Baldwin Motor Co. v. De Ford

• Decision Date: 01 April 1926
• Docket Number: (No. 348.)
• Citation: 282 S.W. 832
• Parties: BALDWIN MOTOR CO. v. DE FORD et al.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

282 S.W. 832

BALDWIN MOTOR CO. v. DE FORD et al.

(No. 348.)

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. Waco.

April 1, 1926.

Appeal from Kaufman County Court; W. P. Williams, Judge.

Suit by the Baldwin Motor Company against Russell De Ford and others. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

G. O. Crisp, of Kaufman, and Butler, Price & Maynor, of Tyler, for appellant.

W. A. Wade, of Dallas, and Bumpass & Wade, of Terrell, for appellees.

Statement.

STANFORD, J.

This suit was filed by appellant against appellees Russell De Ford and J. S. Terry, trustee of the bankrupt estate of R. A. Johnson. The record discloses that on March 17, 1923, R. A. Johnson executed and delivered to appellant a note for $500, secured by a mortgage on an automobile situated in Smith county, said mortgage being duly filed and registered in Smith county, also in Kaufman, into which it was later removed; that $250 had been paid on said note; that on September 1, 1923, appellee Russell De Ford brought suit in the district court of Kaufman county for debt against R. A. Johnson, and sued out in said cause a writ of attachment against R. A. Johnson; and that the officer levied said writ of attachment on said automobile, taking same out of the possession of R. A. Johnson, with knowledge of appellant's mortgage lien; and that same was by said officer stored in a garage in Terrell, Kaufman county, where it remained in the custody of said officer until about January 20, 1924, when the said R. A. Johnson was adjudged a bankrupt, and appellee J. S. Terry was appointed trustee of said bankrupt estate. Appellee Russell De Ford did nothing further toward enforcing his attachment lien, and the car remained in the garage where the officer had placed same until the time of the trial. The appellees tendered the car to appellant on the trial, disclaiming any interest therein. The tender was refused, appellant contending that the car was then worthless, and that at the time of the levy it was of sufficient value to have made its debt of $250. Appellant contends that, if appellee Russell De Ford had not unlawfully taken possession of said car by virtue of said writ of attachment, appellant would have been able to have seized same, and would have done so and realized out of same a sufficient amount to have made its debt; that said car was worth $350 to $375 at the time it was attached, and was worthless at the time of trial. The evidence shows that some parts of the car were taken off, but does not show when nor by whom, and that the value of the car was thereby decreased to some extent, but that the storage and nonuse were the principal causes of the loss in value. Appellant contends in the manner above stated appellee De Ford converted said car. The trial court instructed a verdict for appellees.

Opinion.

Appellant contends the trial court erred in instructing a verdict for appellees, and claims there were issues that should have been submitted to the jury, but fails to suggest any issue of fact that should have been so submitted. Cooley, in his work on Torts (2d Ed.) p. 524, defines "conversion" in the following language:

"Any distinct act or dominion wrongfully exerted over one's property in denial of his right, or inconsistent with it, is a conversion."

Our courts have approved this definition. First Nat. Bank v. Brown, 23 S. W. 862, 85 Tex. 80; Vickery v. Crawford, 55 S. W. 560, 93 Tex. 373, 49 L. R. A. 773, 77 Am. St. Rep. 891; Hofschulte v. Hardware Co. (Tex. Civ. App.) 50 S. W. 608; Gulf, C. & S. F. R. Co. v. Pratt (Tex. Civ. App.) 183 S. W. 103; Pittman-Harrison Co. v. Fox (Tex. Civ. App.) 228 S. W. 579.

The title and right of possession of the automobile in question were both in R. A. Johnson. Appellant had a lien on said car to secure its debt, but had neither title nor right of possession. Johnson had the right to sell said car subject to ...