Pryor v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp.
| Decision Date | 03 December 1952 |
| Docket Number | No. 12474,12474 |
| Citation | 253 S.W.2d 493 |
| Parties | PRYOR v. UNIVERSAL C. I. T. CREDIT CORP. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
North, Blackmon & White, Corpus Christi, for appellant.
Ward & Brown, Corpus Christi, for appellee.
This is an appeal from an order dismissing plaintiff's cause of action on the ground that his petition failed to assert a bona fide cause of action for an amount within the jurisdiction of the court.
Plaintiff's petition asserted a cause of action for wilful conversion and also one for usury. For our purposes it is unnecessary to consider the allegations, except insofar as they relate to the conversion features. Plaintiff alleged that defendant's employee physically took from him the keys to his automobile, and that he deprived the plaintiff of possession by means of force, threats, and fear. He asserted that the automobile contained $150 worth of personal property, including his wife's wedding ring. He alleged that the reasonable market value of the automobile was $1,750. He alleged that defendant was the holder of a chattel mortgage securing the payments on the automobile, and that he had consistently made his payments after due date, so that defendant waived the strict terms of the mortgage and was estopped from asserting the strict terms of the mortgage. He asserted that one payment in the amount of $71.71 was due, but that the defendant owed plaintiff, by way of offset, more than twice that amount for usurious interest. He sought punitive damages in the amount of $5,000 for the claimed wrongful and malicious conversion. From these allegations, the petition on its face asserts a complete cause of action within the jurisdiction of the district court. The plaintiff had paid a jury fee.
The trial court heard testimony on the motion to dismiss, which we have examined minutely. It shows only that the appellee was the owner of a chattel mortgage on the automobile, which contained a clause permitting repossession upon default. But peaceable repossession permitted by a mortgage does not excuse a tortious repossession as alleged, and the strict payment terms of a mortgage may be waived. In any event, allegations of an unproved but bona fide defense is not proof of a mala fide assertion of the jurisdictional amount. ...
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A. B. Lewis Co. v. Robinson
...excuse a tortious repossession involving force, threats or fear. 14 Tex.Jur.2d Conversion, Sec. 17, p. 20; Pryor v. Universal C.I.T. Credit Corp., Tex.Civ.App.1952, 253 S.W.2d 493. Appellee, therefore, was entitled to recover damages. The jury found that the reasonable market value of the c......
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Corsicana Independent School Dist. v. Corsicana Venetian Blind Co.
...confer jurisdiction were fraudulently made to confer jurisdiction, the court should retain jurisdiction. See Pryor v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp., Tex.Civ.App., 253 S.W.2d 493 (no writ history); Tidball v. Eichoff, 66 Tex. 58, 17 S.W. 263; Booth v. Texas Employers' Ins. Ass'n, 132 Tex. ......
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Godwin v. Stanley, 6929
...that is, the exercise of force or violence will not be permitted. Gillett v. Moody, Tex.Civ.App., 54 S.W. 35; Pryor v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp., Tex.Civ.App., 253 S.W.2d 493; Gardner v. Associates Inv. Co., Tex.Civ.App., 171 S.W.2d 381 (writ refused, want of merit); Clow v. Gasteam H......
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Yancey Rural High School Dist. No. 16 v. Schweers, 12652
...a plea to the jurisdiction can not be made to serve the purpose of the abolished general demurrer. See, also, Pryor v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp., Tex.Civ.App., 253 S.W.2d 493. The order appealed from is reversed and the cause ...