Dashiell v. Christian
Dashiell v. Christian
Opinion of the Court
Appellants brought this suit against W. S. Christian, W. T. Coble, D. M. Young, and I. N. Merrifield to enforce the collection of certain promissory notes of date the 17th of November, 1909, payable on the 17th day of November of the years from 1910 to 1916, inclusive, respectively, with interest and attorney’s fees, and providing that failure to pay either note or any installment of interest on maturity should, at the option of the holder thereof, mature the entire series, and to foreclose the vendor’s lien on 960 acres of land in Hutchison county, Tex., alleging that they, through their agent Hedge-coke, had sold said land to said Christian, who had given said notes in part payment thereof, and who had thereafter sold said land to Young who assumed the payment of said notes, and that Coble and Merrifield were making some pretended claim thereto. Christian alone answered, setting up that he had purchased the land through appellants’ agent Hedgecoke, paying therefor $500 cash, and executing the notes sued on for the balance of the purchase money, alleging that said Hedgecoke fraudulently represented to him that the land was situated on Moore’s creek, was rich bottom land, well watered and timbered, and, relying upon said representations, he was induced to purchase the same,.that said statements were untrue, the same being hill land, without water and timber, and of much less value than land of the character represented to him by Hedgecoke, praying that no personal judgment be ren *1113 dered against Mm thereon. Appellants in reply thereto contended that Christian was es-topped to rescind or cancel any part of the contract for the reason that he had sold the land to Young, who as a part of the consideration of said sale had assumed the payment of said notes. There was a nonjury trial, wherein judgment was rendered in behalf of the appellants for the amount sued for as against Christian, with foreclosure as against all the others except Merrifield, who was not served, and there was a judgment of dismissal entered as to him. Thereafter said judgment, on motion of appellee, was so reformed as to limit his responsibility thereunder to the sum of $638.20, being the amount of said $500 payment, interest, and attorney’s fees, providing that, if said land should sell for as much as $638 and costs of suit, defendant Christian should be discharged therefrom ; but, if it sold for less, then execution might issue against him for the difference, etc., from which judgment this appeal is prosecuted. This action of the court in so reforming the judgment is assigned as error, on the ground that the court erred in holding that appellants’ agent, under the facts found, was guilty of a fraudulent misrepresentation as to the character of the land.
It is therefore ordered that the judgment of the court below be reversed and rendered in behalf of appellants as against said Christian for the full amount of said notes, with interest and attorney's fees, together with a foreclosure of the vendor’s lien on said land; but the same is in all other respects affirmed.
Affirmed in part, and in part reversed and rendered.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DASHIELL Et Al. v. CHRISTIAN Et Al.
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published