Wolf v. King

Citation107 S.W. 617
PartiesWOLF v. KING.
Decision Date01 February 1908
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas

Appeal from District Court, Dallam County; J. N. Browning, Judge.

Action by L. A. King against Charles Wolf. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Reversed, and remanded for a new trial.

Sidon Harris, for appellant. Reese Tatum, for appellee.

STEPHENS, J.

This suit was brought by the appellee in behalf of his wife to recover from appellant two-tenths of 960 acres of land in Dallam county, and resulted in a judgment in appellee's favor, from which this appeal is prosecuted.

Laura J. Sanders, who died February 5, 1901, intestate and without issue, was the common source of title; the wife of appellee, who was a sister of Laura J. Sanders, claiming by inheritance, and appellant claiming under a deed from the mother of Laura J. Sanders, which deed purported to convey the entire tract of land and not merely the interest inherited by her from her daughter.

It became a material inquiry on the trial whether or not Laura J. Sanders left a surviving husband, and that depended on whether or not she had been divorced from her husband, Joseph H. Sanders. In order to establish that she had been so divorced, appellee offered a decree purporting to have been rendered by a court in the state of Kansas, as shown by a certified copy under the hand and seal of the clerk of that court; but this certificate was not accompanied with a certificate of the judge of the court that the attestation of the clerk was in due form, as provided in section 905 of the statutes of the United States [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 677]. Appellant, therefore, objected to its admission in evidence; but the objection was overruled, and the certified copy admitted. The judgment of another state may be proved by an examined copy, as at common law, or by a certified copy, as provided in the act of Congress above referred to. Neither of these methods was adopted in this instance. If there is any Texas statute providing for the admission of a certified copy of the judgment of another state, it has not been cited by the appellee, and we have no knowledge of it. We must therefore hold that in admitting the certified copy in this instance, on the attestation of the clerk merely, the court acted without authority either of the common law or of any statute.

Several other rulings are complained of; but inasmuch as many of them were immaterial, in view of the common source of title, and as the objections may be...

To continue reading

Request your trial
2 cases
  • Wallace v. Schneider
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • March 15, 1916
    ...copy of the judgment on the original docket of the court of that state was admissible evidence for said purpose. Wolf v. King, 49 Tex. Civ. App. 41, 107 S. W. 617; St. Louis Expanded Metal Fire Roofing Co. v. Beilharz et al., 88 S. W. 512; Harvey v. Cummings, 68 Tex. 599, 5 S. W. 513; Tourt......
  • Nease v. Broadwater Mercantile Co.
    • United States
    • Texas Court of Appeals
    • November 6, 1918
    ...citation of authorities. Rev. St. § 905 (U. S. Compiled Statutes 1901, vol. 1, p. 677; U. S. Comp. St. 1916, § 1519); Wolf v. King, 49 Tex. Civ. App. 41, 107 S. W. 617. However, the proceedings could have been proven, as at common law, by the testimony of competent witnesses. Tourtelot v. B......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT