Bishop v. Greek
Bishop v. Greek
Opinion of the Court
As applicable to the questions raised by the briefs, the agreed statement of facts shows:
March 16, 1910, John C. Greek was appointed temporary guardian of his minor son, W. W. Greek. The estate consisted of $668.27 cash, which had been recovered from the -El Paso Electric Railway Company. At the next term of the probate court this ap-. pointment was made permanent. At the January term, 1912, upon application, the guardian was granted authority to invest $600 of the fund in the purchase of lot 22 in block 92, Bassett addition to El Paso, and pay cash. This lot was not purchased, but on July 1, 1913, the guardian purchased two lots, Nos. 31 and 32, Government Hill addition, for a consideration of $500 cash, and deed made to said Greek as guardian. That upon-application, on May 11, 1914, the probate court authorized the sale of the latter lots, to secure money for the education and maintenance of the ward, at private sale, one-third cash, and the balance to be evidenced by vendor’s lien notes. On May 12th report of sale was made to the court; that sale had been made for $700, $250 cash, and $450 evidenced by vendor’s lien notes to E. W. Bishop. The court entered its order confirming this sale, and ordered conveyance executed, which was done.
E. W. Bishop testified upon the trial of the case as follows:
“I am the plaintiff in cause No. 12681, and am respondent in cause No. 14267, and am grantee mentioned in the deed in evidence from John O. Greek, guardian, to E. W. Bishop. About May 1, A. D. 1914, I was in the grocery business in the city of El Paso, Texas, and John O. Greek sent for me to come to his house, and he there told me that he had to have some groceries for his family, and wanted to make arrangements with me to buy some. He told me that he wanted to sell me these lots [31 and 32] and take it out in groceries, and said that he had other property consisting of a house and lot in El Paso, which was worth about $3,500, which he was going to give to his ward, W, W. Greek, *368 Jr. (W. W. Greek, Jr., excepted, as shown by bill of exceptions.) I asked the advice of my attorney if I could buy this property that way, and he advised me that I could, if Mr. Greek agreed to reimburse the ward and see that his estate was not injured thereby. So under these conditions the deal was made. At the time the deed was made to me, John O. Greek owed me about $80 for groceries he had already purchased, and that was considered a portion of the $250 cash I was to pay him. All the balance of the consideration of $700 was paid by me in . groceries, except the following items: I paid a telephone bill for Mr. Greek in the sum of $2.55, and I paid a milk bill in the sum of $4.83, and I paid him cash in the sum of $25.03. In addition to this, I paid him cash, as interest on said vendor’s lien note, in the sum of $24.34. These payments and transactions were all made during the year 1914, while the said W. W. Greek, Jr., was a minor. During this time John O. Greek’s family consisted of himself, one daughter, and two sons, one of which was the said W. W. Greek, Jr.”
August 18, 1915, Bishop filed suit in district court of El Paso county, cause No. 12681, against the guardian, and by his petition alleged that the notes had been paid and prayed for title, cancellation of lien, and removal of cloud. Defendant answered by general denial and plea of not guilty. On July 3, 1916, W. W. Greek, the ward, brought cause No. 14267 in the county court to set aside the deed in question; alleged that he was no longer a minor under the allegation that the guardian and Bishop had agreed that the money was to be paid in groceries in place of money, as had been reported to the court; that the motion to set the deed aside was overruled by the county court, and W. W. Greek, Jr., appealed to the district court. There the two causes of action were consolidated. The consolidated causes were tried by the court without a jury, and, judgment was rendered that orders of probate court authorizing the sale and those confirming the sale be set aside and held for naught, and that W. ~W. Greek recover the title and possession of the lots of E. W. Bishop, from which, by appeal, it comes to this court for review.
Opinion.
The first assignment attacks the judgment of the trial court upon the ground that the guardian having made the sale to Bishop, and the court having approved same, the ward was thereby divested of his title, and he must look to the guardian and his 'bondsmen for damages. This is a proceeding to set aside the sale and the order approving it, and the case comes here from a judgment of the district court setting aside' the sale for the reasons given in the pleadings, so the record here presents a case of sale and confirmation by the probate court, set aside by the district court.
Binding no error, the judgment is affirmed.
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