Volunteer Council Denton State School v. Murdine Berry

Volunteer Council of Denton State School, Inc. (Volunteer) appeals an instructed verdict awarding Murdine Berry (Berry) title and possession of eleven and one-half acres of land located in rural Dallas County, Texas. The trial court based its instructed verdict in this trespass to try title suit on a finding that Berry had established her unabandoned prior possession of the land as a matter of law, while Volunteer had failed to establish by competent proof any claim of title. Additionally, the trial court based its verdict on a finding that Berry had proved a prima facie case of limitations title under the ten-year statute, which was likewise unrebutted. Volunteer advances seven points of error. Points one through four and point six assert that, for various reasons, the trial court improperly granted the instructed verdict. Point five asserts that section 33.54 of the Texas Tax Code precludes Berrys limitations claim as a matter of law. Point seven complains that the trial court erred in rendering its judgment based on prior unabandoned possession because Berry neither pleaded nor proved prior possession. By way of a cross-point, Berry asserts that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding her testimony as a discovery sanction. After examination of the applicable law and the evidence presented at trial, we affirm. Consequently, we do not address Berrys cross-point.