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By adopting the judgment in Leeson v. City of Houston,
supra, the Supreme Court of Texas indicated that it approved
neither the specific holding nor the reasoning of the commission.
Thus, Leeson's value as precedent on the issue of property
interests conferred by a contract for deed appears, at first
glance, questionable.
The Supreme Court of Texas, however, has on two separate
occasions cited with approval the specific portion of Leeson that
states the purchaser under a contract for deed becomes the
equitable owner of the property. See Fant v. Howell, 547 S.W.2d
261, 264-265 n.5 (Tex. 1977); City of Austin v. Capitol Livestock
Auction Co., 453 S.W.2d 461, 464 (Tex. 1970). Leeson, therefore,
has also been approved on this point by the Supreme Court of
Texas.
Moreover, the Supreme Court of Texas has cited Bucher v.
Employers Cas. Co., 409 S.W.2d 583, 584 (Tex. App. 1966) for the
proposition the “contract for sale effects change of ownership
wherein the purchaser becomes [the] equitable owner of the
property while all that remains in the seller is bare legal
title, more in the nature of security to guarantee payment than
anything else.” Criswell v. European Crossroads Shopping Center,
Ltd., 792 S.W.2d 945, 949 (Tex. 1990).6
6The Court of Civil Appeals of Texas said:
(continued...)
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