Matthews v. Deason
Matthews v. Deason
Opinion of the Court
This is the second appeal in this ease. 200 S. W. 855. The appellant sued originally to compel specific performance of an alleged contract to convey a. lot of land in the city of Dallas and to enjoin the threatened sale thereof by the sheriff of said county. On the former appeal the case was reversed and remanded for a new trial. By a second amended petition filed January 2, 1920, the appellant abandoned his suit for specific performance and now seeks simply to recover damages for alleged breach of contract to convey real property. He alleges in substance that in October, 1914, ap-pellees sued him upon a note for about $2,-200, besides interest and attorney’s fees, given by him ■in part payment for- certain real property situated in Dallas, Tex., and secured by a second lien upon said property; that a note for 84,000, secured by a first Hen on the same property was recognized in that suit; that appellees sought to foreclose their second lien and have the property sold in payment of the judgment rendered thereon; that he consented to judgment being rendered against him in appellees’ favor, for amount sued for, with foreclosure of lien and sale of the property, upon condition that after appellees bought the property in at sale under the judgment they would reeonvej’ the property to him, the terms not then being agreed upon; that afterwards the terms were agreed upon in substance; that appellant would secure an extension of .the $4,000 first lien note, for a period of three years, and appellant would execute to appellees a note for $2,000, secured by a second lien on the property, said note bearing interest from its date at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum, and providing for 10 per cent, attorney’s fees, to be dated May 6, 1915, and payable in equal monthly payments of $65 each month, beginning June 1, 1915, and one on the 6th day of each month thereafter until said note was paid, principal and interest, and that appellant would execute another note in favor of appellees in the sum of $350, secured by Hen upon said property, and due in six months from the 6th day of May, 1915, to be paid one-half in merchandise, and the further payment by appellant to appellees of the sum of $800 in cash, upon the performance of which obligations on the part of appellant he alleges appellees agreed to re-convey said property to him. He further alleges that he tendered performance on his part by tendering appellees one note for $2,000, another for $350, and $800 in cash, having partly performed the contract by paying $100 as consideration for the extension of said $4,000 note, which was extended by the holder thereof, but that appellees refused to reconvey said property to him, to his damage in the sum of $4,000, with legal interest thereon from April 10, 1915. He’ alleges in paragraph 7 of his petition that he was to pay a total of $7,250 to redeem the property, and lays his damages at $4,750, and also claims further damages by reason of loss of rent of the property at.$65 per month, totaling $2;500. On June 2, 1920, the case was tried, and at the conclusion of the evidence the court peremptorily instructed the jury to return a verdict for the appellees. The appellant presented a motion for a new trial, which was overruled, and,he appealed.
The single assignment of error complains of the action of the court in directing the jury to return a verdict in favor of the ap-pellees, and the proposition asserted is:
“There was evidence to support the plaintiff’s case of such probative force as to leave room for ordinary minds to differ as to the conclusion to be drawn from it, the evidence making on the whole a prima facie case entitling appellant to recover if the jury found the evidence preponderated in favor of appeHant, and the court was unauthorized, under this state of the evidence, to take the case from the jury by peremptorily instructing a verdict for appellees.”
If the evidence is of the character asserted in the proposition of the appellant, it would be our duty to reverse the case, but, after á careful reading of the evidence, we are constrained to disagree with the appellant in his interpretation of it.
“I went to Mr. Deason’s office and told him I was ready to carry out my agreement, offering to make the $350 note and get the $2,000 note negotiated and to pay the $800 in cash. I had the $800 right then with me, and the notes were to be drawn.”
We conclude the trial court correctly held that the evidence was insufficient to authorize a recovery by the appellant, and the judgment will be affirmed.
Affirmed.
other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
<§=»For other cases see same topic and KEY-NUMBER in all Key-Numbered Digests and Indexes
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MATTHEWS v. DEASON Et Al.
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published