Brewington Typewriter Co. v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

428 S.W.2d 847, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 3037
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 23, 1968
DocketNo. 15295
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 428 S.W.2d 847 (Brewington Typewriter Co. v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.) 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
Brewington Typewriter Co. v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 428 S.W.2d 847, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 3037 (Tex. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

BELL, Chief Justice.

This is a summary judgment case in which the trial court rendered judgment that appellant take nothing in its suit against appellee for damages.

By a first amended original petition filed December 30, 1966, R. D. Brewington, individually and doing business as Brewing-ton Typewriter Company, sued appellee and Dromgoole’s Typewriter Shop for actual damages in an unspecified amount allegedly resulting to appellant from an allegedly unauthorized and wrongful listing by ap-pellee in its alphabetically arranged telephone directory for the years commencing in December, 1965 and December, 1966. Appellant also asked for injunctions, both mandatory and prohibitory, and for $200,-000.00 exemplary damages.

A non-suit was taken as to Dromgoole.

The listing in the December, 1965 directory listed in bold face type the name “Brewington Typewriter Co.” and under it listed the Houston, Pasadena and Spring Branch places of business of appellant with the corrects telephone number for each. However, under the same bold face listing appellee made the following listing in the manner here shown:

“Rentals Ofc 2482 Bolsover- - JA 2 4323
Sales Ofc 2482 Bolsover.- JA9 4623
ServOfc 2482 Bolsover- JA9 9226”

This address was that of Dromgoole and the Jackson numbers reached his place of business on Bolsover. There was nothing to indicate that this address was the place of business of Dromgoole and that these [848]*848telephone numbers were his instead of a place of business and telephone numbers of appellant.

Appellant had originally filed suit in January, 1966, because of the above listing.

In the December, 1966 alphabetical listing there was a change so that there were two bold face typed listings of “Brewington Typewriter Co.” Under the first were listed appellant’s Houston, Pasadena, and Spring Branch places of business and the correct telephone number for each. Immediately below the listing was the second bold face listing in the name of Brewing-ton Typewriter Co. and under it was listed only “Rentals Ofc”, “Serv Ofc” and “Sales Ofc” with the Bolsover address and the Jackson telephone numbers listed in the manner above shown, except that “Sales Ofc” and “Serv Ofc” have interchanged positions. There is nothing in the listing to indicate that this was Dromgoole’s place of business and his telephone numbers and not appellant’s.

Appellee filed an unsworn “First Amended Answer” containing a general denial, a plea that the matters complained of were proximately caused by “Brewington Typewriter Company, et al” and in the alternative were proximately caused by a third party or parties. Further, in the alternative, that the damages, if any, sustained by appellant were limited as set forth in “Section C, Paragraph II, Rules and Regulations Applying to All Customers Contracts * * * ” which were on file with the Federal Communications Commission.

The first amended original petition of appellant was sworn to by R. D. Brewing-ton. Among other things alleged was an allegation that the mislistings were without the knowledge or authority of appellant.

Appellee filed its unsworn motion for summary judgment asking for judgment based on the pleadings, depositions, admissions and affidavits on file. The unsworn motion asserts as its first ground for judgment that appellant on February 24, 1961, signed and issued a written authorization to Louis Dromgoole, President of Drom- ' goole’s Typewriter Shop, Inc., authorizing Dromgoole to use the name “Brewington Typewriter Company” in any manner he saw fit for the conduct of business, which sworn authorization was recorded in the Deed Records of Harris County in Volume 4572, page 427. It is further recited that a further written authorization was given May 22, 1961, which extended such right for a period of ten years, subject to renewal for a period of another ten years, which authorization was recorded in the Deed Records of Harris County in Volume 4572, page 425. It is also alleged that “Plaintiff” (appellant) had admitted signing said written authorizations in his “deposition on file herein.” (emphasis ours unless otherwise indicated) It asserted ap-pellee at all times recognized and accepted these authorizations as it was bound to do and that any damages flowed from the act of appellant.

As its second ground for judgment ap-pellee asserts there is neither pleading nor evidence showing actual damage and the grossly exaggerated claim of $200,000.00 exemplary damages has no basis in the record.

The motion also, as a third ground for judgment, asserted the tariff above mentioned limited any liability in an amount not to exceed the amount paid by the customer for service during the period covered by the service. Attached to the motion is an affidavit seeking to establish the pertinent tariff; also an affidavit attests to the authenticity of pertinent pages from the alphabetical directories for the periods of use beginning in January of 1961,1962,1963, 1964, 1965, and the pages of the directories for December, 1965 and December, 1966. These show the listings made each year under the name of Brewington Typewriter Company.

In a special sworn answer of appellee, in reply to the amended petition of appellant, K. E. Walker, Houston Division Man[849]*849ager of appellee, swore to the allegations of fact therein contained. We will notice only those allegations we deem material to this appeal.

The special answer asserted the falsity of the allegation that appellee and Drom-goole “deliberately, wilfully and intentionally, and in heedless disregard of the rights of Plaintiff, and negligently, and in concert” caused the mislisting. Further it asserted that at the time of filing his amended petition appellant knew of the two alleged authorizations given by him to Dromgoole, the specific allegations of which we notice were in appellee’s motion for summary judgment. Then the special answer asserts “by sworn deposition on file in this cause, Plaintiff has admitted signing such written authorizations.” Appellee says it recognized and accepted those written authorizations as it was bound to do.

The court sustained the motion for judgment on grounds 1 and 2, hut refused to base its judgment so as to limit liability as asserted in ground 3. The judgment recites that the court considered the pleadings, various specified affidavits, and the “depositions of R. D. Brewington, Louis Dromgoole, Gene Dromgoole and Mrs. Oma Dromgoole, together with the exhibits attached to said depositions.”

As the record reached this Court it consisted of the pleadings, the affidavits we have mentioned, and the depositions of Louis Dromgoole, Gene Dromgoole and Mrs. Oma Dromgoole. Appellant in its brief here raised the question that there was no deposition of R. D. Brewington filed in the trial court and consequently no such deposition here.

Appellee then filed a motion calling the court’s attention to the recital in the judgment that the judge considered the deposition of R. D. Brewington. Also it asserts that the deposition was read from and the exhibits attached were read by the court. No one seems to have raised any objection that there was no deposition of Mr. Brew-ington on file. Prayer was that the court order the deposition of Mr. Brewington be certified as having been on file at the time of the hearing on motion for summary judgment, and that the deposition and the accompanying exhibits be transmitted to this Court.

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Bluebook (online)
428 S.W.2d 847, 1968 Tex. App. LEXIS 3037, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brewington-typewriter-co-v-southwestern-bell-telephone-co-texapp-1968.