Stillman v. Another

• Decision Date: 01 January 1860
• Citation: 25 Tex. 313
• Parties: CHARLES STILLMAN AND ANOTHER v. MANUEL TRAVINO CANALES. THE CHARLES STILLMAN AND ANOTHER v. FRANCISCO FRAGOSA.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

25 Tex. 313

CHARLES STILLMAN AND ANOTHER

v.MANUEL TRAVINO CANALES.

THE CHARLES STILLMAN AND ANOTHER

v.FRANCISCO FRAGOSA.

Supreme Court of Texas.

1860.

A vendor, who has covenanted to furnish his vendee with a complete chain of title, for each of several tracts of land, and that the vendee should not be held bound to pay for those portions of the land for which he might be unable to furnish such title, cannot be heard to say, that the vendee has not been injured by his failure to perform his undertaking; nor, that the title of his vendee, has become invulnerable by time, or been perfected in any other manner.

The sale of the land by the vendee, with or without warranty, is not a waiver of an express condition, upon the performance of which alone the vendor was entitled to claim the payment of the purchase money.

APPEALS from Cameron. Tried below before the Hon. E. J. Davis.

These suits were brought by the appellees, to recover from the appellants, the balance which they respectively claimed was due them by the appellants, for the purchase money of certain parcels or labors of land, forming a part of the “exidos” of the city of Matamoros, and now within the city of Brownsville.

By consent a jury was waived, and each of the causes was tried by the judge, who gave judgments in favor of the plaintiffs. The other facts (which are the same in both cases, except in respect to the number of labors purchased, and the price given for them) will be sufficiently apparent from the opinion.Allen & Hale, for appellants.

Daniel D. Atchison, for appellees.

BELL, J.

The appellee, Manuel Travino Canales, sold to the appellants six labors of land, forming a part of the “exidos” of the city of Matamoros. A part of the purchase money was paid in cash at the time of the sale, and it was stipulated the balance should be paid in three installments.

In one part of the indenture by which the sale and the agreement of the parties is evidenced, it is said, that Manuel Travino Canales covenants, etc., “that he is now well and lawfully seized of all and each of the said granted tracts or labors of land by regular chain or transfers of title from the honorable ayuntamiento of the city of Matamoros, all of which transfers are hereby passed and made a part of this conveyance.” In another part of the indenture the appellee covenanted “to cause to be done, made, executed and performed all and every act or acts and conveyance or transfers of title which may be necessary in form or essence fully to perfect and assure to the said Stillman, Belden and Mussina, their heirs and assigns, a perfect title of and to the said described lands from the original grantees of the honorable ayuntamiento of Matamoros.” In another part of the indenture the following language occurs: “It is further covenanted and agreed by the said Manuel Travino Canales, that in case of failure on his part or his legal representatives to produce, furnish and assure to the said parties of the second part, their heirs or legal representatives, perfect and complete transfers of title to all and each of said labors hereinbefore described, then in that event the said parties of the second part may deduct from the payments herein conditioned by them to be made, such sum or sums as may be the equal proportion and relative value of the said parcels or parts of parcels of land so failed to be conveyed and titles perfected, as compared with the whole of six tracts conveyed.” It is shown by the evidence that the vendor, Manuel Travino Canales, failed to deliver to the purchasers, Stillman, Belden and Mussina, any paper title of any kind, from the ayuntamiento of Matamoros to two of the six labors of...