AmSav Group, Inc. v. AMERICAN SAV. AND LOAN ASS'N OF BRAZORIA CTY.

796 S.W.2d 482, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 1649, 1990 WL 91333
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 5, 1990
DocketC14-88-885-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 796 S.W.2d 482 (AmSav Group, Inc. v. AMERICAN SAV. AND LOAN ASS'N OF BRAZORIA CTY.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
AmSav Group, Inc. v. AMERICAN SAV. AND LOAN ASS'N OF BRAZORIA CTY., 796 S.W.2d 482, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 1649, 1990 WL 91333 (Tex. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION

PAUL PRESSLER, Justice.

This is an appeal of a case concerning the sale and financing of loan and servicing rights. We modify the judgment so as to award appellee its attorney’s fees in accordance with the jury’s findings in answer to Special Issue No. 24. The judgment is affirmed in all other respects.

On September 20, 1986, the parties entered into contracts, effective July 31,1986, for the sale and financing of certain loan and servicing rights owned by appellee American Savings and Loan Association of Brazoria County (“American”) to appellant AmSav Group, Inc. Difficulties arose, and in May 1987 American filed suit against AmSav and appellant Richard Seib regarding those contracts. Shortly thereafter, American sued for payment of certain promissory notes. The trial court consolidated the two actions. AmSav asserted various counterclaims. The case was tried to a jury, which returned a substantial verdict for American.

AmSav and Seib appeal the judgment with seventeen points of error, and American asserts several cross-points. In point of error one, appellants argue that the judgment is void and unenforceable as a matter of law because the trial judge, having been invalidly appointed to hear this cause, lacked authority to enter the judgment.

At the request of the presiding judge of the Second Administrative Judicial Region, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, John L. Hill, Jr., assigned the Honorable Thomas F. Coleman to preside over this trial as a visiting judge. Justice Coleman resides within the same administrative region as the court to which he was assigned. The assignment of judges is governed by Tex.Gov’t.Code Ann. §§ 74.-001-.105 (Vernon 1988 and Supp.1990). State v. Prestar, 751 S.W.2d 477, 479 (Tex.1988). Under this chapter, specifically §§ 74.002 and 74.057, the Chief Justice has the power to assign judges from one administrative region to another. Id. However, under § 74.056, the presiding judge of the administrative region is given the authority to assign judges residing within the region. According to § 74.049, the Chief Justice may act for the presiding judge and make assignments within an administrative region when the latter is incapacitated, dies, resigns or disqualifies himself. Id. None of those circumstances existed in this case. Appellants argue that the assignment was therefore invalid. See id.

Appellants admit, however, that they did not object to Justice Coleman’s assignment prior to perfecting their appeal. They contend that the error must, therefore, turn on whether the invalid assignment is void or voidable. If the assignment is void, it may be attacked in any court at any time. There is nothing, however, to show that the order is void. It is merely voidable.

Appellants cite a number of cases in support of their argument, but what distinguishes this case is appellants’ failure to object to the assignment prior to trial. Under Texas law, the disqualification of a judge on non-constitutional grounds is waived if not raised by a proper motion to recuse. Humble Exploration Co. v. Browning, 677 S.W.2d 111, 114 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1984, no writ) (citing Buckholts Indep. School Dist. v. Glaser, 632 S.W.2d 146, 148 (Tex.1982)). Section 74.053 of the Government Code sets out the procedure for objecting to an assigned judge. Section 74.053(c) states that such objection must be filed before the first hearing or trial, including pretrial hearings, over which the assigned judge is to preside. (Vernon Supp.1990); see also Thompson v. State *486 Bar of Texas, 728 S.W.2d 854, 855 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1987, no writ).

This ease took six weeks to try and produced a thirty-volume statement of facts. To reverse the judgment on this issue alone in light of appellants’ failure to object to Justice Coleman’s assignment prior to trial would be a misuse of judicial resources. Point of error one is overruled.

In points of error two, three and four, appellants contend that the trial court erred in overruling their objections to the testimony of certain witnesses. Appellants claim that William Michael Yentzen and Dan Rood were not identified in answers to interrogatories as persons having knowledge of relevant facts. They also claim that appellee failed to supplement the deposition testimony of Stacy Smith prior to trial.

Appellee’s response to an interrogatory asking for the names and addresses of all persons having knowledge of relevant facts gave a long list of names, including “Board of Directors of American Savings and Loan Association and American Savings Mortgage Corporation.” The answer further directed appellants to refer to the depositions taken in this cause. Six days prior to the response, appellants took the deposition of the chairman of the board, who identified its members, including Yentzen. Appellants subsequently took Yentzen’s deposition twice. We note that appellants responded similarly to an interrogatory propounded by appellee. While this is probably a questionable way to identify persons in response to an interrogatory, this is not a case where witnesses were not identified at all. Appellants had Yentzen’s name and had taken his deposition. Therefore, Yent-zen was sufficiently identified in answers to interrogatories.

Rood was not identified by appellee in response to interrogatories and was, therefore, not permitted to testify during appellee’s case in chief. However, he was allowed to testify in rebuttal. Appellants had alleged that Rood, Chris Scruggs and appellee had conspired to depose appellee’s chairman of the board and rid appellee of its contractual entanglements with AmSav. Rood testified very briefly. He identified himself and denied Seib’s testimony that he had told Seib the chairman would be removed and then he and Scruggs would be running the savings association. Appellants claim this testimony was harmful in light of the take nothing judgment on their conspiracy counterclaim.

Appellants themselves had identified Rood in answers to interrogatories and had deposed him. Rood was, therefore, known to appellants. In addition, as appellee stated at trial, good cause existed to permit the testimony to deny statements that appellee could not anticipate prior to trial. See Gannett Outdoor Co. of Texas v. Kubeczka, 710 S.W.2d 79, 83-85 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1986, no writ).

Stacy Smith was appellee's senior vice-president for finance. During Smith’s deposition, he was asked about his knowledge of the damages claimed by appellee. He responded that his calculations were incomplete but that they should be completed and furnished to appellants within two weeks, which was when the case was set for trial. The trial was continued, and the calculations were actually given to appellants at 1:30 p.m. the day before Smith testified. Appellants claim the admission of Smith’s damages calculations was harmful because the jury’s answers to the damages questions virtually tracked them.

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Bluebook (online)
796 S.W.2d 482, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 1649, 1990 WL 91333, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amsav-group-inc-v-american-sav-and-loan-assn-of-brazoria-cty-texapp-1990.