Court Opinion

ID: 9644320
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 20:52:58.184421+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:20.973753
License: Public Domain

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
STEAKLEY, Justice.
In our original opinion we stated that “In our investigation of the trial record before us we do not find a Motion in Limine seeking to preclude testimony to the facts and circumstances surrounding the transactions between Moore and Mrs. Littell.” We are told by counsel for Moore On Motion for Rehearing that there was such a motion tendered; and that the motion “was not in the Transcript because the case neither went up on the Dead Man’s Statute on appeal to the Court of Civil Appeals nor Writ to this Honorable Court.” A copy of such motion was attached to the Motion for Rehearing. Upon examination of the motion we find the typical language copied in the margin.1
The opinion of thé Court did not turn on the existence or not of such a motion. The motion did no more than determine that if counsel for Moore was of the view that evidence he desired to tender upon the issue of the fairness of the transactions between him and Mrs. Littell would be admissible in carrying his burden of showing the fairness of the transactions, he would apprise the court and opposing counsel of such matters and obtain a ruling of the court before making such matters known to the jury.
No evidence was offered by Moore that called for such a ruling by the trial court, hence there was nothing brought forward by bill of exception or otherwise for appellate review regarding the admissibility of *513such evidence under Article 3716. The reasons for this course of trial are best known to counsel for Moore acting in the best interests of his client. But this is why we wrote originally:
Apparently, it is Moore’s position that the established rule of fairness previously discussed should have no application in the circumstance where the principal of the transaction from which the surviving fiduciary has materially profited has since died. We are unwilling to recognize or approve such an exception to the established rule in a vacuum such as here, i. e., where no evidence of fairness has been actually tendered and where there has been no opportunity for judicial consideration or ruling with respect to the admissibility of such evidence under Article 3716.
In essence, the case as it reaches us represents an assault upon the fiduciary-fairness rule heretofore embraced by this Court. We adhere to the rule and its application here for the reasons articulated in our original opinion.
The Motion for Rehearing is overruled.
BARROW, J., concurs.
GARWOOD, J., not sitting.

. Plaintiff moves the Court to instruct the Defendant and his counsel in this cause and order them in turn to instruct all witnesses they place upon the stand, not to interrogate about, mention or attempt to introduce any matter that would be in violation of Article 3716 of the Texas Revised Civil Statutes (Dead Man’s Statute) within the hearing of the jury panel.
Further, Plaintiff moves that if Counsel for Defendant feels that some transaction between the Decedent and the Defendant is admissible, Counsel for Defendant shall first apprise the Court and opposing Counsel of such matters and obtain a ruling from the Court before making such matter known to the jury.