Court Opinion

ID: 9832430
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 21:54:16.996674+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:46.724268
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
The request for submission upon special issues stands upon a different footing from charges, and, even when it was unnecessary to except to the giving or refusal of charges, it was necessary to except to the failure to submit a case upon special issues. G., H. & S. A. Ry. Co. v. Cody, 92 Tex. 632, 51 S. W. 329.
[12] Since the amendment of article 1316, made by Acts 1903, p. 55, c. 39, the court must give a written charge, unless it is expressly waived by the parties. The written charge may be a general charge, or it may be made up of special issues. If appellee’s contention be correct, that the court may dery a request to submit on special issues, unless it is accompanied with the issues in writing which the party wants submitted, it would follow logically that, unless such issues are correctly drawn, the court could refuse the request for that reason. If not, then any kind of a special issue in writing accompanying the request requires the court to submit on special issues, and, if not satisfied with the issue or issues so presented, he would have to frame appropriate issues. We cannot believe that the law places the burden upon the attorney to draw the charge for the court if he wants a case submitted upon special issues. Appellee contends that article 1984a (Vernon’s Sayles’ Statutes) should be construed in connection with article 1985, which provides that the failure to submit any issue shall not be deemed a ground for reversal, unless its submission has been requested in writing, and that, when the articles are construed together, the result follows that no reversal shall take place for failure to submit the case upon special issues, unless written issues accompany the request. The Supreme Court has left open the question whether article 1985 requires the issue to be drawn or merely requires the request to submit a certain issue to be in writing. Moore v. Pierson, 100 Tex. 117, 94 S. W. 1132. But if it be held that article 1985 places omitted issues upon the same footing as omissions from a general charge, and that the desired issues omitted by the court must be correctly drawn and presented, it does, not follow that a request going to the manner in which the court shall submit the case must be accompanied with written issues of some - kind to make it valid, or written issues correctly drawn.
[13] We construe article 1984a as giving the party the right to have the case submitted upon special issues, and the court must draw his charge. If either party thinks necessary or proper issues have been omitted, he must proceed under article 1985 to have the omissions supplied..
We are still of the opinion that this case is not one which cannot be determined upon the submission of special issues, and we do not feel authorized to read into the proviso any language which would vest a discretion in the trial court to refuse to submit a case upon special issues which can be determined in that manner. The Legislature intended to change the law, and we must give effect to such intention.
We conclude that assignment No. 10 should be overruled, because the special charge upon which it is based was defective, which defect was not pointed out in appellee’s brief and overlooked by us.
[14] Appellee’s motion for rehearing opens with a discussion of the fact that appellant has gone into bankruptcy—a fact not shown by the record, and.which should not be mentioned by appellee, as it can have no bearing upon the legal questions before us.
[15] Appellant asks us to certify the ques*993tions in this case to the Supreme Court.- As a direct appeal is open to the Supreme Court by means of application for writ of error, we see no good reason for complying with the request. Magill v. Brown Bros., 20 Tex. Civ. App. 678, 50 S. W. 143, 642; Sullivan Sanford Lumber Co. v. Reeves, 125 S. W. 96.
The motion for rehearing is overruled, except as to our disposition of assignment of error No. 10.