Williams v. Doering, 7474.

• Decision Date: 21 May 1930
• Docket Number: No. 7474.,7474.
• Citation: 28 S.W.2d 893
• Parties: WILLIAMS v. DOERING.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

28 S.W.2d 893

WILLIAMS v. DOERING.

No. 7474.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. Austin.

May 21, 1930.

Appeal from District Court, Dallas County; Royall R. Watkins, Judge.

Action by G. A. Doering, trading as the Southern Pipe Organ Company, against W. H. Williams. From an order overruling defendant's plea of privilege, he appeals.

Reversed and remanded, with instruction.

Wm. H. Flippen and Jno. W. Miller, both of Dallas, for appellant.

H. E. Spafford and Leslie Jackson, both of Dallas, for appellee.

BLAIR, J.

This appeal is from an order overruling appellant's plea of privilege to be sued in Midland county, his domicile. Venue was sustained in Dallas county under subdivision 5 of article 1995, Rev. St. 1925, on the ground that appellee's suit was one for breach of a written contract performable in that county, and the sole question presented is a construction of the contract to determine whether the portion thereof sought to be enforced by this suit is performable in Dallas county.

By the written contract, appellee, trading as Southern Pipe Organ Company, sold appellant a new pipe organ on the following terms:

                "1 Wicks two manual Pipe Organ 6
                   complete sets of pipes, chimes
                   and xylophones motor and blower
                   ..................................  $6,500.00
                "To be divided to fit organ chambers
                   10% added ........................     650.00
                                                       _________
                                                       $7,150.00
                "Less allowance for your Wicks organ
                   now installed in Palace Theatre ..   2,500.00
                                                       _________
                                                       $4,650.00
                

"Ship via freight. Ship to W. H. Williams, Midland, Texas. For which I agree to pay $1050.00 with order, balance to be paid 36 notes of $100.00 each. Draft through First National Bank.

"All invoices covered by this order, or any additional purchases, are payable at the offices of the Southern Pipe Organ Company, Dallas, Texas."

Appellee alleged, both in his petition and controverting affidavit, in answer to the plea of privilege, that appellant failed and refused upon request to deliver to him at Dallas, Tex., the old organ as provided in the contract, to his damages in the sum of $2,500, the agreed value of the old organ; and that by the terms of the contract all payments due as consideration for the new organ, the old organ being a part thereof, at the agreed value of $2,500, were payable at Dallas, Tex.

We have reached the conclusion that the contract neither expressly nor impliedly provided that appellant was to deliver the trade-in organ to appellee at Dallas, Tex., which is the only portion of the contract involved in this suit. It is true that a part of the contract was performable in Dallas, that is, payment of the cash consideration, the notes given as part consideration, and "all invoices covered by this order, or any additional purchases." But these portions of the contract are not involved in this suit. Clearly the old trade-in organ was not a purchase by appellant nor an invoice covered by the order. It became the property of appellee on the consummation of the sale of the new organ, and the contract is silent as to where it should be delivered to appellee; and the law is settled that where a written contract does not stipulate that a particular obligation sued upon is performable in the county where the suit is brought, but only provides for performance of matters not involved in the suit in such county, venue for such...