Brabson v. Brownfield
Brabson v. Brownfield
Opinion of the Court
This is the second appeal of this case. See Brownfield v. Brabson (Tex. Civ. App.) 231 S. W. 491. We adopt the preliminary statement of the case on the former appeal as it appears at page 492 of said opinion as being a substantial statement of the present record with the following exceptions:
(1) The amended petition on which the present ease went to trial adds to the special pleading of plaintiff’s title this statement, which did not appear in the petition before us on the other appeal:
“That in recognition of the title of said land in J. M. Brabson, the heirs of T. C. Reade, deceased, conveyed said lands to these plaintiffs by quitclaim deed, dated April 20, 1915.”
Proof was offered to the effect that no -consideration was paid' such parties for the execution of such conveyance.
(2) On the last trial of the case the court gaye a peremptory instruction to, the jury to return a verdict for defendant for an undivided three-fourths interest in the land, and judgment was entered for the plaintiff for an undivided one-fourth interest and for the defendant for the other undivided three-fourths interest.
The evidence was sufficient in our opinion to warrant a finding of conveyance of the land by the patentee, Reade, to Geo. T. Keith, and "acquisition of ithe title by plaintiffs through this source. But if the deed from Reade to Keith was not proven then the plaintiffs acquired the title through the quitclaim deed from the Reade heirs. So that, in either event, the plaintiff showed title to the land, subject to be defeated only by the five-year statute of limitations as to a three-fourths interest therein claimed by defendant Brownfield under the Yiser deed. The defendant had the land inclosed and used it from some time in the year 1903 to the time of the trial. The Yiser deed was recorded on September 7, 1904, and defendant attempted to pay taxes on the three-fourths interest claimed by him during all this time. But it is conceded that payment of taxes for the years 1909 and 1910 was made under such erroneous description of the land as to be unavailable in support of the plea. Defendant claims, however, that the limitation title was complete on September 7, 1909; and, if not then, that a second period of limitation beginning-with the year 1911 was complete before, the filing of the suit or the filing of the amendment on which the case went to trial, on November 4, 1920. In this connec *252 tion defendant contends that the institution of the suit on the 18th day of October, 1916, did not stop the running of the statute. As to the first period of limitations, plaintiffs contend that some of the payments of taxes during the years of such period were made on such erroneous description as to be unavailable. As to the second period, they contend that limitations ceased running on institution of the suit in 1916; that it was suspended for a year after the death of J. M. Brabson in 1912, and was not, therefore, complete at tlie time the suit was filed.
Preliminary to a statement of the facts with -reference to the payment of the taxes, we will restate certain conclusions of law announced in the former opinion and which are made the basis of the defendant’s right to urge the plea of limitations: (1) The Yiser deed to Brownfield ⅛ sufficient to support a plea of limitations to an undivided three-fourths interest in the land sued for by the plaintiffs. (2) The payment of the taxes for 1906 by Brabson, prior to the payment on the same land by defendant Brownfield, did not affect the running of limitations in defendant’s favor over such period. The case of'Thomson v. Weisman, 98' Tex. 170, 82 S. W. 503, settles this proposition in this state though there are authorities to the contrary elsewhere. 2 O. J. pp. 207, 208, § 431. (3) Limitations began to run in defendant’s favor on the recording of the Yiser deed on September 7, 1904, and would be complete on September 7, 1909, if all taxes were paid by defendant as they became due prior to delinquency, and it did not require the payment of the taxes for 1909 to complete the limitation title. (4) Payment of tax«s by defendant on acreage out of the section in an amount equal to his three-fourths inter, est would be ascribed to such undivided interest and sufficient to support limitations as to such interest.
The correct description of the survey of land is as follows: Survey No. 39, Bloch Al, E. L. & R. R. R. R. Company, grantee, certificate No. 1445, abstract No. 798, containing 640 acres of land in Terry county, Tex. Prior to delinquency thereof M. V. Brownfield paid to the tax collector of Terry county, Tex., the taxes on 480 acres of land, or more, out of section 39, for the years 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, and 1908, the tax receipts delivered to him showing the payment made on the following descriptions: (1) For the year 1904, section 39, certificate 1445, E. L. & R. R. R. R. Co. grantee, abstract -; (2) for the year 1905, description same as for the year 1904; (3) for the year 1906, section 39, certificate No. 1445, E. L. & R. R. R. R. Co., grantee, abstract No. 186; (4) for the year 1907, section 39, certificate No. 1445, abstract No. 798; (5) for the year 1908, section No. 39, certificate No. 1445, E. L. & R. R. R. R. Co., grantee, abstract No. 789.
The tax rolls for each of the said years showed the assessment of the taxes on the above descriptions, except the rolls for 1906 describes the abstract number of the section as No. 386, and the rolls for 1907 show the name of the original grantee correctly, the grantee being blank in the receipt. The.rolls for each of these years show the payment of the taxes to have been made by M. V. Brownfield as owner of the acreage on which he paid. TBe assessor’s abstract of land in Terry county shows under abstract 386 the assessment of the land for the year 1906 against M. V. Brownfield, and has this notation: “See abstract No. 798.” The said assessor’s abstract under abstract 798 shows the assessment of 480 acres of land out of section 39 to M. V. Brownfield, as owner for the yearj.908. It was admitted on the trial that there was only one survey, No. 39, certificate No. 1445, in Terry county.
Affirmed.
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Reference
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- BRABSON Et Al. v. BROWNFIELD
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