McLamore v. Heffner

Citations

• 33 Tex. 514

Syllabus

<p>1. The owner of land certificates delivered them to a land locator, on a contract between them that the latter should locate them and obtain the patents at bis own expense, and should receive as compensation one-half of the land. After locating part of one of the certificates, and obtaintaining patent thereon, the locator died, and the unlocated certificates passed into the hands of his administrator, who refused to surrender them to the owner, and claimed the right to complete the contract of his intestate, on the terms stipulated. Held, that the contract was a bailment and agency, based on a personal trust and confidence, and was rescinded by operation of law on the death of the locator and that bis personal representative had no right to complete the contract, unless with the express consent of the owner.</p> <p>2. So far as the contract had been executed in the lifetime of the locator, his administrator has a right to enforce its stipulations,and to recover for the locator’s estate the stipulated locative interest in the land located; but if the administrator, against or without the consent of the owner, proceeded to make locations, he did so in his own wrong, and is entitled to no compensation, either for his own benefit or that óí his intestate’s estate.</p>