Terry Randall v. Herbert J. Walker D/B/A Walker Water Well And Walker Water Well Services, LLC ( 2015 )

ACCEPTED
03-15-00317-CV
8311981
THIRD COURT OF APPEALS
AUSTIN, TEXAS
12/18/2015 4:51:31 PM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
CLERK
TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN
____________________ FILED IN
3rd COURT OF APPEALS
NO. 03-15-00317-CV AUSTIN, TEXAS
________________________ 12/18/2015 4:51:31 PM
JEFFREY D. KYLE
Clerk
TERRY RANDALL
Appellant
v.
HERBERT WALKER D/B/A, WALKER WATER WELLS AND
WALKER WATER WELL SERVICES, LLC
Appellees
___________________
Appellees’ Brief
___________________
Alex Metcalf
807 Pecan Street
Bastrop, TX 78602
512-303-6963 (phone)
512-303-6766 (fax)
rule21a@lostpineslawyer.com
State Bar No. 24058000
Attorney for Appellees
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Table of Authorities.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Statement of the Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Issue Presented. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Statement of Facts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Summary of the Argument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Argument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Issue #1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Texas law allows a trial court to disregard a jury’s findings. After a trial
during which the plaintiff affirmatively testified that he did not have a
meeting of the minds with the defendant on the essential terms of a
contract, the Court granted a motion for judgment notwithstanding the
verdict. Can the judgment of the trial court can be upheld on any of the
grounds asserted in the defendant’s motion?
Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Certificate of Service.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Certificate of Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Arthur Anderson & Co. v. Perry Equip. Corp., 945 S.W.2d 812 (Tex. 1997). . . . . 7
Baylor Univ. v. Sonnichsen, 221 S.W.3d 632 (Tex.2007). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Bickle v. City of Panhandle, 43 S.W.2d 640 (Tex.Civ.App.
Amarillo 1931, writ ref'd). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
David J. Sacks, P.C. v. Haden, 266 S.W.3d 447 (Tex.2008). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Engelman Irrigation Dist. v. Shields Bros., 960 S.W.2d 343
(Tex.App.–Corpus Christi 1997).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Fort Bend Cnty. Drainage Dist. v. Sbrusch, 818 S.W.2d 392
(Tex. 1991). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Gasmark, Ltd. v. Kimball Energy Corp., 868 S.W.2d 925
(Tex.App.–Fort Worth 1994, no writ).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Great Am. Ins. v. North Austin MUD, 908 S.W.2d 415 (Tex. 1995). . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Gulf Coast Farmers Coop. v. Valley Co-Op Oil Mill, 572 S.W.2d 726
(Tex.Civ.App. – Corpus Christi 1978, no writ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Hodges v. Rajpal, 459 S.W.3d 237 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2015, no pet.). . . . . . . . . . . 8
Monk v. Dallas Brake & Clutch Serv. Co., 697 S.W.2d 780
(Tex. App.-Dallas, 1985, writ ref'd n.r.e.).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Shin-Con Dev. Corp. v. I.P. Invs., 270 S.W.3d 759
(Tex.App. – Dallas 2008, pet. denied). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
T.O. Stanley Boot Co. v. Bank of El Paso, 847 S.W.2d 218 (Tex. 1992).. . . . . . . . 6
Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. v. Martinez, 977 S.W.2d 328 (Tex. 1998). . . . . . . . . 3
iii
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Pursuant to Rule 38.2(a)(1)(B), Appellee elects not to include a new Statement
of the Case, and hereby adopts the Statement of the Case contained in Appellant’s
brief.
ISSUE PRESENTED
I. Issue Number One:
Texas law allows a trial court to disregard a jury’s findings. After a trial
during which the plaintiff affirmatively testified that he did not have a meeting
of the minds with the defendant on the essential terms of a contract, the Court
granted a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Can the judgment
of the trial court can be upheld on any of the grounds asserted in the
defendant’s motion?
STATEMENT OF FACTS
Pursuant to Rule 38.2(a)(1)(B), Appellee elects not to include an entirely new
Statement of Facts. To the extent that the facts cited in Appellant’s brief require
supplementation, Appellee has included those facts, along with citations to the record,
in the Argument section of his brief.
SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
The trial court did not err when it granted Appellee’s motion for JNOV. The
evidence was legally insufficient to support the jury’s answers. Additionally, facts
contrary to the jury’s answers were established as a matter of law. Since the trial
court granted the motion without specifying the grounds it relied upon, the Appellant
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has the burden of disproving every grounds raised in Appellee’s motion. Appellant
has not carried this high burden.
ARGUMENT
Texas law allows a trial court to disregard a jury’s findings. After a trial during
which the plaintiff affirmatively testified that he did not have a meeting of the minds
with the defendant on the essential terms of a contract, the Court granted a motion for
judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Can the judgment of the trial court can be
upheld on any of the grounds asserted in the defendant’s motion?
I. Procedural Background
Following a jury verdict, Appellee filed a Motion for Judgment Non Obstante
Veredicto. CR 709-711. Appellee’s Motion set out numerous grounds for the Court
to disregard the jury’s findings. Not only did Appellee’s motion challenge the
sufficiency of the evidence supporting each of the four questions, the motion also
averred that contrary facts were conclusively established as to each of the first two
questions. Id at 710. After holding a hearing on Appellee’s motion, the Court
ordered the parties to brief one of the many issues presented: was there legally
sufficient evidence of the formation of an enforceable agreement. Appellee filed a
brief addressing that issue as ordered. CR 724-726. The Court then signed a
judgment which grants Appellee’s motion, but does not specify the grounds upon
which it relied. CR 739.
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II. Relevant Law and Standard of Review
Since the trial court granted Appellee’s motion for JNOV, but did not state the
ground relied upon, Appellant has the burden of showing that the judgment cannot
be sustained on any of the grounds stated in the motion. Fort Bend Cnty. Drainage
Dist. v. Sbrusch, 818 S.W.2d 392, 394 (Tex. 1991). This Court must uphold the trial
court’s judgment if: the record discloses a complete absence of evidence of any vital
fact; the court is barred by rules of law or evidence from giving weight to the only
evidence offered to prove any vital fact; the only evidence offered to prove any vital
fact is no more than a mere scintilla; or the evidence establishes conclusively the
opposite of any vital fact. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. v. Martinez, 977 S.W.2d 328,
334 (Tex. 1998).
III. Appellant has not carried his burden of establishing that the judgment cannot
be sustained on any of the grounds stated in the motion.
The motion for JNOV on which the trial court granted judgment contained
numerous grounds. As to each of the four jury questions, the motion challenged the
sufficiency of the evidence to support the answer. CR 709-710. The motion also
asserted that the evidence conclusively established the opposite of essential elements
to the jury’s answers to questions 1 and two. Id at 710. Appellant picks and chooses
which of these grounds to attack in his brief, but fails to carry his burden of negating
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every element contained in the motion.
A. Appellant has not shown sufficient evidence in the record of each
essential element of the jury’s findings.
The motion for JNOV challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support the
answers to questions 1, 2, 3, and 4. CR 709-710. Since the motion was granted, the
burden is on Appellant to show that there is legally sufficient evidence as to every
essential element supporting the jury’s findings on each question. Monk v. Dallas
Brake & Clutch Serv. Co., 697 S.W.2d 780, 783–84 (Tex. App.-Dallas, 1985, writ
ref'd n.r.e.). This the Appellant has not done.
1. Appellant has not shown sufficient evidence of each essential
element of Question 1.
The first question of the jury charge asked about the formation of a legally
enforceable contract. The Texas Supreme Court has held that proof of a valid,
enforceable contract requires proof of the following 5 elements: an offer; an
acceptance; mutual assent; execution and delivery of the contract with the intent that
it be mutual and binding; and consideration supporting the contract. Baylor Univ. v.
Sonnichsen, 221 S.W.3d 632, 635 (Tex.2007). In order to succeed in this Court, the
Appellant’s brief must cite to legally sufficient evidence of each of these elements.
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a. Offer
To create a valid, enforceable contract, the terms of any offer must be "clear
and definite." Engelman Irrigation Dist. v. Shields Bros., 960 S.W.2d 343, 352
(Tex.App.–Corpus Christi 1997). Additionally, all of the essential terms of the offer
must be communicated to the offeree. Id. Appellant attempts to characterize his own
testimony as evidence of a clear and definite offer. As the Record makes clear, this
is far from the truth. Appellant’s testimony was actually quite convoluted on the
terms that were offered, and on whether or not these terms were communicated to
Appellee. For instance, Appellant describes a process that started a week or more
before the Appellee or anyone associated with him started doing any work for the
Appellant and continued until sometime during or after the work was performed.
During that process, the terms of the "offer" apparently changed repeatedly regarding
the depth to which the wells would be drilled, who would do the drilling, who would
be paid for the work, and how payment would be achieved.
b. Acceptance
Much as the offer must be clear and definite and communicated to the offeree,
an acceptance must be equally clear and definite. Gulf Coast Farmers Coop. v.
Valley Co-Op Oil Mill, 572 S.W.2d 726, 737 (Tex.Civ.App. – Corpus Christi 1978,
no writ). Additionally, to create a valid, enforceable contract, the acceptance must
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be identical to the offer. Gasmark, Ltd. v. Kimball Energy Corp., 868 S.W.2d 925,
928 (Tex.App.–Fort Worth 1994, no writ). Appellant has offered no evidence that
Appellee ever accepted an clear and definite offer.
c. Mutual Assent
It is a fundamental principal of contract law that, to form a binding contract,
the parties must have a "meeting of the minds" on the essential terms of the contract.
David J. Sacks, P.C. v. Haden, 266 S.W.3d 447, 450 (Tex.2008). In other words, the
essential terms of the contract must be agreed on before a court can enforce the
contract. T.O. Stanley Boot Co. v. Bank of El Paso, 847 S.W.2d 218, 221 (Tex.
1992). In this case, not only did Appellant fail to provide sufficient evidence of
mutual assent, Appellant actually testified that he and Appellee "weren't on the same
page" about the terms of any agreement. III RR 122:13-25.
Since Appellant has failed to provide sufficient evidence of each essential
element supporting the jury’s answer to Question 1, the judgment of the trial court
must be upheld.
2. Appellant has not shown sufficient evidence of each essential
element of Question 3.
Appellant has also failed to provide sufficient evidence supporting the jury’s
answer to the damages question. In response to Question 3, the jury found damages
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of $42,500. Appellee’s motion for JNOV challenged the sufficiency of the evidence
to support this number. Appellant has not met his burden of showing legally
sufficient evidence which would allow the jury to arrive at this amount.
3. Appellant has not shown sufficient evidence of each essential
element of Question 4.
Finally, Appellant has failed to show sufficient evidence supporting the award
of attorney’s fees in this case. The essential elements required to support the jury’s
answer to Question 4 include, among others, that Appellant presented his claim to
Appellee, and that the fees were reasonable. Great Am. Ins. v. North Austin MUD,
908 S.W.2d 415, 427 (Tex. 1995). Specifically, since Appellant’s claim for
attorney’s fees arises under chapter 38 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code,
Appellant had the burden of proving that it presented its claim for payment to
Appellee. Shin-Con Dev. Corp. v. I.P. Invs., 270 S.W.3d 759,768 (Tex.App. – Dallas
2008, pet. denied). Appellant was also required to present legally sufficient evidence
of the reasonableness of the attorney’s fees based upon the Arthur Anderson factors.
Arthur Anderson & Co. v. Perry Equip. Corp., 945 S.W.2d 812, 818 (Tex. 1997).
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B. Appellant has not shown that the evidence does not conclusively
establish the opposite of each essential element of the jury’s findings.
Appellee’s motion also asserted as grounds for JNOV that a fact contrary to an
essential element supporting the jury’s findings on Questions 1 and 2 was
conclusively established. CR 710. The Appellant must also therefore show that the
evidence does not conclusively establish the opposite of each element of those
findings. Hodges v. Rajpal, 459 S.W.3d 237, 243 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2015, no pet.).
This the Appellant has not done.
PRAYER
In light of the foregoing, Appellee respectfully prays the Court to affirm the
trial court's judgment.
Respectfully submitted,
Alex Metcalf
807 Pecan Street
Bastrop, Texas 78602
Tel: (512) 303-6963
Fax: (512) 303-6766
rule21a@lostpineslawyer.com
By: /s/ Alex Metcalf
Alex Metcalf
State Bar No. 24058000
Attorney for Appellees
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Certificate of Service
I certify that a true copy of this Appellee’s Brief was served in accordance with
rule 9.5 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure on each party or that party's lead
counsel as follows:
Party: Terry Randall
Lead attorney: S. Cory Sells
Address: 1111 North Loop West, Suite 702, Houston, Texas 77008
Method of service: By fax
Date of service: December 18, 2015
By: /s/ Alex Metcalf
Alex Metcalf
State Bar No. 24058000
Attorney for Appellees
Certificate of Compliance
I certify that this computer-generated document contains 1,533 words, as
reported by the computer program used to prepare the document.
By: /s/ Alex Metcalf
Alex Metcalf
State Bar No. 24058000
Attorney for Appellee
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