Born v. Virginia City Dance Hall & Saloon

857 S.W.2d 951, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1851, 1993 WL 232204
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 1, 1993
DocketC14-92-00918-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 857 S.W.2d 951 (Born v. Virginia City Dance Hall & Saloon) 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
Born v. Virginia City Dance Hall & Saloon, 857 S.W.2d 951, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1851, 1993 WL 232204 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBERT E. MORSE, Jr., Justice.

The survivors of William B. Born, Jr. appeal from a take nothing judgment rendered in favor of appellee, Virginia City Dance Hall and Saloon. Appellants bring six points of error. We affirm.

Appellants filed a wrongful death suit against appellee, and against three parties who are not part of this appeal, including Jerry B. Nicar, Movimex, Inc., and Carlos Tamborrel. Appellants contended that ap-pellee violated the Texas Dram Shop Act by serving the decedent and Jerry Nicar alcohol after they had become intoxicated. Appellants further claimed that Nicar, who was allegedly intoxicated, was negligent in failing to warn the decedent and in operating the vehicle that was involved in a collision which resulted in the death of William Born, Jr.

Upon motion, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Movimex, Inc. and Carlos Tamborrel. The case proceeded to trial, where the proceedings were electronically recorded. After all parties had rested and while the jury was deliberating, appellants and Nicar reached a settlement and filed this agreement with the court. The jury returned a verdict finding no negligence on the part of appellee, Ni-car, or the decedent. Thus, the trial court entered judgment awarding appellants $25,000.00 based on their settlement agreement with Nicar and ordering that appellants take nothing against appellee.

In their first point of error, appellants contend the judgment should be reversed because there is an insufficient record on appeal. Because the trial was electronically recorded and the written transcription contains many omissions and errors, appellants argue that Rule 50(e) is applicable and that they are entitled to a new trial. Rule 50(e) pertains to lost or destroyed records and provides:

When the record or any portion thereof is lost or destroyed, it may be substituted in the trial court and when so substituted the record may be prepared and transmitted to the appellate court as in other cases. If the appellant has made a timely request for a statement of facts, but the court reporter’s notes and records have been lost or destroyed without appellant’s fault, the appellant is entitled to a new trial unless the parties agree on a statement of facts.

Tex.R.App.P. 50(e). In interpreting this rule, Texas courts have held that there are three requirements for a new trial under Rule 50(e):

1. That the appellant has made a timely request for a statement of facts;
2. That the court reporter’s notes and records have been lost or destroyed without the appellant’s fault;
3. That the parties cannot agree on a statement of facts.

*954 Hidalgo, Chambers & Co. v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 790 S.W.2d 700, 702 (Tex. App. — Waco 1990, writ denied).

Appellee offers three reasons why appellant’s argument should fail. First, appellee notes that the record is not lost or destroyed and therefore, Rule 50(e) is inapplicable. Second, appellant has not established that the parties cannot agree on the unidentified speakers and inaudible responses. Finally, appellee contends that appellant has not attempted to follow the methods for correcting inaccuracies in the records set out in Rule 55(a).

We agree with appellee that appellants’ claim is not that the record was lost or destroyed, but that the use of an audiotape recording system resulted in a transcription with inaccuracies. Rule 55 provides methods for correcting any inaccuracies in the record; however, appellants have not requested relief under this rule. Appellants also have not shown that the parties cannot agree on a statement of facts.

Furthermore, appellants have not attached the entire written transcription of the taped trial. Appellants counter that the Texas Supreme Court rules for electronic recording of court proceedings only require a transcription of relevant portions of the recorded statement of facts. Furthermore, these rules provide for the following presumption:

The appellate court shall presume that nothing omitted from the transcriptions in the appendices is relevant to any point raised or to the disposition of the appeal. The appellate court shall have no duty to review any part of an electronic recording.

Rules GoveRning the ProceduRe for Making a Record of Court Proceedings in Harris County by Electronic Recording 6 (1991). This presumption is the same as the presumption in Rule 53(d) regarding partial statements of facts. Rule 53(d) states that when a partial statement of facts is filed, there is a “presumption on appeal that nothing omitted from the record is relevant to any of the points specified or to the disposition of the appeal.” Tex.R.App.P. 53(d). Despite this presumption, the supreme court has held that an appellant complaining of no evidence to support a trial court finding could not show error in the absence of a complete or agreed statement of facts. Englander Co. v. Kennedy, 428 S.W.2d 806, 807 (Tex.1968) (per curiam). Texas courts have extended this analysis to cases where the appellant complains of insufficient evidence in an electronically recorded trial. Rowlett v. Colortek, Inc., 741 S.W.2d 206, 208 (Tex.App. — Dallas 1987, writ denied).

Rule 50(d) requires an appellant to present a sufficient record to show error requiring reversal. Tex.R.App.P. 50(d). Appellants argue that the errors and omissions 1 render the record wholly insufficient for the prosecution of appeal and for appellate review, but appellants do not specify how these errors or omissions are harmful. Because appellants have only presented the pages of the written transcription that contain the errors or omissions, we are unable to determine whether these defects are harmful. Appellants have not produced a sufficient record to demonstrate error requiring reversal, as required under Rule 50(d). Therefore, we overrule point of error one.

In point of error two, appellants claim the trial court abused its discretion by inequitably granting strikes for cause. The discussion under this point of error is unclear. 2 Appellants seem to be arguing *955 that, instead of granting challenges for cause based on a determination whether the jurors were biased or prejudiced, the trial court granted a certain number of challenges per cause so that each party would have six peremptory strikes.

The trial court’s refusal to excuse an unqualified juror does not necessarily result in harmful error. The harm occurs when the party uses all of his peremptory challenges and is thereby prevented from striking other objectionable jurors from the list. Hallett v. Houston Northwest, Med. Center, 689 S.W.2d 888, 890 (Tex.1985).

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Bluebook (online)
857 S.W.2d 951, 1993 Tex. App. LEXIS 1851, 1993 WL 232204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/born-v-virginia-city-dance-hall-saloon-texapp-1993.