Berry v. First National Bank of Olney

894 S.W.2d 558, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 512, 1995 WL 97474
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 10, 1995
Docket2-94-076-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 894 S.W.2d 558 (Berry v. First National Bank of Olney) 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
Berry v. First National Bank of Olney, 894 S.W.2d 558, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 512, 1995 WL 97474 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

DAY, Justice.

Benny J. and Linda Ray Berry (the Ber-rys) appeal the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of the First National Bank of Olney (the Bank). We affirm the summary judgment.

In 1988, the Berrys negotiated with Karla D. Baker Jenne for the purchase of the Olney Inn Motel. The Berrys and Jenne entered into a sales contract providing for the purchase of the motel for $102,800. Pri- or to the consummation of the sale, the Ber-rys contacted the Bank for a loan. The Bank and the Berrys had no prior relationship at that time. The Bank held a first lien deed of trust on the motel property for $26,543.23. Jenne paid off that mortgage at closing.

The Bank agreed to loan the Berrys $26,-500 for the purchase of the motel. Bill Han-nis, a vice-president and commercial loan officer of the Bank, allegedly told the Berrys during the loan negotiations that the purchase price was a “good deal” and that he had considered contacting a friend in the motel business about the sale of the motel. At the time Hannis allegedly made these statements, the Bank possessed an in-house appraisal valuing the property of the Olney Inn Motel at $60,000. The Bank, however, did not have any appraisal based on the going concern value of the motel.

The Berrys filed this lawsuit against the Bank in April 1992, alleging violations of a fiduciary duty allegedly created because Hannis stated the deal was a “good deal” and the Bank possessed an appraisal on the property that it did not disclose to the Berrys. After filing an answer, the Bank filed a motion for summary judgment. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment.

In points of error one, three, and four, the Berrys assert the trial court erred: (1) in granting the motion for summary judgment because a genuine issue of material fact existed on whether a fiduciary relationship existed between the Berrys and the Bank; (2) in ruling that, as a matter of law, no fiduciary relationship existed between the Berrys and the Bank because the Berrys alleged material facts showing the existence of a fiduciary relationship; and (3) in ruling that no fiduciary relationship existed because the existence of a fiduciary relationship was a question of fact to be determined by the trier of fact. We disagree.

In a summary judgment case, the issue on appeal is whether the movant met his summary judgment burden by establishing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Tex. R.Civ.P. 166a(c); Cate v. Dover Corp., 790 S.W.2d 559, 562 (Tex.1990); City of Houston v. Clear Creek Basin Auth., 589 S.W.2d 671, 678 (Tex.1979). The burden of proof is on the movant, Acker v. Texas Water Comm’n, 790 S.W.2d 299, 301-02 (Tex.1990), and all doubts about the existence of a genuine issue of material fact are resolved against the mov-ant. Cate, 790 S.W.2d at 562; Great Am. Reserve Ins. Co. v. San Antonio Plumbing Supply Co., 391 S.W.2d 41, 47 (Tex.1965). All conflicts in the evidence will be disregarded and the evidence favorable to the nonmov-ant will be accepted as true. Montgomery v. Kennedy, 669 S.W.2d 309, 311 (Tex.1984); Farley v. Prudential Ins. Co., 480 S.W.2d 176, 178 (Tex.1972). Evidence that favors the movant’s position will not be considered unless it is uncontroverted. Great Am., 391 S.W.2d at 47. Therefore, we must view the evidence and its reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Id.

*560 Here, the Bank asserted in its motion for summary judgment that it owed no duty to the Berrys under the facts of this case. The Berrys, however, claim that a material fact issue existed on whether a fiduciary or an informal fiduciary relationship, also known as a special or confidential relationship, existed between them and the Bank. See Crim Truck & Tractor v. Navistar Int’l Transp. Corp., 823 S.W.2d 591, 594 (Tex.1992).

Generally, whether a fiduciary or confidential relationship exists is a question of fact. Navistar, 823 S.W.2d at 594; Crutcher v. Continental Nat’l Bank, 884 S.W.2d 884, 886 (Tex.App.—El Paso 1994, writ denied) (citing Schiller v. Elick, 150 Tex. 363, 240 S.W.2d 997, 999 (1951) and Page Airways, Inc. v. Associated Radio Serv. Co., 545 S.W.2d 184 (Tex.Civ.App.—San Antonio 1976, writ ref'd n.r.e.)). Furthermore, fiduciary relationships include informal relationships that exist whenever one party relies on and trusts another. FDIC v. Coleman, 795 S.W.2d 706, 708-09 (Tex.1990); Crutcher, 884 S.W.2d at 886. The relationship between a bank and its customers, however, does not generally create a special or fiduciary relationship. Thigpen v. Locke, 363 S.W.2d 247, 253 (Tex.1962); Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. v. Kingston Investors Corp., 819 S.W.2d 607, 610 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1991, no writ); Victoria Bank & Trust Co. v. Brady, 779 S.W.2d 893, 902 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1989), rev’d in part on other grounds, 811 S.W.2d 931 (Tex.1991). Therefore, the Berrys must have alleged in their petition and response to the motion for summary judgment specific facts showing a special or fiduciary duty to create a material fact issue on whether a fiduciary or special relationship existed between them and the Bank.

The Berrys argue that the following four facts presented in their petition and response to the motion for summary judgment created a material fact issue on whether a fiduciary or special relationship existed between them and the Bank:

(1) The Bank had knowledge and possession of a substantially lower appraisal value for the motel, and the Berrys would not have entered into the loan had they known about the appraisal; 1

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Bluebook (online)
894 S.W.2d 558, 1995 Tex. App. LEXIS 512, 1995 WL 97474, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berry-v-first-national-bank-of-olney-texapp-1995.