Johnson v. Radford

• Decision Date: 01 November 1971
• Docket Number: No. 71-1873 Summary Calendar.,71-1873 Summary Calendar.
• Citation: 449 F.2d 115
• Parties: Ruben H. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Matthew RADFORD, II, et al., Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

449 F.2d 115 (1971)

Ruben H. JOHNSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Matthew RADFORD, II, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 71-1873 Summary Calendar.^*

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

September 29, 1971.

Rehearing Denied November 1, 1971.

Marvin S. Sprain, Abilene, Tex., W. R. Barnes, Royal E. Caswell, Jr., Odessa, Tex., Leroy LaSalle, K. Baker, Carthage, Tex., J. R. Black, Abilene, Tex., Beverly Tarpley, McMahon, Smart, Sprain, Wilson & Camp, Abilene, Tex., Scarborough, Black, Tarpley & Scarborough, Abilene, Tex., attorneys for appellants.

Donald S. Thomas, Barry Bishop, Jay H. Brown, Clark, Thomas, Denius, Harris & Winters, Brown, Erwin, Maroney & Barber, Austin, Tex., attorneys for appellee.

Before BELL, AINSWORTH and GODBOLD, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

This is an appeal from the granting of a temporary injunction against appellants, enjoining them from asserting in any suit or action in any court various matters which we describe below. The District Court based its action on the third exception to 28 U.S.C. § 2283, "to protect or effectuate its judgments." See also Jacksonville Blow Pipe Co. v. R. F. C., 244 F.2d 394 (5th Cir. 1957); Woods Exploration & Producing Co. v. Aluminum Co. of America, 438 F.2d 1286 (5th Cir. 1971).

In 1968, by suit in the same federal court which granted the present injunction, before the same district judge, James O. Radford ("Radford"), who was the grantor in 1963 of an option contract to Ruben Johnson, attacked the validity of the option on numerous grounds including fraud and misrepresentation by Johnson, and sought return of other property from Johnson and an accounting. Radford's mental competency at the time of the option and the time of the suit was made an issue. The District Court dismissed the case with prejudice because of Radford's failure to prosecute and to comply with discovery orders. Before entering the judgment of dismissal the court took testimony from psychiatrists and from Radford himself, and entered a finding that Radford was, and at all times material to the suit had been, fully competent to manage his own affairs.

In 1970, after Radford had died, one of his sons, James Matthew Radford, joined by a second son, John Banton Radford, filed suit against Johnson in the 42d District Court of Taylor County, Texas. While there are other aspects to that suit, the main thrust of it is an attack on the validity of the option agreement which had been the subject matter of the prior federal suit and on grounds including those asserted in the prior federal case.

Johnson then sought and obtained in the federal court the preliminary injunction against the two sons which is the subject of this appeal. Our standard of review is whether the District Judge abused his discretion in determining the relitigation issue and in deciding the propriety of an injunction. Southern Calif. Petrol. Corp. v. Harper, 273 F.2d 715 (5th Cir. 1960); 3 Barron & Holtzoff (Wright ed.) Federal Practice & Procedure 509-510. There was no abuse. Clearly the District Judge properly could temporarily enjoin the assertion in the 42d District Court that Radford was incompetent to manage his own affairs at least during a period commencing with the execution of the option and extending to the date of the...