Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Reyna

852 S.W.2d 540, 1992 WL 472271
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 26, 1992
Docket04-90-00702-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 852 S.W.2d 540 (Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Reyna) 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
Browning-Ferris, Inc. v. Reyna, 852 S.W.2d 540, 1992 WL 472271 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

CARR, Justice.

This appeal is from a judgment in a tortious interference with a contract case involving appellant, Browning-Ferris, Inc. (BFI), and appellees, Louis Reyna and Stella Reyna d/b/a Condor Industries (Condor), both of which are in the street-cleaning business. Condor originally filed suit against BFI based on negligence arising from a rear-end collision on September 21, 1987, in which a BFI truck struck a Condor street-sweeping vehicle in San Antonio, Texas. Condor later added causes of action for tortious interference with a contract and conspiracy to tortiously interfere with a contract.

Regarding the causes of action involving the contracts, Condor specifically alleged the following: (1) BFI had tortiously interfered with Condor’s San Antonio street-cleaning contracts with the Texas Department of Highways and Public Transportation (the Highway Department) by intentionally causing the rear-end collision; (2) BFI had tortiously interfered with Condor's Dallas street-cleaning contract with the Highway Department by vandalizing Condor’s street-cleaning equipment during a break-in at Condor’s Dallas equipment yard on August 29, 1988; (3) the intentional rear-end collision and the intentional destruction of Condor’s Dallas equipment were part of a civil conspiracy by BFI which constituted a tortious interference with Condor’s existing Dallas and San Antonio contracts with the Highway Department.

Condor further alleged that as a result of the intentional destruction of Condor’s Dallas equipment, the following events occurred in consequential order: (1) Condor could not timely perform the Dallas contract; (2) Condor defaulted on the Dallas contract; (3) the Highway Department made a claim on Condor’s performance bond; (4) Condor could not obtain additional performance bonds; (5) Condor could not bid on any other Highway Department street-cleaning contracts requiring bonding; and (6) Condor could not compete with BFI.

Prior to the submission of the case to the jury, the trial court granted BFI a directed verdict on Condor’s civil conspiracy cause of action because the trial court found that no evidence of conspiracy existed. The trial court then submitted the case to the jury on the negligence and tortious interference with a contract causes of action.

The jury found that BFI’s negligence proximately caused the rear-end collision. *543 It awarded Condor $30,300 for repairs to the sweeper and $11,500 for the loss of the use of the sweeper. The jury further found that BFI, acting through its employees or agents in the course and scope of their employment, tortiously interfered with Condor’s Dallas street-cleaning contract with the Highway Department. Based on this finding, the jury awarded Condor $238,000 in past lost profits and $559,000 in future lost profits. The trial court subsequently entered judgment in accordance with these findings. 1

The issues this appeal presents are:

(1) Whether the trial court improperly allowed Reyna’s expert witness, Mark Krivacka, to testify at trial on damages because he had not been properly designated as an expert witness due to a lack of verification on Reyna’s discovery supplementation (point one);
(2) Whether there is sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that BFI’s agents or employees, acting in the course and scope of their employment, tortiously interfered in Reyna’s performance of its Dallas contract with the Highway Department (points two through four); and
(3) Whether the damages awarded for tortious interference were (a) improper in view of the liability issue evidenced by the jury (point five); (b) established with reasonable certainty (point six); (c) supported by factually sufficient evidence (point seven); and (d) excessive (point eight).

In the first point of error, BFI contends that the trial court erred in allowing Condor’s expert witness, Mark Krivacka, to testify at trial on damages. According to BFI, Krivacka had not been properly designated as an expert witness because Condor did not verify the discovery supplementation.

The record reflects that thirty-one days prior to trial, Condor supplemented its previous answers to BFI s interrogatories regarding experts Condor anticipated to call at trial. Condor noticed BFI via unsworn letter that it expected to call Mark Krivac-ka. Condor also provided BFI with the other information regarding Krivacka that is required to be given under Tex.R.Civ.P. 166b(6). When Condor called Krivacka to testify at trial, BFI objected on the basis that Krivacka had never been properly designated as an expert witness because Condor’s supplementation letter had not been verified. The trial court overruled BFI’s objection and allowed Krivacka to testify. BFI contends the trial court erred. We disagree.

A verification of a written and timely supplementation of answers to interrogatories is neither necessary nor required by Tex.R.Civ.P. 166b(6). Jones v. Kinder, 807 S.W.2d 868, 872 (Tex.App.—Amarillo 1991, no writ). In addition, the general rule is that any error in the admission of testimony is deemed harmless if the objecting party subsequently permits the same or similar evidence to be introduced without objection. Richardson v. Green, 677 S.W.2d 497, 501 (Tex.1984); City of San Antonio v. Vela, 762 S.W.2d 314, 317-18 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1988, writ denied).

The record reflects that Condor offered its Exhibit 38 as follows:

Mr. Fulton: All right, your Honor, I’ll offer Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 38 as a summary of his [Krivacka’s] testimony.

(Emphasis added.) To the above statement, BFI’s counsel replied: “No objection, Judge.” This exhibit is a chart completely summarizing Krivacka’s testimony. In effect, the exhibit was a reoffer of Krivac-ka’s testimony. It includes a summary, year by year, of the history of Condor’s gross revenues and net operating profits from 1983 through 1989 and a projection of the total lost profits. The exhibit also contains a graph of Condor’s net operating profit showing the rapid growth rate prior *544 to 1988 and the profit crash in 1988, after the default on the Dallas contract. In addition, BFI offered Exhibits 4, 5, 6, and 7, which are the Reynas’ tax returns and financial statements for 1987 and 1988. These exhibits demonstrate the Reynas’ prior earning power. The introduction of this evidence by BFI as well as BFI’s statement of “no objection” to Plaintiff’s Exhibit 38 makes any error regarding the admission of Krivacka’s testimony harmless.

BFI’s first point is overruled.

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Bluebook (online)
852 S.W.2d 540, 1992 WL 472271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/browning-ferris-inc-v-reyna-texapp-1992.