Willis v. Smith

10 S.W. 683, 72 Tex. 565, 1889 Tex. LEXIS 1294
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 29, 1889
DocketNo. 2297
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 10 S.W. 683 (Willis v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Willis v. Smith, 10 S.W. 683, 72 Tex. 565, 1889 Tex. LEXIS 1294 (Tex. 1889).

Opinion

Acker, Presiding Judge.

B. H. Epperson and A. U. Wright owned the Talley league on which the Barrington plantation is situated, having-purchased it from the six heirs of Blackwell. For the purchase money they executed and delivered their six promissory notes each secured by lien retained against an undivided one-sixth of the land. In February, 1878, Epperson executed a mortgage to Sallie Dixon containing the following clauses: “Do hereby bargain, sell, and convey unto the said Sallie Dixon, her heirs and assigns forever, one league of land surveyed in the name of David Talley, situated in Brazoria County upon which is what is known as the Barrington plantation. * * * It is understood that my interest in said land is the undivided one-half thereof, and this instrument is intended only to cover that.'' This mortgage was. recorded in Brazoria County in September, 1878.

On July 31, 1878, Wright conveyed his half interest in the land to. Epperson, who assumed payment of all debts against the firm of Epperson & Wright. This deed was recorded in Brazoria County February 6, 1880. B. H. Epperson died leaving a will appointing J. P. Russell and R. B. Epperson general independent executors and E. S. Epperson special independent executor. The will was admitted to probate October 2, 1878, and the executors qualified.

On February 20, 1879, Epperson's executors executed to P. J. Willis & Bro. a deed of trust on the league of land to secure the payment of notes held by Willis & Bro. amounting to about $20,000. Lawson, the trustee named in this deed, sold the land under the deed of trust on the 4th day of May, 1880, to P. J. Willis & Bro., and they took possession immediately thereafter. P. J. Willis & Bro. conveyed the land to appellant, and he was in possession at the time the execution under which the appellee claims was levied on the land.

On May 20, 1880, the Dixon mortgage was foreclosed on an undivided one-half of the league by decree of the District Court of Marion County. On December 1, 1880, appellee recovered judgment in the District Court of Marion County against the executors of Epperson and against A. U. Wright as surviving partner for $1283.33. On May 24, 1881, the heirs of Blackwell obtained judgment against the executors of Epperson upon [571]*571the purchase money notes executed by Epperson and Wright and foreclosing the liens upon the undivided five-sixths of the land. This judgment recited that the notes given by Epperson and Wright for the other one-sixth had been paid off by Epperson and the vendor’s lien thereon discharged.

On June 21, 1881, execution was issued against the executors of Epperson on the judgment in favor of appellee, under which the entire league was sold in September, 1881, and bought in for appellee by his attorney, who afterwards, on May 5, 1883, conveyed the land by quit claim deed to appellee. On November 1, 1881, five-sixths undivided interest in the league was sold under an order of sale issued on the decree of foreclosure in favor of the Blackwell heirs. Appellant purchased at this sale.

In April, 1882, an undivided half interest in the league was sold under an order of sale issued on the decree of foreclosure in favor of Dixon, and appellant purchased at this sale.

On a former trial in the court below there was verdict and judgment for appellee for one-sixth of the land and for an annual rent of $833.33 from the date of his purchase. Willis appealed and the judgment was reversed and the cause remanded. 66 Texas, 43.

On the last trial there was verdict and judgment for appellee for an undivided one-twelfth of the land and $2000 as rent therefor, from which judgment this appeal is prosecuted.

It is contended that the court erred in refusing to give special charges: requested by appellant to the effect—•

“That the decree of foreclosure in favor of the Blackwell heirs recites that Epperson paid the one-sixth of the purchase money which freed the undivided one-sixth of the land from vendor’s lien, and the plaintiff can not recover the one-twelfth he claims unless he shows that Epperson paid the one-sixth before he bought from Wright, and having failed so to prove your verdict must be for the defendant.

“ That the recitation in the judgment of foreclosure in favor of the Blackwell heirs admits that the note of Wright and Epperson for the undivided one-sixth which was free from lien became free because Epperson paid the note. This recitation binds the plaintiff (Smith) who claims-under Epperson by subsequent purchase, and under this admission defendant purchasing under the liens in favor of the Blackwell heirs and Dixon gets title to all the land.

“That the Dixon mortgage, by conveying title to the whole league of land and then reciting the interest to be an undivided one-half and. by the use of the word convey, makes an estoppel, which estoppel binds the plaintiff (Smith) as subsequent purchaser under Epperson from claiming that Epperson did not have an unencumbered half interest with, which to satisfy the Dixon lien.

“That the purchase by defendant of five-sixths undivided interest in, [572]*572the land under the judgment of foreclosure in favor of the Blackwell heirs, and the purchase by defendant of the undivided one-half interest under the Dixon judgment, gave defendant the whole right, title, and interest of the estate of B. H. Epperson in the land, in that the said judgments show that Epperson and Wright bought the whole of the land and .gave vendor’s liens thereon for the purchase money, and that Epperson afterwards gave the Dixon mortgage on an undivided one-half of the whole, and the judgment in favor of the Blackwell heirs shows that B. H. Epperson in his lifetime paid off the vendor’s lien on an undivided one-sixth, and the orders of sale on said respective judgments and the sales and deeds thereunder show that defendant E. S. Willis bought the undivided five-sixths under the decree in favor of the Blackwell heirs and then bought all of Dixon’s lien interest of an undivided one-half of the whole as far as the estate of Epperson had land left to meet his contract with Dixon for the undivided one-half.

“ That the defendant had acquired an undivided five-sixths of the land under the decree in favor of the Blackwell heirs and an undivided half interest under the Dixon decree, and that at the date of the levy of the execution and sale thereunder under which plaintiff claims Epperson’s estate could assert no interest in the land except the right to redeem from the Blackwell and Dixon heirs, and the plaintiff having failed to redeem, the defendant by subsequent purchase under said liens acquired title to the land clear of any rights plaintiff acquired under his purchase at the •execution sale.”

While some of the special charges requested and refused may not be technically correct in every particular, they were sufficient to call the attention of the court to the rules of law which we think applicable to and ■decisive of the controlling question in this case, if Epperson paid the one-sixth of the purchase money to the heirs of Blackwell Avhich released the land to that extent from the vendor’s lien during the existence of the partnership of Epperson and Wright, then the presumption would obtain that the payment was made with partnership funds.

We think it unnecessary, however, to further discuss this point, for the execution under which appellee purchased was not against the firm of Epperson & Wright, but against the estate of Epperson in the hands of the executors.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
10 S.W. 683, 72 Tex. 565, 1889 Tex. LEXIS 1294, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/willis-v-smith-tex-1889.