Whitsett v. Whitsett

201 S.W.2d 114, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 729
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 14, 1947
DocketNo. 14827
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 201 S.W.2d 114 (Whitsett v. Whitsett) 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
Whitsett v. Whitsett, 201 S.W.2d 114, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 729 (Tex. Ct. App. 1947).

Opinion

HALL, Justice.

This is a suit for divorce and cancellation of a written trust instrument instituted in the district court of Wichita County, Texas, by one John L. Whitsett of said county, hereinafter styled appellee, against his wife, Virginia Ethel Whitsett, one of the appellants herein. The allegation of appellee’s original petition prayed for divorce and for partition of the community property. Later he filed his supplemental petition seeking to interplead new parties, to wit, R. L. Thompson, of Deaf Smith County, Texas, as acting trustee under a • trust deed; Effyle Kelly, his daughter; and Freda Kelly, his infant granddaughter, and attached the trust agreement to same. Then again on April 8, 1946, appellee filed a second amended original petition (the first one having been filed prior to the supplemental petition) wherein the above named parties were made defendants and within two days, R. L. Thompson, Effyle Kelly and daughter,’ Freda Kelly, and Virginia Ethel Whitsett filed . their pleas of privilege, to be sued in Deaf Smith County, Texas. Walter Friberg, an attorney of Wichita Falls, was appointed guardian ad litem to represent Freda Kelly. After these .pleas of privilege were filed and duly controverted, the appellee filed his third amended original petition June 15, 1946, upon which the case was tried before a jury after agreement between the parties to try the venue issue along with the case.

In accordance with the jury’s answer to certain special issues the court, after having overruled the pleas of privilege, entered judgment for appellee granting him a divorce and canceling the trust instrument. From such adverse action the parties defendant perfect this appeal. They will hereinafter be referred to by their names and as appellants.

They assigned 36 points of error which we will not undertake to enumerate. After careful study of the pleadings and evidence in this case we have come to the conclusion that appellee ■ pleaded two separate and distinct causes of action for a divorce and partition of the community property as against - his wife. Second, he filed a-cause of action against one R. L. Thompson of Deaf Smith County, Texas, as trustee, his wife, his daughter and granddaughter, as beneficiaries, for the cancellation of a recorded trust instrument wherein said Thompson is acting as substitute trustee by [117]*117order of the district court of Deaf Smith County.

Since we find that there were two separate and distinct causes of action reflected from the pleadings of appellee, we shall first discuss the divorce case as between appellee and his wife, the appellant Virginia Ethel Whitsett.

We find appellee’s original petition was filed October 10, 1945, and that appellee was restored his civil rights on April 25, 1945, which reflects the contention of appellant that the case was filed a few days prior to the time appellee had resided as a citizen in Wichita County for the statutory time of six months before filing his petition. However, the case went to trial on appellee’s third amended origiñal petition filed June 15, 1946, which date has been held the filing date of the petition. Bateman v. Bateman, Tex.Civ.App., 188 S.W.2d 866 and cases cited therein.

The Court had the aid of the jury’s finding to assist him in rendering judgment granting appellee a divorce.

We have painstakingly reviewed the testimony transmitted in the unusually large statement of facts and after observing the many assigned errors to the introduction of testimony pertaining to the..side bar remarks made by attorney for appellee; to the offer of compromise and settlement, made to appellant, Virginia Ethel Whitsett, while she was on the witness stand; and the many assigned errors to the argument of counsel for appellee in his closing^e-marks to the jury; have come'to the conclusion that even though some of the errors complained of may not be well founded pertaining to a trial on the cancellation of the trust, yet they were harmful errors in the divorce case; and since we find the Court erred in overruling the pleas of privilege of the defendants pertaining to the trust case, such testimony surrounding the cancellation of the trust became prejudicial to the jury and influenced them in arriving at their findings to the effect that appellant Virginia Ethel Whitsett committed harsh and cruel treatment towards the plaintiff. Even though it is the law that the jury’s finding is merely in the form of an advisory capacity when their findings are for divorce, and that the Court will not consider inadmissible testimony in arriving at a decision granting divorces; yet the law is also laid down that if the jury return a verdict to , the effect that no such harsh and cruel treatment was committed by the appellant, Virginia Ethel Whitsett, then in that event the court would be without authority to grant the divorce. McCrary v. McCrary, Tex.Civ.App., 230 S.W. 187; Grisham v. Grisham, Tex.Civ.App., 185 S.W. 959. We find that the following constituted reversible error.

In appellants’ point of error No. 7 wherein they complain of appellee’s counsel committing error in his closing argument in that he made an impassioned plea, under great emotion, strain and stress; that he went beyond the record and the facts; that he vouched for the truth of his client’s statements; and for his mental stability; and that he referred with violent and intemperate language towards the conduct of the defendant Virginia Ethel Whit-sett comparing her conduct with that of the enemies of our nation in the last war in establishing and maintaining concentration camps; and in referring to the financial conditions of the- parties, picturing his client as being a pauper and his wife, appellant, as being wealthy; and informing the jury as to the effect of their answers, etc,

For brevity’s ‘sake we will not point out all of the excerpts from counsel’s argument which might1 tend to influence the jury in arriving at their verdict but we will point out the 'following: “I have sworn eternal hatred to every form of human tyranny and I say to you gentlemen here this afternoon that I have witnessed, and it is undenied and unchallenged, the most terrifying form of tyranny that I have ever seen one human impose upon another in my life, outside, perhaps, of what we read of the concentration camps. * * * I have had cases before where all the money 'was ’ on one side, where the client had nothing and could get nothing, and he is still in that fix until this hour. * * * I have been in them before and I wasn’t anxious to get into this case and I looked and I talked * * * T [118]*118said that I knew where the money was and I don’t intend to undertake to deceive this jury, never in my life would I.”

Referring to Mr. Humphrey, counsel for appellant, Virginia Ethel Whitsett, counsel stated as follows: “But here is a man that is a master mind and I don’t say that to reflect on Mr. Humphrey. I say he is far seeing and he is wise and he sees way down the road beyond the others and he foresaw that this might come; and, if it did, he wanted to put his wife and baby in so he would have something to conduct a funeral on before you. That is what he did.”

Referring to the appellant, Virginia Ethel Whitsett, “Here is the way of all women. Mr. Kipling had a thing to write about the female of the species and it was this:

“ ‘When the Himalayan peasant meets the he bear in his pride;
He merely shouts to scare him and make him turn aside;

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Bluebook (online)
201 S.W.2d 114, 1947 Tex. App. LEXIS 729, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitsett-v-whitsett-texapp-1947.