Cooper v. Marek
Cooper v. Marek
Opinion of the Court
B. C. Barrett and his eight children owned 400 acres of land on the Francisco de los Rios survey in Milam county, which was the community property of himself and his deceased wife, and which he and his said children, except John W. Barrett, agreed to sell to F. A. Marek for the sum of $20,250; and, on the 11th day of June, 1912, in pursuance of said agreement, they execut *59 ed their deed to Marek for said land, and at the time of its execution signed a written agreement providing for a division of the proceeds of such sale when the same should be paid by Marek, which deed, together with said agreement, was deposited by B. O. Barrett (who appears to have been acting for himself and children in making such sale) in the Eirst National Bank of Cameron. It was contemplated that Marek should pay part cash and give his notes for the balance of the purchase money, the proceeds of which, when sold by B. C. Barrett, together with the cash, was to be distributed by him among the grantors, said agreement providing that the children should have one-half of the proceeds, less an $1,800 mortgage due upon the land, which was to be deducted from their portion, the father paying off the other liens upon the property out of his part thereof. Upon the payment of the money and execution of the purchase-money .notes by Marek, the deed was delivered to him by B. C. Barrett, and he subsequently sold one-half of the land to A. N. Green. Within a few days after the delivery of the deed to Marek, Barrett sold the notes to Mrs. Ziminia Watson, as he was authorized to do by said agreement, depositing their proceeds in the Cameron State Bank, leaving checks therein, payable to the order of each of his children, except J. W. Barrett, for their share of such proceeds, amounting to $1,010 each, including Mrs. Laura Cooper. John W. Barrett sold his i/:u interest in the estate to his brother B. J. Barrett, taking in part payment therefor his three vendor’s lien notes for the sum of $600 each. Said checks were accepted by all of the children, except Mrs. Cooper, who declined to do so on the ground that the same was not sufficient in amount, and that she had been misinformed with reference to her liability on the mortgage above mentioned. Thereafter, on the 8th day of April, 1013, Marek and Green brought this suit for partition against John W., and B. J. Barrett, alleging that they (plaintiffs) Owned an undivided 1B/ia of said land, and that B. J. Barrett owned an undivided Vis thereof, and that John W. Barrett was asserting some claim or interest therein, as the vendor of B. J. Barrett, and that plaintiffs were in possession of their part of said tract, and defendant B. J. Barrett in possession of his part. The defendant John W. Barrett answered that he had conveyed his portion to his codefendant B. J. Barrett, and in part consideration thereof had taken the three notes mentioned, retaining a vendor’s lien, and asked that in partition he be protected as to his lien and crops then growing on the place. Cooper and wife intervened, setting out the facts showing their interest in the transaction, as above stated, alleging that since the death of her mother, which occurred September 17, 1890, her father had remained in possession of the entire tract, during which time he had appropriated the rents and revenues thereof for more than 20 years to his own use and benefit, and that her pro rata part thereof amounted to $125 per an-num ; that at the time she and her husband executed the deed to Marek it was contemplated and agreed that all of the owners would sign same, but that her brother J. W. Barrett had refused to execute said deed, and that she had been misinformed as to her rights, without stating by whom, and was led to believe, from statements made to her,' that she was liable for the payment of a % part of the deed of trust thereon, which had been executed by her father, which, together with interest, amounted to the sum of $1,926, and that under said misapprehension she ■ had obligated herself to pay her part thereof, to wit, $240.75, which she would not have executed if she had known the facts; that neither of the plaintiffs had ever paid her for her interest in said land, and that by the terms of the agreement she was entitled to have $1,024.44, and that the deed had been delivered to Marek without her authority, for which reason the title'did not pass out of her; and it is alleged that plaintiffs had knowledge of the existence of her rights in the premises. It was further alleged that, while she had been advised that the check was at the bank for her, she refused to accept it, and so notified plaintiffs, stating the reason therefor. Plaintiffs answered, specially denying that they had made any misrepresentations, or that any such were made with their knowledge or by their authority; that they had in good faith complied with the terms of their contract, paid the consideration stipulated, and that the deed had been delivered to them without any knowledge of the facts set up in the plea of intervention, and further alleged that they were not parties to the agreement between the grantors with reference to the sale of said land and the distribution of the proceeds, and therefore were in no wise bound thereby. The case was tried before a jury, and on a peremptory instruction, returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs for 1'i/ie of the land, and in favor of the defendant B. J. Barrett for the remaining Vi6, and the case as to the interveners was submitted on one issue made by them and refused on the other. A verdict and judgment was rendered against them, and decree was entered determining the rights of the parties in accordance with the verdict and protecting the liens of J. W. Barrett and Mrs. AVatson, who also had been made party defendant, and had set up her right as holder of the notes mentioned.
The remaining assignments have been considered, and are regarded as without merit. Finding no reversible error in the record, the judgment of the court below is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COOPER Et Ux. v. MAREK Et Al.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published