Wilcox v. St. Mary's University of San Antonio, Inc.

• Decision Date: 18 July 1973
• Docket Number: No. 12046,12046
• Citation: 497 S.W.2d 782
• Parties: Mrs. seb S. WILCOX et al., Appellants, v. ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF SAN ANTONIO, INC., Appellee.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 782

497 S.W.2d 782

Mrs. seb S. WILCOX et al., Appellants, v. ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF SAN ANTONIO, INC., Appellee.

No. 12046.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas Austin.

July 18, 1973.

Rehearing Denied Aug. 8, 1973.

John W. Stayton, Jr., McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, Austin, for appellants.

Patrick J. Kennedy, San Antonio, for appellee.

O'QUINN, Justice.

The principal issue controlling decision in this suit, brought initially as an action for declaratory judgment, is ownership of an extensive collection of library materials which includes an assembly of documents known as 'The Laredo Archives.'

Materials constituting the collections were amassed by Sebron S. Wilcox while living in Laredo, in Webb County, Texas. Wilcox died in May of 1959, and title to the collections passed by will to his surviving spouse, Stella Marie Wilcox.

In assembling the materials, Wilcox added writings of his own which he produced as a result of research and evaluation of the materials collected. Prior to his death, Wilcox indicated to his wife and to officials of St. Mary's University at San Antonio that he wished to lodge his collections with the University and upon retirement spend his remaining years working with the documents in the University library. Some materials were delivered by Wilcox to St. Mary's University during his lifetime.

Following the death of Wilcox in 1959, Mrs. Wilcox made arrangements with St. Mary's University to place the collection in the University library, and by early July of 1960 the bulk of the 'Wilcox Collection' had been delivered to the University. 'The laredo Archives' followed and these documents were received by the University during the first week of September, 1960.

A Public ceremony honoring Sebron S. Wilcox, at which formal presentation and acceptance of the collections were made and the collections were displayed, was held at the university on December 10, 1960. Thereafter Mrs. Wilcox continued for some time to send additional items to the University, although delivery of the collections was substantially complete with arrival of 'The Laredo Archives' in September of 1960.

The University subsequently inventoried and arranged the archives in chronological order and set up an index to the documents. The archival documents, covering municipal, church, and social affairs at Laredo between 1755 and 1846, were placed in individual acid-free folders for miximum preservation, and the University constructed a fireproof vault for storing the collection. Expenditures by the University to house the archives and make them available for research exceeded $40,000 during the ten years following delivery of the collections.

In 1970 the University officials learned through the daughter and grandson of Sebron S. Wilcox that a claim was being asserted to ownership of the collections on the basis that the collections had been placed with the University as a loan in 1960 and not as a gift by Mrs. Sebron S. Wilcox. The grandson, William S. Cox, acting in the mane of his grandmother, 'called various people in relation to finding a purchaser for the documents' shortly before suit filed by the Attorney General of Texas.

The Attorney General, acting for the State in behalf of the Texas Library and Historical Commission, filed a petition in district court of Travis County on May 12, 1971, seeking a declaratory judgment as to the Commission's right under Article 5438, Vernon's Ann.Civ.St. 'of custody and control of the 'Laredo Archives." The petition named as defendants 'Mrs. Seb S. Wilcox (Stella Marie Wilcox), individually, and as Trustee for the Estate of Seb S. Wilcox, Deceased . . . William Sebron Cox (grandson of Mrs. Wilcox) . . . and St. Mary's University.' later, by steps not disclosed by the transcript on file in this Court, the daughter of Mrs. Wilcox, Mrs. Genevieve W. Wilcox, was made a party to the suit.

The City of Laredo filed an intervention in June of 1971 praying that title and possession of the archives be awarded the City, pursuant to an Act of the Legislature of Texas passed in 1850 transferring the archives from possession of the county clerk of Webb County to the governing body of the City of Laredo.

After answers had been filed by the individual defendants and St. Mary's University had answered, the University on September 21, 1972, moved for severance of the issues and for continuance and extension of a temporary restraining order which the trial court apparently had entered earlier in the case. The court granted the University's motion, noting that 'counsel for all parties to this cause have agreed to the severance of issues, the continuance and resetting of said cause for trial and the extension of the Temporary Restraining Order.'

The court set the cause for trial on its merits for October 30, 1972, 'but only as to the severed issue of whether the title, whatever its character or quality, claimed by Mrs. Seb S. Wilcox, Genervieve W. Wilcox and William S. Cox in and to the subject documents became the sole and exclusive property of St. Mary's University by virtue of an unconditional and irrevocable gift of such documents to St. Mary's University in 1960.'

The oral depositions of the individual defendants were taken late in September, and the depositions, together with numerous attached exhibits introduced through the deponents, were before the trial court when the severed issues were heard in October.

The University moved for partial summary judgment in October. The motion was supported by the affidavit of the University's librarian who had participated in all transactions leading to delivery of the collections and archives to the University in 1960 and had continued to the time of trial in charge of the collections at the University.

The University by amended pleadings alleged alternative theories of gift, estoppel, waiver, and laches, and interposed its affirmative plea that the claims of ownership by the individual defendants were barred by the two-year statute of limitations and that as a matter of law absolute title to the collections had become vested in the University two years after the date on which defendants' cause of action may have accrued.

The trial court heard the motion for partial summary judgment in November, and thereafter on December 14, 1972, granted the motion. The court's judgment decreed:

'. . . that as against said defendants Mrs. Seb S. Wilcox, Genevieve W. Wilcox and William S. Cox (,) St. Mary's University of San Antonio, Inc. lawfully acquired and now holds absolute title to and ownership of all of that certain historical collection acquired and assembled by Seb S. Wilcox during his lifetime, commonly referred to as the 'Wilcox Collection' and consisting of documents, papers, photographs, books, newspapers, artifacts and work products of the said Seb S. Wilcox including, but not limited to, those certain documents and other historical material commonly referred to as the Laredo Archives and being the same historical collection heretofore delivered to and now in the possession of St. Mary's University . . .'

The trial court incorporated in its decree the following proviso:

'. . . provided, however, that nothing herein shall operate to the prejudice of either the State of Texas or the City of Laredo in their claims of title to that portion of the 'Wilcox Collection' known as the 'Laredo Archives,' said claims of title being still before this Court for adjudication.'

Mrs. Seb S. Wilcox, Mrs. Genevieve W. Wilcox, and William S. Cox have appealed from this judgment and bring two points of error:

(1) '. . . Appellee failed to show the lack of fact issues as to whether Appellants made a gift of the Wilcox Collection to Appellee, whether Appellee had acquired ownership of the Wilcox Collection by adverse possession, whether Appellants are estopped to assert ownership of the Wilcox Collection and whether Appellants have waived their right to assert ownership of the Wilcox Collection;' (2) '. . . Appellee failed to show the lack of a fact issue as to whether Appellants were barred by laches from asserting ownership of the Wilcox Collection. Further, the doctrine of laches is not available to Appellee in the present case.'

We will overrule the points of error and affirm judgment of the trial court.

The trial court found that '. . . There is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that St. Mary's University . . . is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law against said defendants, Mrs. Seb S . Wilcox, Genevieve W. Wilcox and William S. Cox.' (Emphasis supplied)

We consider first the issue of adverse possession, which, found against the Defendants, will render it unnecessary to reach the remaining issues.

The University pleaded that any claim or cause of action alleged by defendants for recovery from the University of the Wilcox...