Estate of Griffin v. Sumner
| Decision Date | 18 June 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 16297,16297 |
| Citation | 604 S.W.2d 221 |
| Parties | ESTATE of B. E. GRIFFIN, Deceased et al., Appellants, v. Mrs. B. F. SUMNER et vir., Appellees. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
This is an appeal from a judgment of the district court of Kerr County, Texas, ordering Sibyl Griffin, individually and as administratrix of the Estate of B. E. Griffin, Deceased, to convey to Mrs. B. F. Sumner an undivided one-half (1/2) interest in and to a tract of 160 acres of land in Kerr County, Texas, for a consideration of $8,000 previously deposited in the Registry of the Court, and in the absence of such a conveyance divesting title out of Sibyl Griffin, individually and as administratrix of the Estate of B. E. Griffin, Deceased, and vesting it in Mrs. B. F. Sumner. Trial was to the court without a jury. The trial court made extensive findings of fact and conclusions of law. 1
On August 22, 1960, Mrs. Willie Ann Griffin conveyed 160 acres of land located in Kerr County, Texas, to her son, B. E. Griffin. The consideration for such conveyance was the sum of $8,000 cash which was furnished by Mrs. B. E. Sumner, a daughter of Mrs. Griffin, and the execution and delivery by B. E. Griffin to Mrs. Willie Ann Griffin of a vendor's lien note in the amount of $8,000. Simultaneously, B. E. Griffin conveyed to Mrs. B. F. Sumner as her separate property and estate an undivided one-half (1/2) interest in said 160-acre tract. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Sumner and her brother, B. E. Griffin, entered into a contract and agreement concerning the land which provided that in the event of the death of either Mrs. Sumner or Mr. Griffin the survivor thereof had the right to purchase the interest of the deceased party in said property for the sum of $8,000. B. E. Griffin died intestate on August 8, 1975, in New Mexico and on October 10, 1975, Sibyl Griffin was appointed administratrix of the Estate of B. E. Griffin, Deceased, in the State of New Mexico. In April of 1976, Sibyl Griffin made application in the County Court of Kerr County, Texas, to be appointed ancillary administratrix of the Estate of B. E. Griffin. On April 19, 1976, the County Court of Kerr County, Texas, in Cause No. 6000, granted such application for ancillary administration, and appointed Sibyl Griffin as ancillary administratrix. She duly qualified. Sometime thereafter, Mrs. Sumner made demand on Mrs. Griffin to convey to her an undivided one-half (1/2) interest in said 160-acre tract for the sum of $8,000, which Mrs. Griffin refused to do. On November 2, 1976, Mrs. Sumner filed suit in the district court of Kerr County, Texas, Cause No. 1859, seeking specific performance to the contract hereinabove referred to. A similar petition was filed in the County Court in Cause No. 6000 on April 7, 1976, also seeking specific performance. This suit in the County Court was transferred to the District Court and thereafter the two suits in the District Court were consolidated under Cause No. 2109.
By six points of error appellant complains that the trial court erred (1) in entering judgment for appellee because (a) the contract sued on is unenforceable because of want of certainty, (b) there is no evidence in the record to support the judgment entered, (c) there is not evidence that the contract sued on was ever delivered or that there was ever any consideration, (d) the judgment is not supported by the pleadings, and (e) the court was without jurisdiction of Sibyl Griffin or her property in her individual capacity; and (2) in overruling appellants' motion for judgment.
The principal questions to be decided on this appeal are: (1) Did the trial court have jurisdiction over Sibyl Griffin, individually? (2) Was the contract between B. E. Griffin and Mrs. B. F. Sumner effective to cover an undivided one-half (1/2) interest in the 160-acre tract involved? (3) Was such contract a valid and enforceable contract binding on the heirs, executors and administrators of the estate of the non-survivor? (4) Did the court properly enter judgment directing Sibyl Griffin, individually and as administratrix of the Estate of B. E. Griffin, Deceased, to convey an undivided interest in the 160-acre tract involved to Mrs. B. F. Sumner, in consideration of the sum of $8,000 deposited with the court? We answer all the questions above in the affirmative.
The purpose of specific performance is to compel a party who is violating a duty to perform under a valid contract to comply with his obligations. The rationale is that the recovery of monetary damages would be inadequate to compensate the complainant, especially in cases involving a contract for the sale of land, and thus the transgressor should be compelled to perform that which he has promised in his contract.
In Wilson v. Beaty, 211 S.W. 524 (Tex.Civ.App.-San Antonio 1919, writ ref'd), a case involving specific performance of a contract for the sale of land, this court said:
Where a contract is in writing, is certain in its terms, is fair and just in its provisions and capable of being enforced with fairness to both parties, it is a matter for enforcement in a court of equity. . . .
Absolute and positive certainty as to the terms of the contract is not required, but there must be reasonable certainty as to the subject-matter, the stipulations, the purposes, and the circumstances under which the contract was made. . . .
The contract is certain and definite in its terms if it leaves no reasonable doubt as to what the parties intended and no reasonable doubt of the specific thing equity is called upon to have performed.
The Supreme Court in Bennett v. Copeland, 149 Tex. 474, 235 S.W.2d 605 (1951), stated:
"Whenever a contract concerning real property is in its nature and incidents entirely unobjectionable,-when it possesses none of those features which, in ordinary language, influence the discretion of the court,-it is as much a matter of course for a court of equity to decree its specific performance as it is for a court of law to give damages for its breach."
Appellants assert that the District Court of Kerr County, Texas, did not have jurisdiction over her in her individual capacity. It is to be remembered that after Mrs. Griffin qualified as administratrix of the estate of her deceased husband in New Mexico, she filed an application in the County Court of Kerr County, Texas, to be appointed ancillary administratrix of her deceased husband's estate, citing a need for administration including the existence of debts and seeking various relief. On April 19, 1976, such administration was granted and Mrs. Griffin was appointed ancillary administratrix. She duly qualified and took her oath in Kerr County, Texas, on April 19, 1976. Mrs. B. F. Sumner on November 2, 1976, filed her original petition in the District Court of Kerr County, Texas, Cause No. 1859, against Mrs. Sibyl Griffin, individually and as administratrix of her husband's estate, as defendant, seeking specific performance of the contract or agreement between Mr. B. E. Griffin and Mrs. Sumner, or otherwise vesting title to said undivided one-half (1/2) interest in the 160-acre tract in Mrs. B. F. Sumner. Attached to said petition were copies of the contract involved and the two deeds hereinabove mentioned involving the 160-acre tract. In reply thereto appellant filed a special appearance under Tex.R.Civ.P. 120a and an original answer in said Cause No. 1859 in the District Court. Sometime thereafter, appellees filed a similar suit in the County Court of Kerr County, Texas, in Cause No. 6000, the ancillary administration. Appellants filed an answer consisting of two pleas in abatement and a general denial, but no special appearance. Appellees thereafter filed a motion to transfer such matter to the District Court pursuant to Section 5 of the Texas Probate Code. The motion to transfer was granted. Appellants then filed a motion to dismiss Cause No. 1859 in the District Court of Kerr County, Texas, asserting that jurisdiction was vested in Cause No. 6000 in the County Court. Thereafter, they filed a somewhat similar pleading in Cause No. 2109 in the District Court of Kerr County, asking the court to return the case to the County Court of Kerr County. They also filed a motion to set for pre-trial. A pre-trial hearing was held on March 20, 1978, in Cause No. 2109, at which time (the plaintiffs appeared in person and by attorney and the defendants appeared by their attorney) the motion to return the cause to the County Court was overruled and Cause No. 1859 and Cause No. 2109 were consolidated into one cause, numbered Cause No. 2109. On September 22, 1978, the District Court had a hearing on the special appearance and plea to the jurisdiction in which both Sibyl Griffin and Mrs. B. F. Sumner appeared in person or by attorney and at such time the special appearance and plea to the jurisdiction were overruled.
The judgment here before us is dated February 16, 1979, and recites due citation and appearance by Sibyl Griffin, both individually and as the administratrix of the Estate of B. E. Griffin.
Appellants' attack on the jurisdiction of this appeal appears to be two-fold: (a) the district court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case, and (b) the district court did not have jurisdiction over the appellant individually in this case.
The special appearance filed by appellant in the district court appears to be directed at the jurisdiction of the court over the subject matter and not to appellant's amenability to process. A careful reading of Rule 120a reveals that its purpose is to attack the jurisdiction of the court on a ground that the person sued is not amenable to process. Rule...
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