Texas Land & Mortgage Co. v. Worsham

• Decision Date: 18 March 1890
• Parties: TEXAS LAND & MORTGAGE CO., Limited, <I>v.</I> WORSHAM <I>et al.</I>
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

13 S.W. 384

TEXAS LAND & MORTGAGE CO., Limited,

v. WORSHAM et al.

Supreme Court of Texas.

March 18, 1890.

Appeal from district court, Gonzales county.

Harwood & Harwood and Thos. McNeal, for appellant. Burges & Dibrell, for appellees.

HENRY, J.

The appellant is a corporation organized under the laws of the kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In the year 1886 it made a loan of money, and to secure it took a mortgage on the land in controversy in this suit. Subsequently it bought the land under the mortgage. In September, 1888, appellee procured to be issued an order of sale that was adverse to appellant's claim of title, and under it had caused to be advertised a sale of the land to take place on the first Tuesday in December, 1888. On the 29th day of November, 1888, appellant brought this suit to enjoin said sale. Among other defenses, the defendant especially excepted to the petition because it failed to show "that plaintiff is a person entitled to sue in the courts of this state, and does not show that plaintiff, if a corporation under the laws of a foreign state, has complied with the laws of Texas, so as to entitle it to do business in this state, and because plaintiff, if it had not done so, cannot legally do business in this state, and has no standing in the courts of Texas." The defendant also filed a general demurrer. The court first sustained the above special exception, and overruled the general demurrer. Afterwards, when the plaintiff proposed to introduce its evidence to prove its cause of action, the court required it to first produce and read in evidence its permit from the state to transact business under the act of the legislature passed on the 2d day of April, 1887, which plaintiff failed to do, whereupon the court set aside its judgment overruling the general demurrer, sustained the demurrer, and dismissed the cause. The correctness of this ruling is the only question presented by the record for our decision.

The first section of the act referred to requires any foreign corporation, desiring to transact business in this state, on or after January 1, 1888, to file with the secretary of state "a certified copy of its articles of incorporation, duly attested, accompanied by a resolution of its board of directors or stockholders, authorizing the filing thereof, and also authorizing service of process to be made upon any of its officers or agents in this state engaged in transacting its business, and requesting the issuance to such corporation of a permit to transact business in this...