Cleo Mason Hamilton v. Norman Hamilton

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Civil Appeals, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in severing the consolidated causes and granting a new trial only on the will‑contest issue, that an estoppel not pleaded cannot be raised for the first time on a motion for new trial, that the contract between W. B. Hamilton and his first wife gave Norman Hamilton a vested right to whatever property his father owned at death, and that the partition agreement and warranty deeds did not relinquish or bar that claim. The Court also held that an agreement between counsel to consolidate a suit does not bind the court.