Lawyers Trust Company v. City of Houston

In 1926, W.T. Carter Lumber & Building Company platted tracts for public park and service use within the City of Houston (defendant), providing that if any tract ceased public use after 25 years, fee title would vest back to W.T. Carter; one tract was used as a public park only until 1944. Lawyers Trust Company (Lawyers Trust) (plaintiff), which later acquired W.T. Carter's interest, sued the city in 1959, arguing the deed created a fee simple determinable that automatically reverted title to Lawyers Trust when public use ceased at the 25-year mark (1951); the city argued the deed instead created a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, meaning Lawyers Trust only gained a right of reentry in 1951 that it waived by waiting until 1959 to sue. The trial court ruled for Lawyers Trust, and the appeals court reversed, prompting further appeal.