Fertitta Hospitality, LLC v. Daniel Cole O'Balle ( 2014 )

Opinion issued November 6, 2014.
In The
C ourt of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-14-00193-CV
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FERTITTA HOSPITALITY, LLC, APPELLANT
V.
DANIEL COLE O’BALLE, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 11th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2010-64803
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Daniel Cole O’Balle and eleven others sue Fertitta Hospitality, LLC for
injuries sustained during a wedding reception melee at the San Luis Hotel in
Galveston. Relying on former section 51.014(d) of the Civil Practice and
Remedies Code and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 28.2, the parties appeal
from the trial court’s interlocutory summary judgment order. 1 At our request, the
parties provided supplemental jurisdictional briefing. We conclude that we lack
appellate jurisdiction over the interlocutory order; we therefore dismiss the appeal.
Background
The plaintiffs sue Fertitta for ordinary negligence; negligence per se;
negligent supervision, training, and hiring; premises liability; and gross negligence.
According to the plaintiffs’ pleadings, the incidents giving rise to their injuries
were sparked by a dispute between O’Balle and Christopher Sanderson, an off-
duty City of Galveston police officer, who was working as a security guard for
Fertitta. The plaintiffs’ claims involve Sanderson’s conduct, as well as that of a
non-officer Fertitta-employed security guard and of additional members of the
Galveston police force eventually called to the scene. The officers arrested
O’Balle and charged him with resisting arrest; O’Balle ultimately pleaded no
contest to public intoxication.
The plaintiffs’ claims emerge from a single evening, but not a single
incident: the alleged wrongful conduct spans several locations and involves
different people and different officers at different times, allegedly in different
1
See Act of May 27, 2005, 79th Leg. R.S., ch. 1051, § 1, 2005 Gen. Laws 3512,
3513 (applying to lawsuit filed on or after September 1, 2005), amended by Act of
May 25, 2011, 82nd Leg., ch. 203, § 3.01, 2011 Tex. Gen. Laws 758, 759 (current
version at TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN § 51.014 (West 2014); TEX. R.
APP . P. 28.2.
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roles. The plaintiffs, the security guards, and the responding officers report vastly
different versions of what transpired.
Fertitta moved for summary judgment against O’Balle and ten of the eleven
plaintiff wedding guests, contending that Fertitta is not vicariously liable for the
conduct of any of the Galveston police officers, including Sanderson. Because
Sanderson had called the police for assistance before he allegedly injured O’Balle,
Fertitta argues that Sanderson had assumed the status of an active, on-duty officer.
Fertitta similarly disclaims vicarious liability for the injuries alleged by ten of the
plaintiffs because they resulted from contact with on-duty Galveston police
officers who responded to Sanderson’s call. Fertitta also challenges the proximate
cause element of the plaintiffs’ claims. The trial court denied summary judgment
as to O’Balle’s claims, but granted partial summary judgment in favor of Ferttita
on the other ten guests’ claims.
The parties sought permission to file an interlocutory appeal of the
interlocutory summary judgment order under the provision of the Civil Practice
and Remedies Code applicable to cases filed before September 1, 2011. TEX. CIV.
PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. § 51.014(d) (West 2014); see also TEX. R. APP . P. 28.3
cmt. (explaining that 2011 amendments, which eliminate requirement that parties
agree to appeal and reinstated requirement that court of appeals also permit appeal,
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apply only to cases filed on or after September 1, 2011). The trial court’s order
granting permission to appeal declares that:
the Court has made the following substantive rulings on controlling
questions of law as the basis for its order for this Order on the Motion
for Summary Judgment:
(1) There is a genuine issue of material fact as to the status of
Christopher Sanderson as an on-duty police officer at the time that he
allegedy injured Plantiff Daniel Cole O’Balle.
(2) Defendant Fertitta Hospitality LLC owed no duty to Plaintiffs
Brandon A. Backe, Shannon Belluomini, Chris Cornwell, Matthew L.
Goodson, Michael R. McMillan, Gilbert E. O’Balle, Jr., Justin
Packard, Calvin Silva, Aaron Trevino, and Charles Young; and owed
no duty to Plaintiff Daniel Cole O’Balle if Christopher Sanderson was
acting as an on-duty police officer at the time that he allegedly injured
Plaintiff Daniel Cole O’Balle; because:
• Plaintiffs must meet the foreseeability test set forth by the Court in
Timberwalk Apartments v. Cain, 972 S.W.3d 749 (Tex. 1998), and
they failed to do so.
• A premises owner owes no duty to patrons on the premises to
protect against the tortious or illegal acts of police officers called
to the premises;
• Injuries to patrons on the premises caused by police officers called
to the premises are not foreseeable to the premises owner as an
element of duty.
• Plaintiffs argue that they are not required to meet the foreseeability
test set forth by the Court in Timberwalk Apartments v. Cain, 972
S.W.3d 749 (Tex. 1998) because they plead in the alternative that
this case involves negligent activity. Even if Plaintiffs are correct,
summary judgment is proper because a premises owner owes no
duty to patrons on the premises to protect against the tortious or
illegal acts of police officers called to the premises and because
injuries to patrons on the premises caused by police officers called
to the premises are not foreseeable to the premises owner as an
element of duty.
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(3) Any breach of a duty by Defendant Fertitta Hospitality LLC was
not the proximate cause of any damages to Plaintiffs Brandon A.
Backe, Shannon Belluomini, Chris Cornwell, Matthew L.
Goodson, Michael R. McMillan, Gilbert E. O’Balle, Jr., Justin
Packard, Calvin Silva, Aaron Trevino, and Charles Young; and to
Plaintiff Daniel Cole O’Balle if Christopher Sanderson was acting
as an on-duty police officer at the time that he allegedly injured
Plaintiff Daniel Cole O’Balle, because such damages were not
foreseeable to Defendant Fertitta Hospitality LLC.
The ruling above does not finally determine the parties’ disputes, which continue
both in state and federal court. The parties seek interim review of it.
Appellate Jurisdiction
To seek appellate review of this interlocutory order—one that would not
otherwise be appealable—the parties must establish that: (1) the order involves a
“controlling question of law as to which there is a substantial ground for difference
of opinion” and (2) an immediate appeal from the order “may materially advance
the ultimate termination of the litigation.” TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN.
§ 51.014(d); TEX. R. APP . P. 28.3(e)(4); TEX. R. CIV. P. 168.
Fertitta relies on Gulley v. State Farm Lloyds, 350 S.W.3d 204 (Tex. App.—
San Antonio 2011, no pet), to contend that the parties’ agreement that the trial
court’s order meets these two requirements, standing alone, establishes jurisdiction
under the applicable version of the statute. In Gulley, an insurer and a homeowner
sought the trial court’s resolution, through competing summary judgment motions,
of whether the homeowner’s insurance policy covered a below-slab plumbing leak.
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Id. at 205. The resolution of the case depended on which of two different policy
provisions—the dwelling foundation endorsement or the water damage
endorsement—applied. Id. at 206. The trial court did not rule on the issue, but
agreed with the parties that the question controlled the resolution of the dispute.
Id. at 207.
The San Antonio Court of Appeals accepted jurisdiction over the appeal, but
did not answer the question presented, observing that it had not been answered in
the trial court. Id. at 208. It explained that section 51.014(d) was not a mechanism
for presenting a certified question to a court of appeals, and thus held that the trial
court erred in declining to rule. Id. at 207–08.
The mandamus-like relief provided in Gulley does not inform our
application of section 51.014(d) to this case. We disagree that the parties’
agreement alone confers appellate jurisdiction; rather, our jurisdiction derives
solely from Texas’s Constitution and statutes. See Heckman v. Williamson Cnty.,
369 S.W.3d 137, 146 (Tex. 2012). We independently determine whether we have
jurisdiction over an appeal, even if no party contests jurisdiction. M.O. Dental
Lab. v. Rape, 139 S.W.3d 671, 673 (Tex. 2004) (per curiam). We strictly apply
statutes permitting interlocutory appeals because they comprise a narrow exception
to the general rule that interlocutory orders are not immediately appealable. CMH
Homes v. Perez. 340 S.W.3d 444, 447–48 (Tex. 2011). And section 51.014(d)
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requires more than the parties’ agreement: in addition, we must find that a
controlling question of law exists and an appellate ruling on it will materially
advance the litigation. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 51.014(d). The record
does not support either conclusion.
Generally, an appeal may be taken from an order denying a summary
judgment only if a statute specifically authorizes one; otherwise a denial is nothing
more than a determination that a material fact issue exists. See Lehmann v. Har-
Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191, 195 (Tex. 2001). The court’s ruling in this case recites
that “fact issues remain” as to whether Sanderson was acting in the role of an on-
duty officer when he allegedly injured Cole.
An off-duty designation is not dispositive of whether an officer was acting
outside the scope of his authority, because a peace officer who discharges duties
generally assigned to him acts in his official capacity. Dillard’s, Inc. v. Newman,
299 S.W.3d 144, 148 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2008, pet. denied) (citing City of
Lancaster v. Chambers, 883 S.W.2d 650, 658 (Tex. 1994)). A private employer
may be liable when an off-duty officer is “engaged in protecting the employer’s
property, ejecting trespassers, or enforcing rules and regulations promulgated by
the employer.” Mansfield v. C.F. Bent Tree Apt. Ltd. P’ship, 37 S.W.3d 145, 150
(Tex. App.—Austin 2001, no pet.). In contrast, if the officer acts to enforce
general laws, the private employer incurs no vicarious responsibility. Id. For
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example, the existence of reasonable suspicion to detain a person for investigation
may trigger an officer’s public duty. Morgan v. City of Alvin, 175 S.W.3d 408,
416 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, no pet.). The determination of whether
an off-duty officer is acting within the scope of his private employment or his
public authority generally “presents embedded fact issues that are best left to the
trier of fact.” Dillard’s, 299 S.W.3d at 148.
In Mansfield, the Austin Court of Appeals decided that the officer was
performing his public duty, because the officer identified himself and displayed his
badge to the plaintiff before arresting him. See 37 S.W.3d at 150. Similarly, in
Ogg v. Dillard’s, Inc., the Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment
dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims because an off-duty officer working as a security
guard arrested the plaintiff in the course of investigating him for possible credit
card abuse. 239 S.W.3d 409, 419 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2007, pet. denied).
Regardless of the reason for the initial detention, our sister court held, the officer
acted in his public capacity when he arrested the plaintiff. Id. at 414–15, 419.
In both Mansfield and Ogg, the alleged wrongful conduct and injuries
occurred under circumstances alerting the plaintiff that he was under arrest. In
contrast, this case presents a continuum of allegedly wrongful conduct and disputes
as to whether Fertitta retained control over the off-duty officer and the premises.
In ruling that fact issues remain, the trial court’s order does not purport to
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determine a controlling legal issue. Neither party identifies any statutory or Texas
Supreme Court authority that supports or rejects a rule of decision that is so
outcome-determinative as to materially advance the litigation; the trial court itself
determined that it was the existence of questions of fact that precluded summary
judgment. The parties relate the facts of this case to existing case law and argue
the application of that authority to the facts at hand. But they do not agree on the
authority that controls or about the facts. In this sense, the complained-of order is
not different than any other denial of a summary-judgment motion.
We decline to confer appellate jurisdiction over the appeal because we
discern no line for granting it other than that the parties have agreed to it. “The
legislature’s institution of this procedure authorizing a trial court to permit an
immediate appeal of an interlocutory order is . . . premised on the trial court
having first made a substantive ruling on the controlling legal issue being
appealed.” Borowski v. Ayers, 432 S.W.3d 344, 347 (Tex. App.—Waco 2013, no
pet.), quoted in Great Am. E&S Ins. Co. v. LaPolla Indus., Inc., No. 01-14-00372-
CV, 2014 WL 2895770, at *2 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 24, 2014, no
pet.) (per curiam). Because the parties have identified neither a controlling legal
principle nor an agreed set of facts, the trial court’s denial of Fertitta’s motion for
summary judgment is not a ruling on a controlling issue of law that section
51.014(d) requires.
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For similar reasons, we reject the attempted interlocutory appeal of the trial
court’s summary judgment in favor of Fertitta on the claims brought by the guests
involving the responding officers. The ten guests appeal the trial court’s summary
judgment rulings that (1) Fertitta owed no duty to them for any alleged injuries
arising out of the conduct of the on-duty police officers called to their premises,
and (2) any breach of duty was not the proximate cause of the plaintiffs’ alleged
injuries. The guests contend that the trial court erred in its application of concepts
of duty for the criminal conduct of another and the corresponding foreseeability of
the harm they sustained. They observe that an appellate ruling will “enable a more
meaningful evaluation of the case,” but concede that the litigation will continue
with remaining claims and remaining defendants, regardless of this appeal. A
“meaningful evaluation” standard would apply to our review of nearly any trial
court ruling. It does not present a discernible demarcation for “controlling issues”
or “material advancement” when balanced against the costs of serial interim
appellate rulings. The guests have a remedy at hand: to sever these claims from
those that remain and appeal the judgments against them, or to appeal the summary
judgment rulings upon this dispute’s final conclusion. Orders granting summary
judgment are appealable upon severance. See Diversified Fin. Sys., Inc. v. Hill,
Heard, O'Neal, Gilstrap & Goetz, P.C., 63 S.W.3d 795, 795 (Tex. 2001) (per
curiam) (“As a rule, the severance of an interlocutory judgment into a separate
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cause makes it final.”). We hold that we do not have jurisdiction over the cross-
appeal of the interlocutory partial summary judgment order.
Conclusion
Because the challenged trial court rulings do not meet the requirements for
an interlocutory appeal pursuant to the then-applicable statute, we dismiss the
appeal for want of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Jane Bland
Justice
Panel consists of Justices Higley, Bland, and Sharp.
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