A. E. Stokes and Estelle Stokes v. James H. Reeves and Isham P. Nelson, Jr., Doing Business as Reeves and Nelson

These are appeals by A. E. Stokes and his wife Estelle Stokes from a judgment of the district court for the District of Montana, sitting in a diversity suit without a jury, holding Mr. and Mrs. Stokes jointly and severally liable for $2,-000 plus $400 attorneys’ fees to appellees Reeves and Nelson. Appellees, a firm of accountants in Dallas, Texas, are residents of Texas and appellants are and were when this action was commenced citizens of Montana.

The complaint alleged that appellees had rendered professional services to appellants in the amount of $3,038.22 and that a bill for this amount had been presented to appellants prior to the commencement of the action. Judgment for that amount plus $750 attorneys’ fees as authorized by Art. 2226, Tex.Rev.Stat., Vernon’s Ann.Civ.St.Tex. art. 2226, was prayed. At the conclusion of the trial the district court, without making findings of fact or stating conclusions of law as required by Fed.Rules Civ.Proc. rule 52(a), 28 U.S.C.A., rendered the judgment from which this appeal is taken.

It appears from the evidence that at the request of appellant A. E. Stokes, appellees undertook in 1952 to prepare and file federal income tax returns for…