Williams v. National Bank of Commerce

62 S.W.2d 1108, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 1064
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 10, 1933
DocketNo. 3968
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 62 S.W.2d 1108 (Williams v. National Bank of Commerce) 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
Williams v. National Bank of Commerce, 62 S.W.2d 1108, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 1064 (Tex. Ct. App. 1933).

Opinion

HALL, Chief Justice.

The appellee bank sued appellant Williams on a promissory note in the sum of $1,449.66, executed by the defendant, payable to the order of the bank ninety days after date, with interest at 10 per cent, per annum. The note contains the usual stipulation for attorneys’ fees.

The defendant answered by verified plea, that the note was executed by him without consideration and as a guaranty for "the payment of a past-due note owned by plaintiff which had been executed by J. J. Weiman and Mrs. Jeanette Hartwell, who had received full consideration therefor. That the note sued on was executed purely for the accommodation of plaintiff bank and to enable said bank to satisfy the bank examiner and relieve its officials from criticism, and it was agreed that said bank would not look to or expect defendant to pay said noté. It is further alleged that the note was delivered upon the express condition that plaintiff would obtain the signature of J. J. Weiman thereon, which was never done.

By supplemental petition plaintiff denied the facts alleged in the answer and specially pleaded as a consideration for the note that defendant Williams was willing to execute said note and pay the original note for the reason that Mrs. Hartwell, one of the makers of the original note, was afflicted with cancer (which proved fatal soon thereafter). That she had made a will under the terms of which her property would vest in the wife of defendant Williams. That when the note sued on was executed the bank gave defendant credit for the amount thereof. That the defendant then drew a 'check with which he purchased from the bank the original note signed by Weiman and Mrs. Hartwell, at which time it was agreed that the bank should hold the original note as collateral to secure the note executed by defendant. The bank further pleaded that defendant was estopped to assert the defense set up in the original answer for the reason that, -but for the fact defendant paid plaintiff for said original note, plaintiff in all probability would have been able to enforce the collection of said original note against Mrs. Hartwell, and because of the execution of the note sued upon plaintiff refrained from enforcing its right against Mrs. I-Iartwell during her life, thus changing its position to its detriment.

Williams filed a supplemental answer alleging that the act of the bank in giving him credit on its books for the amount of his note, and the issuance by him of his check payable to plaintiff, was a subterfuge and a simulated transaction which did not reflect the true agreement between the parties. That said original note was never assigned, indorsed, or delivered to him. That there could be no es-toppel because Mrs. Hartwell was almost dead at the time of said transaction, was mentally and physically incapable of attending to any business, and that she had no property which could have been subjected to the payment of the Weiman-Hartwell note.

- After the issues of fact were settled and before the introduction of evidence, the defendant, in the language of District and County Court Rule 31, filed an admission that plaintiff had a good cause of action as set forth in its petition, except so far as it might be defeated in whole or in part by the facts of the answer constituting a good defense which might be established on the trial. This admission, of course, was entered by defendant in order to obtain the.right to open and close in the introduction of testimony and in the argument.

In response to special issues submitted to a jury, they found as follows: (1) At and prior to the time the defendant Williams executed the note in suit, the bank, through its officer, Rush, did not agree with Williams that he would not be called upon to pay the note; (2) and did not agree with Williams that he should sign the note for the sole purpose of relieving plaintiff bank from criti[1110]*1110cism by tbe bank examiner; (3) that Williams executed the note sued on in consideration of the fact that plaintiff ¡bank would refrain from trying to enforce against Mrs. Hartwell the original note which she and Weiman had signed; (4) that Williams stated to the bank’s official, Rush, that he was willing to pay the indebtedness owing to the bank by Mrs. Hartwell and Weiman, for the reason that Mrs. Hartwell was very ill and had made a will devising her property to Williams’ wife, and that the note was executed for the purpose of avoiding the necessity of troubling Mrs. Hartwell.

Prom a judgment entered in accordance with the verdict, Williams has appealed.

In our original opinion we followed the rule as announced in Perguson v. American Bank & Trust Co. (Tex. Civ. App.) 13 S.W.(2d) 459 (in which a writ of error was refused), and held that appellant’s admission under rule 31 constituted an 'abandonment by Williams of his defenses that the note sued on was without consideration and was executed as accommodation paper, holding, of course, in accordance with that case that such a plea was not one in confession and avoidance. Having so held we did not consider a majority of the remaining propositions urged.

Appellant calls our attention to the later case of Central National Bank of Waco v. Lawson, 27 S.W.(2d) 125, in which the Commission of Appeals holds that an admission in the langauge of District and County Court Rule 31 relates only to matters which the plaintiff must prove in order to sustain his cause of action, and that such admission did not apply to a plea of failure of cónsideration which included the defense of accommodation maker. This case is the last expression by the Supreme Court upon the question, and, since it is directly in point, we therefore set aside our former holding, and will consider the appellant’s assignments of error. •

By the first proposition, appellant Williams contends that the ¡court should have peremptorily instructed a verdict in his favor or rendered a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, for the reason that the uncontro-verted evidence, supported by the pleadings, shows that there was no new and independent consideration for the note sued on, and that defendant executed the same for the accommodation of plaintiff.

The court would have erred in instructing a verdict for either party, even upon these issues. The appellee’s contention is that Williams gave the note sued upon as consideration for the original Weiman-Hartwell note. In fact, there are two distinct theories presented by the record in this case, both of which are sustained to some extent by unim-peaehed evidence, and under such conditions it is not proper for the court to peremptorily instruct the jury for either party.

The second contention is that the cour erred in submitting to the jury the plaintiff’ requested issue No. 1 as follows: “Did thi defendant George H. Williams execute thi note sued on in consideration of plaintiff’, refraining from trying to enforce agains Mrs. Jeanette Hartwell payment of the nob executed by J. J. Weiman and Jeanette Hart well?” for the reason that there was neithe pleading nor evidence to warrant the sub mission of such an issue.

Following this proposition it is contende( that there was error because the uncontra dieted evidence shows that there was no con sideration whatever for the note sued on Under the record a question of fact is pre sented whether there is any consideratioi shown by the testimony to the effect that Wil liams agreed with the officers of the banl that, if they would not sue Mrs. Hartwell m worry her with the matter of collecting th( note, he would pay it.

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Bluebook (online)
62 S.W.2d 1108, 1933 Tex. App. LEXIS 1064, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-national-bank-of-commerce-texapp-1933.