McKneely v. Beatty

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
McKneely v. Beatty, 161 S.W. 18 (1913)
1913 Tex. App. LEXIS 962
McMeans

McKneely v. Beatty

Opinion of the Court

McMEANS, J.

Henry Beatty brought suit against O. E. McKneely in tbe justice court of Galveston county to recover *19 $152, alleged to be double tbe amount of usurious interest be bad paid defendant, and on a trial in that court recovered a judgment for $144. Defendant prosecuted an appeal from tbis judgment to tbe county court, where tbe plaintiff amended bis pleadings, and therein, in addition to tbe claim asserted in tbe justice court, claimed actual damages in tbe. sum of $100, and exemplary damages in the sum of $250. Tbe case was tried before tbe court without a jury on tbe 4th day of March, 1913, and resulted in a judgment for plaintiff for tbe sum of $136, from which the defendant has appealed.

On tbe day tbe case was tried tbe defendant filed a motion to strike out and bold for naught tbe allegations of plaintiff’s amended petition praying for $100 as actual and $250 exemplary damages in addition to plaintiff’s original demand. This motion appears, by an order entered upon tbe minutes on March 4, 1913, to have been overruled by tbe court, and tbis action of tbe court is made tbe basis of appellant’s only assignment of error. It has been so frequently and consistently held that tbe county court, in a case to be tried de novo on appeal from tbe justice court, has no jurisdiction to entertain a cause of action on a demand in excess of that of which the justice court bad jurisdiction, that we are at a loss to understand why tbe new cause of action was pleaded, and that the court did not sustain tbe motion to strike it out when first presented is inexplicable. However, while it appears from tbe order entered of record that the court refused to sustain the motion, the judgment rendered in favor of plaintiff upon tbe trial recites that tbe motion was sustained. We take it from tbis that tbe court did not consider tbe new cause of action for actual and exemplary damages, and that tbe sustaining of tbe motion as shown by tbe judgment, after overruling it as shown by tbe order, cures tbe error here complained of. Tbe judgment is affirmed.

Affirmed

Reference

Full Case Name
McKneely v. Beatty.
Cited By
1 case
Status
Published