Smith v. Sublett
Smith v. Sublett
Opinion of the Court
—The court did not err in overruling the objection made to the pleadings of the intervenor, that they were inconsistent and contradictory. A defendant may plead as many inconsistent pleas as he may choose, so they are pertinent and in due order of pleading. (Fowler v. Davenport, 21 Tex., 633.)
We see no reason why the same latitude should not be allowed to an intervenor, who is occupying the position of a defendant, and opposing a claim to a portion of his property asserted by a plaintiff. Nor is it perceived that there was any error committed by the court in rendering judgment for the intervenor under the evidence adduced in the cause. The authority conferred upon George A. Sublett by the intervenor’s intestate was in the nature of a personal trust, and did not imply the right of substitution. The doctrine in relation to substitution is, that the
The contract between Philip and George Sublett does not come within either of these exceptions. Ho express power of substitution was given. It could not be inferred from the nature of the transaction, for this involved a confidence in the locator’s judgment in making advantageous selections of land in the country where the certificate was to be located, in his integrity in faithfully performing his duty to the best interest of his principal, and in his energy in complying at an early time with the requirements of his contract. We cannot presume that these trusts were intended to be transferred to another, and there was no usage or custom of. the country proved as to the right of substitution in agencies for the location of land.
It cannot be said that the intestate was chargeable with notice of all acts done by George A. Sublett in reference to the location of the land. So long as he acted within the scope of his authority the intestate would have been thus chargeable, and liable to third persons for any obligations contracted by him. His authority did not extend to substitution. He was not held out to the public as having competent authority to make contracts for the location of the land. This power was not expressly given. We have seen that it was not implied, nor did it result from the possession of the certificate. This latter was transferred by William, the original grantee, to Philip A. Sublett, but there was no transfer from the latter to the defendant, George A. Sublett. It was not an instrument the title to which passed by delivery, and the presumption was that it belonged to the assignee, and not to the one in whose temporary possession it was found. The mere fact that it was not assigned to George Sublett was sufficient
The whole doctrine in reference to this matter is thus laid down by Mr. Story: “Where the agency is not held out by the principal, by any acts or declarations or implications, to be general in regard to the particular act or business, it must from necessity he construed according to its real nature and extent; and the other party must act at his own peril, and is bound to inquire into the nature and extent of the authority actually conferred. In such a case there is no ground to contend that the principal ought to be bound by the acts of the agent beyond what he has apparently authorized, because he has not misled the confidence of the other party who has dealt with the agent.” (Story on Agency, § 133.)
From anything that appears in the evidence, Philip Sublett was entirely ignorant, up to his death, of the contract made between George A. Sublett and Thomas J. Smith. A settlement took place in the year 1849 between the two Subletts, in which the land located under the Williams head-right was'included, and in it George Sublett was fully paid off for his services in locating the above head-right. This settlement having taken place in entire ignorance on the part of the intestate of any claim of the locator, Smith, would exonerate him from any personal liability for the acts done by George A. Sublett, in which his agency was not disclosed, and where third parties treated with him as principal. (Story on Agency, § 449.)
The judgment is aeeirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- W. T. Smith v. F. B. Sublett, Administrator, &c.
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- 16 cases
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- A defendant may plead as many inconsistent pleas as he may choose, provided they are pertinent and in due order of pleading; and an intervener who is occupying the attitude of a defendant, and who is resisting a claim to his property asserted by a plaintiff, is entitled to the same latitude in his pleadings. (Paschal’s Dig., Art. 1441, Note 548.), When an authority in the nature of a personal trust is conf^red, it does not impliedly invest the agent with the right of substitution, but is to be considered exclusively personal, unless by the language used, or by a fair presumption arising from the particular transaction or the usage of trade, a broader power be conferred upon the agent. A contract between the owner of a land certificate and his agent, by which the agent is employed and empowered to locate the certificate, involves a personal confidence reposed in the agent, and does not, in the absence of an express power of substitution and of an established custom of the country, confer upon the agent the right to transfer the trust to another person. A principal is not chargeable with notice of all acts done by his agent with reference to the subject-matter of the agency, but of such acts only as are within the scope of the authority conferred upon the agent. If an agent, without authority, assume to exercise a power of substitution, the principal is not chargeable with notice thereof. The possession of a land certificate does not imply a power in the holder to employ another person to locate it. The title to such an instrument does not pass by delivery, and, if it have been assigned by the grantee, the presumption is, that it belongs to the assignee, and not to a third person in whose possession it may be. The mere fact that a land certificate has not been assigned to the person having possession of it is of itself sufficient to put other persons on their guard in contracting with the holder to locate it for his benefit. The act of receiving a patent from the general land office cannot be construed into a ratification by the party receiving it of an act of which he had no knowledge.