John H. White personally represented to appellees Bond, Jin-kins and Harris and through his agent, J. W. Orr, represented to Ruby Smith that he had good title to the mining claims in question; that “this was a big group with people all over the country in it and that it had business men, mining men, geologist and other specialist in charge of various phases of managementand that “this was good stock.” They then found each such representation was material, each was willfully made, that all such representations were false, and that appellee’s relied upon all such representations in purchasing such stock. The jury also found exemplary damages for each plaintiff in the exact amount of their respective actual damages. Judgment was awarded by the trial court in accordance with such jury findings. From this judgment appeal has been perfected to this court.

In his first group of points appellant asserts reversible error of the court in refusing to sustain the plea of the two-year statute of limitations, which is the applicable limitation statute to Art. 4004, V.T.C.S.

The pleadings upon which all ap-pellees went to trial alleged they did not discover the fraud until on or about September 15, 1958. All original petitions were filed before two years after said date. Taking the testimony with respect to the discovery of fraud in its most favorable light for appellant it does not show as a matter of law that any of the suits were filed more than two years after the discovery of fraud or after two years from the time when by the exercise of due diligence they should have discovered it. Appellant filed objections to the court’s charge and an application for instructed verdict. In neither did he raise the question of the failure of the court to submit issues upon the limitation questions nor did he request special issues thereon. Therefore, the questions on the issues of limitation were waived. Rules 272 and 279, Vernon’s Ann.Civ.Tex. Rules of Civil Procedure; McCarver v. City of Corpus Christi, 155 Tex. 153, 284 S.W.2d 142; Fenn v. Boxwell, Tex.Civ.App., 312 S.W.2d 536 (N.R.E.); Sulser v. Caraway et al., Tex.Civ.App., 134 S.W.2d 426 (N.W.H.); Money v. Dameron, Tex.Civ.App., 70 S.W.2d 291 (Writ refused); Williams et ux. v. Ballard et al., Tex.Civ.App., 256 S.W.2d 978 (N.W.H.). Accordingly, the group of issues concerning the limitation questions are overruled.

In the next group of points appellant asserts error in the failure of the court to grant his motions for instructed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict as to appellee, Ruby Smith, because she failed to allege that J. W. Orr was appellant’s agent in the transaction and because the evidence did not conform to the pleadings. The following allegation is made:

“This is a suit based upon misrepresentations, of material facts knowingly made to plaintiff by defendant and defendant’s agent J. W. Orr concerning stock in Ziza Corporation which plaintiff relied on to her damage, all of which will be hereinafter more specifically alleged.” (Emphasis ours.)

The transcript before us fails to show any special exceptions to the pleading, and in the absence thereof we believe it was sufficient. Rule 45, V.A.T.R. provides that a legal conclusion shall not be grounds for objection when fair notice to the opponent is given by the allegations as a whole. After *228 pleading that J. W. Orr was appellant’s agent, a legal conclusion not excepted to, Mrs. Smith then pleaded specifically and in detail the representations made by appellant and his agent to her.

Pleading a legal conclusion is permissible if the pleader’s adversary is not mislead by it. Texas Employers’ Insurance Association v. Price, Tex.Civ.App., 336 S.W.2d 304 (N.W.H.). There is certainly not anything in this record to indicate appellant was mislead by the pleadings of agency on the part of Orr, and the agent finally admitted the gift of stock for his services.

Though Mrs. Smith was rather rambling and not as coherent as a witness should be she testified Mr. Orr told her he was selling the stock for Mr. White, that it would be just a few days before they would have it out on the market, that she would buy it for a penny a share and after she bought it the stocks would be ten cents a share, that the uranium was all around them, that they were working it and they could not fail. We believe, in studying her testimony as a whole, it was at least sufficient to justify the submission of the sets of issues showing agency and the representation that “this was good stock.” Therefore, the court properly overruled appellant’s motions for instructed verdict and' for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

In his next set of points appellant asserts error in permitting parole evidence to vary the terms of the contract, in admitting testimony of the conduct of the business of the later formed corporation, in failing to grant a judgment N.O.V.- for him for the reason that the answers of the jury to the issues submitted did not constitute fraud, and because of a lack of proof of knowledge of falsity.

This suit was brought for fraud based upon both oral and written misrepresentations made to appellees. Our courts have held that: “Whenever issues of * * * fraud, and good faith are raised, the evidence must take a rather wide range and may embrace all the facts and circumstances which go to make up the transactions, disclose its true character, explain the acts of the parties, and throw light on their objects and intentions.” Blanton v. Sherman Compress Co., Tex.Civ.App., 256 S.W.2d 884 (N.W.H.); Chandler v. Butler, Tex.Civ.App., 284 S.W.2d 388 (N.W.H.).

Art. 4004, V.A.T.S. provides in part as follows:

“Actionable fraud in this State with regard to transactions in real estate or in stock in corporations or joint stock companies shall consist of either a false representation of a past or existing material fact, or false promise to do some act in the future which is made as a material inducement to another party to enter into a contract and but for which promise said party would not have entered into said contract.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
355 S.W.2d 225, 1962 Tex. App. LEXIS 2267, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/white-v-bond-texapp-1962.