Court Opinion

ID: 9831796
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 21:21:48.935376+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:43:38.042667
License: Public Domain

On Motion for Rehearing.
There has been pending before us the motion for rehearing by appellant since April 7, 1938, in which a grave challenge is made of the soundness of principles announced in our original opinion. We are reminded that since our action is final in the cause we should, again, consider well what we have said. By way of a predicate for argument in favor of the motion, these queries are made, (a) Can the trial court, subsequent to verdict, make findings independent of the jury’s verdict, as distinguished from its right to apportion the property found by the jury? (b) If so, is it error not to hear one of the contestants as to the amount and extent of community assets? And (c) can the trial court divest Scannell of his interest in the homestead or in the assets from its sale and invest them in Mrs. Scannell by approving her credit bid therefor?
The seriousness of appellant’s counsel as evidenced by their forceful arguments has prompted us to withhold action on the motion until now, to the end that we may again carefully study the voluminous record presented by the appeal.
The first question may be answered in the affirmative, based upon the rule announced in 41 Tex.Jur. § 371, p. 1239, where it is said: “The court may determine undisputed issues of fact and render judgment thereon without submitting such issues to the jury.” Many decisions are there cited which sustain the statement quoted. Again in the same volume last cited at section 228, p. 1027, it is said: “Only controverted questions of fact raised by the pleadings and the evidence in the case are to be submitted; conversely, uncontroverted issues are not to be submitted.” It is contended that these' well settled abstract and concrete statements of the law are not applicable to the point raised, for, it is claimed the judgment rendered by the court finding that the community estate was of the reasonable value of $30,000.00 necessarily included property values which were not found by the jury verdict, to exist; and the excess over and above the amount found by the jury was an independent finding by the court subsequent to the rendition of the verdict.
As stated in the original opinion, the figures and values are extremely complicated, but we have taken the jury verdict as to property and its value, and the addi*546tional testimony of bankers, brokers and others who testified and are not shown to have had any interest in the result of the suit, along with the testimony of appellant given by deposition upon the trial, and to give credit to this uncontroverted testimony, and allow a deduction therefrom of all sums appellant claimed to have been expended by him and chargeable to the community estate, and from this we find the value of the estate as found by the court, appears justified. If these things are true, then under the rule of law above annouhc-ed no error is shown.
The jury verdict found that the value of the property inquired about by the issues submitted was (in round1 numbers) $32,900. The bankers testified they had issued to appellant cashier’s checks on October 17th, in the amount of $6,348.00. On the 23rd of October another such check was issued for $529.00. That he had on deposit in cash on October 17th, $7,566.00, totaling approximately $14,440.00. The last figures added to $32,900.00, the amount found by the jury, will be approximately $47,340.00 as the gross value of the community property.
By appellant’s deposition taken by appellee and introduced upon the trial, the best that could be elicited from him showed that he expended from the funds, claimed by appellee to have been in his possession, approximately $7,570.00. To deduct from the total amount found by the jury and the items shown by the bankers in cash and cashier’s checks, within two or three days time, about which no conflict appears in the evidence, and there would be left in his hands property of the value of approximately $39,770.00. The court found the estate to be worth $30,000.00, and required appellant to account for óne-half of that amount. Necessarily, it follows, that the difference in the amount of property values contained in the verdict and the $30,-000.00 found by the court to be the total value, was an independent finding by the court without the aid of the jury. The highly controverted issue of whether or not the stocks and bonds were on hand at the time inquired about, was submitted to the jury, and determined against the contention of appellant; there was no serious controversy about the other- items that entered into the verdict, such as the home, the household goods, the automobile, the-oil lease in Archer County and the vacant lots. At any rate these items were submitted in issues and all were answered. By the verdict it was found the stocks and bonds were on hand on October 18, while by his deposition, appellant claims that he had converted the bonds and that much of the moneys on hand in the banks on that date was the result of such sales. If the verdict was correct, appellant’s contention is wrong. We think the trial court was well within his official' duty when he made independent findings to that of the jury upon uncontroverted facts proven by disinterested witnesses.
The second question, in the motion, is “If the court can make independent findings from those found by the jury, should not the appellant be heard?” We' think we answered that question in the original opinion when we disclosed that appellant was present at the hearing and voluntarily absented himself from the trial thereby declining to testify; but upon subsequent hearings growing' out of charges of contempt of court, he testified fully concerning many of the property transactions, but the court heard it only in connection with the contempt proceedings, and specifically declined to let his testimony given, at that time, enter, into the rendition of final judgment in the divorce proceedings.-
It will be observed that in the preliminary or' interlocutory judgment entered by the court at the time of the trial on its merits, the court found that the community estate was worth $50,000.00. When the final judgment was entered, that part finding the value to be as above stated, was withdrawn and a finding entered to the effect that there was a $30,000.00 community estate. Whether the court based the last finding upon testimony offered during the contempt proceedings we are not in a position to say, but having lessened the value, when appellant was charged with having it in his possession, was so materially in his favor, he could not be heard to complain.
There are many uncertainties disclosed by the evidence had upon the original trial, which if subsequently considered by the court could have influenced him to make the change. For instance, we observe it was shown upon the trial that appellant had issued to him on October 17th, approximately' $7,000.00 in cashier’s checks, and that upon the same day he had approximately the same amount on deposit in cash. Now if the cash deposits were absorbed by the cashier’s checks, he would not be charge*547able with both. Upon this point the evidence is not clear. If the court should have decided these items were duplicated then he was right in reconsidering the former findings; if he considered the amounts were duplicated he could deduct one or the other and still be well within the figures finally found by him.
For the reasons stated both here and in the original opinion we feel that the figures produced by us are but feeble disclosures as to the condition of this estate; they may be far from right, but not being expert accountants, it is the best we can do.
The third inquiry with which appellant introduces this motion, is to ascertain if the court can divest him of the home place by permitting the appellee to purchase it from the receiver upon a credit bid, that is, a bid to be credited upon the receipt by her of her interest in the estate. We think that under the conditions existing in this case, with the findings of values, the respective interests of the parties shown, the receivership proceedings necessary for a partition of the community property, there was no error shown in permitting the receiver to deliver the home place to appellee at an acceptable price to be charged against her interest in the whole.
Our attention is called to a statement contained in the original opinion which reads: “There is nothing in the record to indicate what trouble was brewing between the parties prior to October 18, 1935, when the original petition was filed. That petition is not in the transcript. The final judgment was entered June 3, 1937, and it was clearly proper for the court to inquire into and base a judgment on matters happening between those dates, more especially as to matters of property rights.” We now think a part of that statement is incorrect and we here withdraw so much thereof as extended the time to the date of the final judgment, and substitute therefor the holding that it was proper for the court to permit inquiries into all matters happening between the filing of the original petition and the date on which the trial was had on its merits, viz., December 12, 1936, especially in matters pertaining to the amount of property belonging to the community estate, its value and an equitable' division thereof.
It is argued by appellant in his motion, that our opinion holds that a party to divorce suit is not entitled to a jury trial, and also that one of the parties is not entitled to be heard in his own defense as to what constitutes the community property at hearing subsequent to verdict, when there is error in the verdict itself.
We da not consider what we have said susceptible to such a construction; we have not intended to hold a party to a divorce suit is not entitled to jury trial, nor have we held a party is not entitled to be heard upon such a trial as to what constitutes community property. But we do hold that there was no error in the court refusing to hear appellant’s testimony given in several contempt (proceedings with reference to that property, and consider it as if given upon the trial of the case upon its merits, when appellant had every opportunity to testify and have the issues all determined in that case, and declined to do so.
In appellant’s motion he insists with much earnestness that we should grant him a rehearing, and further that if we should refuse it, then that the questions raised should be certified to the Supreme Court, and we are respectfully requested to do so. Believing as we do that we are correct in our disposition of the appeal, we are overruling the motion for rehearing as well also the request to certify.
■ Motions overruled.