Dodd v. Hein

• Citation: 62 S.W. 811
• Parties: DODD et al. v. HEIN.
• Decision Date: 24 April 1901
• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas

62 S.W. 811

DODD et al. v. HEIN.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas.

April 24, 1901.

Appeal from district court, Webb county; A. L. McLane, Judge.

Action by Thomas W. Dodd and another against Henry Hein to recover attorney's fees. From a judgment in favor of defendant, plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.

J. O. Nicholson, for appellants. A. Winslow, for appellee.

NEILL, J.

The appellants, Thomas W. Dodd and J. F. Mullaly, brought this suit against the appellee, Henry Hein, to recover $500, the alleged value of services rendered by them, as attorneys at law, in instituting and prosecuting a suit for divorce for appellee's wife against him. In their petition the appellants alleged, in substance, that they, as attorneys at law, were consulted by Refugio Benavides de Hein, the appellee's wife, in regard to the institution and prosecution in her behalf of a suit for a divorce against her husband; that in such consultation she represented to them, as grounds for divorce, excesses and cruel and outrageous treatment towards her on the part of her husband, such as rendered their living together as husband and wife insupportable, and that such excesses and cruel treatment were of such character as to reasonably cause her to fear for her personal safety and to seriously impair her health; that appellants, relying upon and believing, from her said representations and the statements of others, that said representations were true, and being of the opinion, as attorneys at law, that the matters stated by her in said consultation were true, and constituted good ground for divorce, drafted, in good faith, and filed on the 8th day of November, 1899, in the district court of Webb county, in which county appellee and his wife were bona fide residents, and had been for more than six months next preceding the institution of the divorce suit, a petition, embodying the matters stated by her in said consultation, for a divorce from her husband; that, after the petition for divorce was filed, the appellee herein (the defendant in said divorce suit), on the 22d day of January, 1899, filed his answer and cross bill, in which he alleged excesses on the part of his wife towards him, of such nature and character as rendered his longer living with her as a husband insupportable; that, after said petition and answer were filed, the divorce suit was tried before a jury, who found as their verdict that the conduct of the parties thereto towards each other was not of such a nature as to render their living together insupportable, and that, upon said verdict, judgment was rendered by the district court denying a divorce; that appellants, as attorneys at law, instituted and prosecuted said divorce suit to final judgment in good faith, but that the allegations made by the appellee in his cross bill and his prayer for divorce were not made in...