Huddle v. Huddle

Citation696 S.W.2d 895
Decision Date25 September 1985
Docket NumberNo. C-4013,C-4013
PartiesJack A. HUDDLE, Successor Administrator, Petitioner, v. Lois HUDDLE, Respondent.
CourtSupreme Court of Texas

PER CURIAM.

This is an appeal from a probate court order. Our question is whether the probate court erred in denying a request for a jury trial. The court of appeals held the denial was in error. 687 S.W.2d 58 (Tex.App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1985). We hold the trial court did not abuse its discretion and reverse the judgment of the court of appeals.

This cause was set for trial for July 13, 1983. The jury fee had been paid on June 30 but the jury request was not made until July 12. The trial court denied the jury request because the request was not made earlier. A motion for a continuance was not made following the denial of the jury request.

Rule 216, Tex.R.Civ.P., provides that the demand for a jury be made and the necessary fee paid "on or before appearance day or, if thereafter, a reasonable time before the date set for trial of the cause on the non-jury docket, but not less than ten days in advance." The court of appeals held the time limitations contained in Rule 216 apply only to the time that the jury fee must be deposited with the clerk. 687 S.W.2d at 60. We disagree. The time limitations apply with equal force to the application for jury trial and the payment of the jury fee. In Texas Oil & Gas Corporation v. Vela, 429 S.W.2d 866 (Tex.1968), this court held that a demand for a jury trial made ten days in advance of the date set for trial of the cause on the non-jury docket is not necessarily timely as a matter of law. 249 S.W.2d at 877.

The judgment of the court of appeals conflicts with Rule 216, Tex.R.Civ.P., and this court's opinion in Vela. Accordingly, we grant Jack A. Huddle's motion for rehearing, grant the application for writ of error and, without hearing oral argument, reverse the judgment of the court of appeals and remand the cause to that court for consideration of Lois Huddle's remaining points of error. Tex.R.Civ.P. 483.

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50 cases
  • Chandler v Chandler
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • April 15, 1999
    ...216: not less than thirty days before trial, the party must make a written request for a jury and pay a jury fee. Huddle v. Huddle, 696 S.W.2d 895, 895 (Tex. 1985); Higginbotham v. Collateral Protection, Inc., 859 S.W.2d 487, 489 (Tex.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ Our review of the r......
  • Chandler v. Chandler
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • April 15, 1999
    ...216: not less than thirty days before trial, the party must make a written request for a jury and pay a jury fee. Huddle v. Huddle, 696 S.W.2d 895, 895 (Tex.1985); Higginbotham v. Collateral Protection, Inc., 859 S.W.2d 487, 489 (Tex.App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ Our review of the re......
  • In re Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota N.A.
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • July 10, 2003
    ...(Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, writ denied); (c) failing to timely request a jury trial, see TEX. R. CIV. P. 216; Huddle v. Huddle, 696 S.W.2d 895 (Tex.1985); (d) failing to appear for trial, see TEX. R. CIV. P. 220; and (e) failing to object to a bench trial despite a properly perfect......
  • Monroe v. Alternatives in Motion, 01-05-01187-CV.
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • February 22, 2007
    ...date set for trial of the cause on the non-jury docket, but not less than thirty days in advance." TEX.R. CIV. P. 216; Huddle v. Huddle, 696 S.W.2d 895, 895 (Tex.1985) (holding that time limitations for requesting jury trial apply to payment of jury fee as well). A jury request and jury fee......
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