Lloyds America v. Lloyds Southwest Insurers, 7795.

• Decision Date: 11 January 1933
• Docket Number: No. 7795.,7795.
• Citation: 56 S.W.2d 477
• Parties: LLOYDS AMERICA et al. v. LLOYDS SOUTHWEST INSURERS.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

56 S.W.2d 477

LLOYDS AMERICA et al. v. LLOYDS SOUTHWEST INSURERS.

No. 7795.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. Austin.

January 11, 1933.

Rehearing Denied February 1, 1933.

Appeal from District Court, Travis County; C. A. Wheeler, Judge.

Action by Lloyds Southwest Insurers against Lloyds America and others, in which defendants filed pleas of privilege. From an order sustaining plaintiff's general demurrer to the pleas of privilege, defendants appeal.

Reversed and remanded.

Lewright & Lewright, of San Antonio, for appellants.

J. B. Robertson, of San Antonio, and Dan Moody, of Austin, for appellee.

BAUGH, J.

Appeal is from the order of the district court of Travis county sustaining appellee's general demurrer to the pleas of privilege of appellants to be sued in Bexar county. The parties will be designated as in the lower court.

Plaintiff's petition is lengthy, but briefly and in substance alleges the following facts and circumstances: That Lloyds Southwest Insurers, Lone Star Lloyds, and Lloyds America were all unincorporated insurance underwriters, each acting through named individuals as respective attorneys in fact. That Lone Star Lloyds, with offices at Waco, Tex., and acting through J. O. Hartzog, C. E. Beeson, and S. S. Dorbandt, as its attorneys in fact, because of notice from the insurance commission of Texas that unless it increased its reserve, the commission would liquidate its business, entered into a written contract with George Gutherie, attorney in fact for the plaintiff, Lloyds Southwest Insurers, on April 21, 1931, whereby, in effect, said Lloyds Southwest Insurers, on conditions named, contracted, among other things, to take over all the assets, policies, so far as possible, and other business of the latter. That with full knowledge of this contract and of the rights of plaintiff accruing therefrom, Lloyds America, acting through Elliot Jones as its attorney in fact, fraudulently procured and induced the Lone Star Lloyds to breach said contract with plaintiff, and to transfer, with the approval of the insurance commission, all of its business, assets, policies, etc., to Lloyds America. Plaintiff made defendants Lloyds America and Elliot Jones, individually, and as its attorney in fact of Bexar county; C. E. Beeson of Travis county, and S. S. Dorbandt of Williamson county, individually, and as attorneys in fact for Lone Star Lloyds; and Lone Star Lloyds as an association. The fraud was alleged to have been committed in Travis county. The suit as to Lone Star Lloyds and Beeson and Dorbandt was for fraudulent conspiracy and breach of said contract; and as to Jones and Lloyds America, for tort in procuring and conspiring with the other defendants to effectuate such breach.

The pleas of privilege of Jones and Lloyds America were in statutory form, and were filed September 30, 1931. Plaintiff filed controverting pleas on October 10, 1931. Thereafter on October 31, 1931, plaintiff filed a general demurrer to said pleas of privilege. Hearing on said pleas and controverting pleas was begun on that date but not completed, and on December 18, 1931, the trial court sustained plaintiff's general demurrer to said pleas of privilege, from which action this appeal is prosecuted.

In this the trial court erred. Appellants' pleas of privilege followed the express language of the statute, article 2007, R. S. 1925. Under numerous decisions of the courts this has been held sufficient, and is so declared by the express language of the statute itself. Article 2007; Oakland Co. v. Jones (Tex. Civ. App.) 29 S.W.(2d) 861; First Natl. Bank v. Cage (Tex. Civ. App.) 32 S.W. (2d) 500; Johnson v. Bank (Tex. Civ. App.) 42 S.W.(2d) 870, 871; American Fruit Growers v. Sutherland (Tex. Civ. App.) 50 S.W. (2d) 898; Eckert-Burton Const. Co. v. School Board (Tex. Civ. App.) 51 S.W.(2d) 642; Brown v. Cox (Tex. Civ. App.) 53 S.W.(2d) 848. And when such plea is filed, under the general rules applicable to such cases, unless plaintiff shows by pleading and proof that he is entitled to retain venue of the suit where filed under some exception to the statute, the case should be transferred.

There are some exceptions to this rule, wherein a general or special exception to the sufficiency of such plea will lie. One of these was presented to this court in Yates v. State, 3 S.W.(2d) 114, wherein we held that the court, in testing the sufficiency of the plea of privilege against a demurrer thereto, may look to plaintiff's pleadings to ascertain the nature and character of the suit, and if it be that character of suit wherein the statute expressly fixes the venue thereof in a designated forum, as in the Yates Case, then the plea of privilege may be disposed of on the demurrer....