Tomson v. Simmons
Tomson v. Simmons
Opinion of the Court
We copy appellant’s statement of the nature and result of the suit, which is as follows:
“This was an action brought by appellant against appellee for damages for the unlawful destruction of appellant’s easement to take water from a certain artesian well not yet dug by virtue of the appellant’s 99-year lease thereof. Judgment for appellee.”
Following the foregoing, appellant sets out in full a duly recorded lease executed March 6, 1895, by W. J. and Minnie Bogan, the effect of which is to confer on appellant the right to use the w'ater from an artesian well on the premises of the Logans in the city of Dallas, for a period of 99 years, under certain stipulations and conditions enumerated in the lease, but not necessary to detail from our view of the appeal, and upon which is based appellant’s suit against appellee, who is the present'owner of the land.
“a brief statement in substance of such proceedings or part thereof contained in the rec- or(j * * * sufficient to explain and support the proposition.”
Appellant has in his brief complied with neither rule since there is in his brief under each assignment neither proposition nor statement, although the objection is directed alone to the failure to subjoin the statement. The assignments enumerated are grouped, that is to say, they appear in the brief in their numerical order and under neither singly nor as a group is there to be found the statement required by the rule. That such statements must be made, and, when not made, that the assignments will not be considered, has been so often determined that we deem the citation of authority unnecessary.
“because the ‘additional questions’ by the court were wholly immaterial, and were calculated to lead the jury to believe that the court was of the opinion that plaintiff had abandoned and lost his lease and easement by nonuser, although such nonuser was forced on plaintiff by the wrongful acts of defendant and those under whom defendant claimed.”
Appellee also objects to a consideration of said assignment because:
“There was no bill of exceptions reserved by appellants to the court’s charge.”
The recent amendments to the Practice Acts, however, do not apply to the action of the court - in submitting, or refusing to submit, special issues of fact to the jury, since submitting such issues is in no sense the giving, or refusing to give, a special charge. Shaw v. Garrison, 174 S. W. 942. However, the assignment is .not entitled to be considered, because there is not subjoined thereto any statement showing, in substance, the proceedings complained of sufficient to explain and support any proposition urged under the assignment. Incidentally no prop--osition is asserted. Not only ought the “additional questions by the court” to have been subjoined as directed by the rules, but the substance of the evidence on the issue of abandonment and nonuser should also have been shown. Without such statement we are not only compelled to search, the transcript for the “additional questions” complained of, but compelled as well to examine all the evidence in the statement of facts in order to intelligently pass upon the merits of the assignment. We have many times, for obvious reasons, held we could not perform such duties when so clearly imposed upon counsel. Accordingly we cannot consider the twelfth assignment.
Eor the reasons stated, the judgment of the court below is affirmed.
<S=oFor other eases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Tomson v. Simmons.
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