Bossin v. Towber

894 S.W.2d 25, 1994 WL 707988
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 16, 1995
DocketB14-93-00554-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by57 cases

This text of 894 S.W.2d 25 (Bossin v. Towber) 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
Bossin v. Towber, 894 S.W.2d 25, 1994 WL 707988 (Tex. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinions

OPINION

SEARS, Justice.

This appeal is from a summary judgment in favor of defendants below, appellees Preston Towber (“Towber”), Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C. (“Hirsch”), and Bank One Texas, [28]*28N.A. (the “Bank”). Appellant, Elliott Bossin (“Bossin”) sued appellees for damages claiming false imprisonment, abuse of process, and negligence. Bossin’s claims arose when he was taken into custody pursuant to a writ of attachment issued after unsuccessful attempts to serve him with a subpoena to appear at trial. Raising eight points of error, Bossin appeals the granting of summary judgment against him as well as the denial of his motion for partial summary judgment. We affirm.

This lawsuit results from events which occurred in an adversary proceeding to revoke the bankruptcy discharge of the debtor, George R. Bolin (“Bolin”).1 The Bank was one of Bolin’s creditors and employed Hirsch to represent it in the proceeding. Towber, who represented the Bank in this case, is an attorney employed by Hirsch. Bossin is Bo-lin’s certified public accountant. Appellees contend Bossin’s testimony about his knowledge of Bolin’s affairs was material and necessary for trial.

During discovery, the Bank issued a subpoena duces tecum to Bossin requiring his appearance for the taking of his deposition and production of documents. During his deposition, Bossin disclosed that he may have failed to bring all of the documents responsive to the subpoena, but agreed to deliver any omitted documents to the Bank. Despite at least one subsequent request, Bossin failed to supply any additional documents. Shortly before trial, appellees obtained a second subpoena to compel Bossin’s appearance at trial and the production of the additional documents needed for trial.

Harris County constables unsuccessfully attempted to serve Bossin several times. Trial of the adversary proceeding was scheduled to begin on September 19, 1991. When the case was called, Towber informed presiding Judge Manuel Leal that Bossin was not present, but was a key witness in possession of necessary documents. Towber informed the court that three constables were present and ready to substantiate that they had been unable to serve Bossin. Towber offered to read Bossin’s deposition into the record at trial, “[o]r we could, I believe you have the authority, your honor, to send a marshal to get Mr. Bossin and bring him to Court.”

Judge Leal asked to hear evidence about the efforts to obtain Bossin’s appearance and the requested documents. Deputy Constable Britt testified that on the morning of September 16 she called Bossin’s office and explained she needed to serve a subpoena. She was told Bossin was “unavailable at the time but he would be in and out of the office all day.” When she attempted to serve Bossin that afternoon, she was told “he wasn’t in and that he would be out the rest of the day.” Deputy Constable Sofka testified that when he attempted to serve Bossin at his office in the early afternoon on September 17, Bos-sin’s staff indicated Bossin “would not be in the rest of the day,” but suggested the constable return at a later time when Sofka was assured Bossin would be available. When Sofka returned at the appointed time on September 18, he was told that Bossin had been in, but he unexpectedly left for a meeting. Deputy Constable Marcks attempted to serve Bossin at the address he mistakenly thought was Bossin’s residence on the morning of September 19, the day of trial, but there was no answer.

After hearing the evidence and Towber’s representations as to the Bank’s diligence in attempting to obtain service and the importance of Bossin’s presence at trial with the documents, Judge Leal stated:

We’ll go ahead and request the United States Marshal Service to go ahead and force compliance with the subpoena and the documents. ... I have no choice but to ask that the Marshal’s service do assist on the, securing the appearance of Elliott Bossin.

Judge Leal then issued an order stating in relevant part:

Ordered this 19th day of September, 1991, that the United States Marshall, pursuant to a Writ of Attachment, seize the person [29]*29of Elliott Bossin for trial in this Court on Friday, September 20, 1991 at 9:30 a.m., and that he remain in Custody of said Court until dismissed.

Judge Leal had already determined that the proceedings would be continued until the following morning, when a motion for default judgment would first be considered.

Acting on the Order, a deputy U.S. Marshal took Bossin into custody, handcuffed him, and transported him to a jail cell at the federal courthouse, where he remained for about three hours. Judge Leal released Bos-sin when he promised to appear at trial and produce the requested documents. Contending there was no legal basis for the bankruptcy court’s Order, Bossin filed suit against Towber, Hirsch and the Bank for false imprisonment, abuse of process, and negligence. Appellees removed the case to federal court, but the action was remanded back to state court. Bossin then moved for partial summary judgment on the claims of false imprisonment and negligence. Appellees responded and also filed their own motions for summary judgment on all of Bossin’s claims. From the court’s grant of summary judgment for appellees and denial of his motion for partial summary judgment, Bossin appeals in eight points of error.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The rules to be followed in reviewing a summary judgment are well established:

1. The movant for summary judgment has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
2. In deciding whether there is a disputed material fact issue precluding summary judgment, evidence favorable to the non-movant will be taken as true.
3. Every reasonable inference must be indulged in favor of the non-movant and any doubts resolved in its favor.

Nixon v. Mr. Property Management Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985).

When both parties move for summary judgment, we must rule on all issues presented, including the propriety of the order overruling the losing party’s motion for summary judgment. Jones v. Strauss, 745 S.W.2d 898, 900 (Tex.1988). As both parties were mov-ants below, we must indulge all reasonable inferences and resolve all doubts in favor of the losing party. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston v. Big Train Carpet of El Campo, Inc., 739 S.W.2d 792, 792 (Tex.1987).

Defendants moving for summary judgment have the burden of showing as a matter of law that no material issue of fact exists for one or more of the essential elements of each of the plaintiffs causes of action. Gibbs v. General Motors Corp., 450 S.W.2d 827, 828 (Tex.1970). Summary judgment for the defendants disposing of the entire case is proper only if, as a matter of law, the plaintiff could not succeed upon any theories pled. Delgado v. Burns, 656 S.W.2d 428, 429 (Tex.1983).

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Bluebook (online)
894 S.W.2d 25, 1994 WL 707988, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bossin-v-towber-texapp-1995.