Wade v. Crump

• Decision Date: 11 February 1915
• Docket Number: (No. 1425.)
• Citation: 173 S.W. 538
• Parties: WADE v. CRUMP.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 538

173 S.W. 538

WADE v. CRUMP.

(No. 1425.)

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. Texarkana.

February 11, 1915.

Appeal from District Court, Bowie County; H. F. O'Neal, Judge.

Action by C. C. Crump against M. C. Wade. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.

R. P. Dorough, R. W. Rodgers, and C. A. Wheeler, all of Texarkana, for appellant. R. H. Jones, of De Kalb, for appellee.

HODGES, J.

On December 2, 1914, the appellee, C. C. Crump, filed a petition asking for a writ of injunction restraining the appellant, M. C. Wade, from prosecuting a suit against the appellee in the circuit court of Miller county, Ark. The petition alleges, in substance, that both the appellee and the appellant reside in Bowie county, Tex., are citizens of the state of Texas, and have been such for many years; that some time during the year 1914 the appellant, Wade, instituted a suit against the appellee in the circuit court of Miller county, Ark., in which he seeks to recover the sum of $600 claimed as commissions for a land sale; that the appellee does not own any property in Miller county, Ark., which might be subjected to the payment of a judgment. It is further alleged that the suit referred to was instituted for the purpose of harassing and annoying the appellee; that if its prosecution is permitted the appellee will be compelled to employ attorneys to defend the suit, at a cost to him of about the sum of $600. He also alleges that under the laws of the state of Texas he is entitled to be sued in Bowie county, the county of his residence. The petition concludes with a prayer for a writ of injunction restraining the appellant from further prosecuting the suit in Miller county, Ark. Upon presentation of the petition, the court entered an order directing the writ to issue upon the plaintiff's executing a bond in the sum of $250 conditioned as required by law. The bond was subsequently executed and the writ issued. This appeal is from that order.

The only question presented is: Do the facts alleged in the petition state grounds for granting this writ? It has been held in this state that, if the averments of the petition for an injunction are of such a character as to make it the duty of the court to restrain or enjoin the party from instituting or conducting like proceedings in a court of this state, it would be a proper case for restraining him by a similar process from prosecuting such a suit in the courts of another state. Moton v. Hull, 77 Tex. 80, 13 S. W. 849. That was a case in which a citizen of this state was restrained from prosecuting a suit against another citizen of this state in Missouri. The petition alleged that the prosecution of the suit in the foreign state was for the purpose of evading the laws of this state exempting current wages for personal services from garnishment. The rule there announced is recognized and followed in many other jurisdictions. See notes to Rader v. Stubblefield, 10 Ann. Cas. 20. But in the case before us the only ground presented as the basis for the issuance of this writ is the right of a resident of this state to be sued in the county of his residence. It is not contended that in the circuit court of Miller county, Ark., where the suit is pending, the petitioner will not be accorded the right to interpose every defense that might be urged in a court of this state. Neither is it alleged that the prosecution of that suit will have the effect of depriving the appellee of any property right which could not be taken from him had the suit been prosecuted in a court of this state. It is true that the petition does state that the suit in Arkansas is for the purpose of harassing the...