Louisiana & Texas Lumber Co. v. Southern Pine Lumber Co.
Louisiana & Texas Lumber Co. v. Southern Pine Lumber Co.
Opinion of the Court
This is an action of trespass to try title, brought by the appellee Southern Pine Lumber Company against appellant, Louisiana & Texas Lumber Company, and appellee Paul Durham, for the recovery of the W. T. English survey of 707 acres of land in Houston county. The appellant answered in the court below by general demurrer, disclaimed title as to all of the land sued for except two tracts, one of 546.9 acres and the other containing 50 acres. As to these tracts appellant pleaded not guilty, and also that it was an innocent purchaser in good faith for a valuable con- - sideration and without notice of appellee’s claim. The appellee Durham answered by general demurrer, general denial, and plea of not guilty. Upon the trial of the cause it was agreed that the title to only 160 acres, a part of the 546.9 described in appellant’s answer, was involved. The trial in the court below without a jury resulted in judgment in favor of plaintiff for the 160 acres of land in controversy.
The - evidence sustains the following conclusions of fact: The W. T. English 707-acre survey of land, of which the 160 acres in controversy is a part, was patented to Jesse Duren, assignee of said English, on September 23, 1871. By deed of date March 8, I860, Duren conveyed the 160 acres of said survey in controversy in this suit to Joseph Luce, Sr. This deed was duly recorded in Houston county in May, 1862. The deed records of said county were destroyed by fire in 1865. The deed was recorded in 1874, and the record thereof again destroyed by fire in 1882. It was again recorded in 1900. After the death of Joseph Luce, Sr., and his wife, the 160 acres was conveyed to his son, Hiram Luce, by all of the other children of the deceased Joseph Luce and wife. This conveyance has been lost or destroyed and is not of record in Houston county. On May 15, 1901, after the death of Hiram Luce, his widow and heirs conveyed the 160 acres to Dolly Shelton. By deed of date June 21, 1902, Dolly Shelton conveyed said tract of land to A. Harris & Co., and A. Harris & Co. conveyed it to plaintiff by deed of date June 14, 1905, for a consideration of $13 per acre, which was paid by plaintiff. Jesse Duren died prior to 1877, and his estate was administered in the probate court of Houston county by W. H. Cun-diff. Acting under an order of said court which directed him to sell the lands of said estate for the purpose of paying its debts, the administrator, after due notice, sold said lands on the first Tuesday in April, and J. C. Wooters became the purchaser. The report of this sale was duly made and the sale was confirmed by the court. Among the other lands purchased by Wooters and conveyed to him by the administrator’s sale was the following:
“All the interest the estate may have in and to the Wm. T. English grant, containing 707 acres of land lying and being situated in Houston county, Texas.”
The words “containing 707 acres” in the above description were interlined in the original deed. As this deed appears upon the record the interlineation is as follows: “Containing 177 acres.” The trial court finds, and the finding is not challenged by appellant, that the figures 177 are altered in the original deed after its record to 707. The trial court further finds that when Wooters purchased the lands of the Duren estate and took the deed from the administrator he had actual and constructive notice that Duren had parted with his title to the 160 acres of- land in controversy. This finding is not questioned by appellant. On December 28, 1899, the appellant by its agent, R. H. Keith, purchased from Wooters a tract of 546.9 acres of the Wm. T. English survey, paying therefor the sum of $1,367.25. The 160-acre tract in controversy was included in the 546.9 acres described in and conveyed by the deed to appellant by Wooters. At the time he made this purchase Keith had no active notice of the claim of those under whom ap-pellee holds title.
“State whether or not your husband, Hiram Luce, prior to his death and subsequent to the death of his father or mother, purchased or acquired by deeds in writing, or through the partition of his father’s and mother’s estate, the interest of his brothers and sisters in and to the Joseph Luce, Sr., 160-acre survey of land made out of the W. T. English survey in this suit, and being the land conveyed by you and your children to Dolly Shelton, by deed dated May 15, 1901. If yea, then please state as to whether or not you ever saw any deed or deeds from the other children and heirs of Joseph Luce, Sr., to Sarah Luce conveying their interest in and to said 160 acres of land?
“Yes, my husband, Hiram Luce, purchased the interest of the other heirs of Joseph Luce, Si’., in and to 160 acres of the W. T. English survey, the same land that myself and the other heirs of Hiram Luce afterwards conveyed to Dolly Shelton. He paid the other heirs fifty ($50.00) dollars apiece for their interest in the land. I remember that he gave Katy Allen a horse valued at fifty ($50.00) dollars for her interest in this land. He got a deed from most of the heirs to this land and I think from all of them, but I can’t state for sure about the deed from all of them. I know he bought each heirs’ interest in the land and paid fifty ($50.00) dollars each. I know most of them made a deed conveying their interest in this land for I have seen such deed, but can’t remember whether all of them had signed it or not.”
The interrogatory was objected to on the ground that it was leading and assumed that Hiram Luce had acquired the land inquired about in one of the ways mentioned “and further assumed that it was the same land conveyed by witness and her husband to Dolly Shelton by deed of date May 15, 1901, all of which calls for the conclusions and opinion of the witness and does not call for the facts about which the witness would be competent to testify.” The ansrvers of the witness were objected to on the ground that they were not responsive to the interrogatory and that the proper predicate had not been laid for the introduction of such testimony.
The court did not err in overruling these objections. We do not think the first question contained in the interrogatory properly admits of the answer “yes” or “no”; but, if it does, only the one material fact whether or not Hiram Luce acquired by deed or partition the interest of the other heirs of his father and mother in the land mentioned in the interrogatory was elicited by the question, and the form of the question was not such as to suggest the answer desired.
The weight of authority supports the rule that a question is leading which embodies a material fact and admits of a simple affirmative or negative answer. But this rule has been modified by the decisions of our Supreme Court to the extent that a question will not be held leading because it admits of the answer “yes” or “no” if only one material fact is elicited by the question and the form of the question does not suggest the answer. Cunningham v. Neal, 49 Tex. Civ. App. 613. 109 S. W. 455; Lott v. King, 79 Tex. 292, 15 S. W. 231; Railway Co. v. Dalwigh, 92 Tex. 655, 51 S. W. 500; Railway Co.. v. Lowe, 97 S. W. 1087; Railway Co. v. Collins, 33 Tex. Civ. App. 58, 75 S. W. 816; Bryan Press Co. v. Railway Co., 110 S. W. 99.
The questions presented by the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth assignments need not be discussed in detail. None of the testimony, the admission of which is complained of, was objectionable upon any of the grounds set out in the assignments, and each of said assignments is overruled.
“That he was present and saw the grantor sign and deliver said instrument for all the purposes and considerations contained and expressed as witness at the request of the grantor.”
As we understand the assignment, the objection made to the certificate is that it does not show that the witness signed the instrument as a witness at the request of the grantor. The objection was properly overruled. The statement of the witness above set out shows that he was present as a witness at the request of the grantor and saw him sign and deliver the instrument, and the name of the witness appears upon the instrument as a subscribing witness. We think the certificate of proof is in substantial compliance with the statute. The assignment is overruled.
We are of the opinion that the judgment of the court below should be affirmed, and it has been so ordered
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- LOUISIANA & TEXAS LUMBER CO. v. SOUTHERN PINE LUMBER CO. Et Al.
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published