Smith v. Van Slyke
Smith v. Van Slyke
Opinion of the Court
(after stating the facts as above). As to appellants B. F. Smith and the Texas Securities Company, whose rights are interdependent, their appeal involves only the 146 acres of the O. Herndon survey, herein designated as the third tract in suit. Neither the intervener, National Bank of Commerce, nor any of the defendants, except Mrs. Hunt and husband, are claiming any lien or interest in the 146 acres. And the controversy between appellant Mrs. Hunt and these two appellants as to this tract is as to whether the designation of the homestead by instrument in writing, made by W. R. Hunt on January 13, 1906, and recorded on February 13, 1906, which included this tract, was invalid and in fraud of her homestead rights, and as to whether the deed later executed by Mrs. Hunt and her husband to B. F. Smith to this tract was intended only as a mortgage. This tract is one of the five tracts covered by the deed of trust of appellee Van Slyke, and the deed of trust is prior in date to those appellants claim. And the controversy between these two appellants and appellee Van Slyke is as to whether, when Van Slyke’s deed of trust was executed, the 146-acre tract was a part of the homestead of Hunt and his wife. These questions are presented by proper assignments of error made by each of these parties.
The court finds that on February 15, 1906, W. R. Hunt executed to appellee Van Slyke his note for $7,000, and on the same date Mr. and Mrs. Hunt executed a deed of trust on the five tracts, which included the 146 acres, to secure the payment of the note. $6,455.61 of the amount represents the original purchase money for the first and second tracts, but the other tracts had no purchase-money lien against them. On February 13, 1906, W. R. Hunt filed for record an in *621 strument in writing, signed and properly acknowledged by bim. designating and setting apart tbe homestead of himself and family. This instrument designated by field notes and set apart as the homestead the 146-acre tract, the 65-acre tract, and the 8-acre tract, and contained the recital, “and we do hereby forever disclaim any homestead interest in any other lands which we may own in this •county or any other county in the state of Texas.” At the time of this designation, and •at the time of the Van Slyke lien, the resi■dence in which the family lived, the barn, garden, lots, and outhouses were on the 8-aere tract; the cultivated land was on the 65 acres; and the entire balance of the five tracts, including the 146 acres, was not cultivated, but used alike for the pasture of stock. Hunt was engaged in stock raising. All of the tracts of land are contiguous to each other, except the 146-acre tract, which is disconnected with the other tracts. On March 14, 1906, W. R. Hunt, by instrument fin writing, properly acknowledged, changed the boundaries of the first designation, and -set apart and designated by field notes 200 acres out of the southeast part of the Mc-Gaha survey as his homestead. This second designation excluded the 1^6 acres. This instrument was properly filed for record on March 22, 1906. The field notes of these 200 acres include the second tract of 2y¿ acres, the fifth tract of 8 acres, on which are located the residence and garden and barn and outhouses, and a balance made up from the first tract of pasture land. The purpose of this latter change in designation was to secure the loan from the Texas Securities Company on the 146 acres. The lien to the Securities Company on the 146-acre tract was executed by Hunt and wife on' March 14, 1906. On July 20, 1906, W. R. Hunt and wife, by deed duly signed and properly acknowledged, conveyed the 146 acres to B. F. Smith, and as part of the consideration Smith assumed the debt due the Securities Company, and subsequently Smith sold and conveyed the land to G. A. Newman, who, as between Smith and himself, assumed to pay off the Securities Company mortgage. The court concluded, as a matter of law, that the first designation of the homestead was made in full compliance with the forms of law, but • was invalid upon two grounds: First, because it included upon its face an excess over 200 acres of land, and, second, because it did not embrace the lands used for the homestead.
The court, however, in this connection made the finding of fact upon which the conclusion of law was based that, “at the time of designation of homestead and at the time of the execution of plaintiff’s lien, the defendant Hunt and wife lived in their residence located on said 8-acre tract. I find that at that time all the land that was in cultivation was on the 65-acre tract and -.that part of the McGaha survey designated in the plat of homestead. I find that all the balance of the land, except what was in cultivation, was used by the defendant Hunt for the pasture of his stock in’ connection with his homestead; that the 146 acres and that part of the 65 acres not in cultivation was used by him in the same way as the 200 acres, marked ‘homestead,’ and not in cultivation, was used. I find that the 146 acres so designated as a part of the homestead on February 13, 1906, is wholly disconnected from any balance of the defendant Hunt’s land.” The court having made the finding that the designation recorded February 13, 1906, was made in compliance with law, and that this designation included the 8 acres on which the house and barn, garden and outhouses, were located, and the 65-acre tract that was in cultivation, and the 146-acre tract that was used for the pasture of his stock in connection with his homestead in the same way as the land not in cultivation was used, and these being the facts, and there being no evidence of fraud, the conclusion of law that the designation was invalid, because not embracing the actual homestead was erroneous. Brin v. Anderson, 25 Tex. Civ. App. 323, 60 S. W. 780; McGaughey v. Bank, 41 Tex. Civ. App. 191, 92 S. W. 1003; Morris v. Pratt, 53 Tex. Civ. App. 181, 116 S. W. 646.
Mrs. Hunt insists that the evidence is insufficient to support the finding of the court that the conveyance to Smith of the 146 acres was a sale and not a mortgage. The assignment is overruled. •
Mrs. Hunt complains by the fifth and sixth assignments that the evidence does not sustain the finding of the court that the conveyance from herself and husband to Y. B. Yarborough was a sale and not a mortgage. The assignment is overruled.
Mrs. Hunt next complains of the failure of the court to make a finding as to whether the consideration recited in the conveyance to Yarborough was different from that paid. If the conveyance was made as a sale, as the court found, then under the evidence it could not be said that the evidence justified a finding that Mrs. Hunt was misled or deceived into signing it on account of the recital of the consideration as contained in the deed. Mrs. Hunt understood that the consideration was the payment by Yarbor-ough of Van Slyke’s debt and the debt due the bank. This was the consideration. It was denominated in the recital as $13,320. The assignment is overruled.
The judgment of the trial court will be reversed and remanded, with instructions herein given as between appellee and Smith and the Texas Securities Company, and modified as between Hunt and wife and ap-pellee, so as to deny appellee a lien and sale of the 8-acre tract, and to award appellee a superior lien and unrestricted foreclosure as to the first and second tracts. In all other respects and as to all other parties, the judgment as entered will be affirmed.
Reference
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- SMITH Et Al. v. VAN SLYKE Et Al.
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