Court Opinion

ID: 9831036
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 20:44:43.460549+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:29.914231
License: Public Domain

PELPHREY, C. J.
This suit was instituted by Crane county upon a bond executed by the Citizens’ National Bank of Odessa, Tex., with W. F. Bates, R. N. Henderson, F. A. Henderson, Lula Sat-terwhite, and Henry Pegues as sureties; the bond reading:
“The State of Texas, County of Crane
“Know All Men by These Presents: That we, Citizens National Bank of Odessa, Texas, as principal, and W. F. Bates, R. N. Henderson, Henry Pegues, F. A. Henderson, and Mrs. Lula Satterwhite, as sureties, are held and firmly bound unto Ben F. Allen, County Judge of Crane County, Texas, and his successors in office, in the sum of Eighty Thousand (⅞80,000.00) Dollars, for the payment of which we hereby bind ourselves and our heirs, executors and administrators, jointly and severally by' these presents.
“The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas, the above bounden Citizens National Bank, Odessa, Texas, offered the highest bid of interest on daily balances (1½) per cent and was on Feb. 11, 1929, chosen by the Commissioners’ Court as depository of the funds of Crane County, including the school funds, for the term of two years, beginning January 1st, 1929.
“Now, therefore, if the said Citizens National Bank, Odessa, Texas, shall safely keep and faithfully disburse the school funds according to law, and pay such warrants as may be drawn on said funds, by competent authority, and shall account to them, together with interest thereon at the rate of 1½ per cent per annum calculated on daily balances, to .the Commissioners’ Court of said County and to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, as is required by law, then this obligation shall be void; but otherwise it shall remain in full force and effect.”
Appellee in its original petition sought to recover the sum of $12,176.45, and by supplemental petition increased its demand to $27,-186.13. All the funds sought to be recovered belonged to common school district No. 1 of Crane county.' Before the suit was instituted W. F.. Bates died and George F. Bates, administrator of his estate, was made a party defendant.
Upon a tz'ial before the court, judgment was rendered against appellants for the full amount claimed.
Opinion.
The first proposition advanced by appellants is that the funds involved belonging to the school district, the commissioners’ court was without capacity to maintain the suit to recover them.
With this proposition we are inclined to agree.
As said by this court in Watson v. El Paso County, 202 S. W. 126, 127: “The county did not own the funds collected by Watson for common school districts, and had no authori*615ty to recover same. The trustees of the various districts were the proper parties plaintiff.”
It will be noted here that Crane county is not made an obligee in the bond and nowhere sues for the benefit of the school district, consequently we fail to see how, it not being the owner of. the funds, and not named in the bond, can maintain a suit thereon.
If we be wrong in this, then we think there can be no recovery in this case for the reasons set out in the case of George F. Bates, Adm’r, et al. v. Crane County (Tex. Civ. App.) 55 S.W.(2d) 610, this day decided by this court.
The appeal bond of the several sureties, with the exception of George E. Bates, not having been filed within twenty days, their appeals must be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.
The judgment of the trial court against George E. Bates, administrator, is reversed, and judgment here rendered in his favor.
Reversed and rendered.