Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1964 )

E GENERAL
QF EXAS
December 1.8, 1964
Honorable Paul B. Cox Opinion No. C- 366
County Attorney
Cherokee County Re: Duty and authority of the
Rusk, Texas County Court of Cherokee
County under Sec. 82 of
the Mental Health Code
Dear Mr. Cox: under the stated facts.
Your letter requesting an opinion of this office reads
In part as follows:
"I hand you herewith a copy of a letter
dated November 18, 1964, addressed to the
writer by the Honorable J. W. Chandler, County
Judge of Cherokee County, Texas, and its attach-
ment, being a letter dated November 16, 1964,
from one F. M. Howell. .Your attention is
directed to Art. 5547-82; subparagraph (a) which
reads as follows:
"'Any patient, or his next friend on his
behalf and with his consent, may petition the
County Judge of the County in which the patient
is hospitalized for re-examinationand hearing
to determine whether the patient requires con-
tinued hospitalizationas a mentally ill person.'
II
. . .
"Now, the specific problem is this, Judge
Chandler receives letters of the nature of the
letter of Mr. Howell quite often and it raises
a question as to whether or not such a letter
would constitute a petition for re-examination,
it having been directed to the Judge, but con-
tains no formality of pleading and is not accom-
panied by a deposit for court costs or a Pauper's
Affidavit."
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1.,
Hon. Paul B. Cox, page 2 (c-366 )
Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 45, provides:
"Pleadingsin the district and county courts
shall
Be by petition and answer
11 Consist of a statement in plain and
t
concise language of the plaintiff's cause of
action or the defendant'sgrounds of defense.
That an allegationbe evldentiaryor be of
legal conclusion shall not be ground for ob-
jection when fair notice to the opponent is
given b the allegationsas a whole,
d Contain any other matter which may
be required by any law or rule authorizing or
regulating any particular action or defense.
(d) Be In writing, signed by the party or
his attorney, and be filed with the clerk.
"All pleadings shall be so construed as to
do substantialjustice."
Rule 79 provides:
'The petition shall state the names of the
parties and their residences, If known, together
with the contents prescribed in Rule 47 above."
Rule 47 provides:
"A pleading which sets forth a claim for
relief, whether an original petition, counter-
claim, cross claim or third party claim, shall
contain
(4 a short statement of the cause of
action sufficientto give fair notice of the
claim Involved, and
(b) a demand for judgment for the relief
to which the party deems himself entitled. . . .v
The purpose of Article 5547-82, .setforth above, Is
to provide a new~and less formal method by which a patient may
obtain a rehearing and examination. This Article provides a
protection against unjustified detention of a patient In a mental
hospital and promotes more frequent examinationsof patients.
Historical Comment on Article 5547-82. As to what constitutes
a petit%on referred to by Article 5547-82(a), the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure,more specificallythe particularrules set forth
above,requirea combinationof elements in specific as well as
general terms. Substantialcompliance with statutoryrequirements
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Hon. Paul B. Coxp page 3 (C-366)
as to the form and requisites of the plaintfffPs lnitfal pleading
is sufficient, 71 C.J.S, 160, @ 64. Letters contafning those
requirementsset forth specificallyand #enerallysbythe above
quoted Rules are within the scope of the petition requirement
of Article 554``82( a) D
As to the petition letter of F. R. Howell, the petf-
tioner'a name, residence, and plea for relief are specifically
Included. Even though the facts a8 narrated by Mrp.Howell tend
to raise more than one cause of action, this does not invalidate
the letter as a petition, Colbert v, Dallas Joint Stock Land
Bank, 129 Tex. 235$ 102 S.W.28 1031 (1937) M H 11 1
zrqestloned his eanity status by the word~'"I"~ no,"&``;,
The Supreme Court fn Oliver v. Chapman, 15 Tex. 400
(1855); said at page 4038
"Though, in our pleadings, specialtyand
certainty'toevery reasonable intent, so'as to
exclude all reasonable doubt as to the real grounds
on which the party intends to base his rfght, are
required, yet thfs doctrine has not been oarried
to such a length as to require the statement of all
those minute circumstanceswhich are but evidence
of the right,"
Within the purposes of Article 5547-82(a) as above aet
forth* Mr. HowellEs letter supplies sufficientbasis to afford
the County Judge reasonable o
matter placed In issue,
(Tex.Clv,App.,error ref,
S.W.2d 570 (Tex,Civ,App.
costs apply only to dlsmf
143.
It Is our opinion that letters which contain sufffcfen%
Informationto satisfy requirementsof the Rules of Civil Pro-
cedure are petitions within Article 5547-82(a);however the deter-
mination of whether an fnformal letter fs sufffoientto satisfy
such requirementsIs in the sound discretion of the court.
SUMMARY
Letters which contain sufffcfent information
to satisfy requfremen%sof %he Rules of Civil Pro-
cedure are petitfons within Article 5547-82(a);how-
evep the determfnatfonof whether an informal letter
Hon. Paul B. Cox, page 4 (C-366)
Is sufficientto Satisfy such requirementsis in
the sound dlecretion of the court.
Very truly yours,
WAQOONER CARR
Attorney General
By:
Gordon Ifouser
Assistant
0H:nP:mlch
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
W. V. Geppert, Chairman
Paul Phy
J, S. Bracewell
APPROVEDFORTHEATTORNEY OH?ERAL
BY: Stanton Stone
4738-