Cravens v. Skinner

626 S.W.2d 173, 33 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 208, 1981 Tex. App. LEXIS 4527
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 17, 1981
Docket18520
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 626 S.W.2d 173 (Cravens v. Skinner) 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
Cravens v. Skinner, 626 S.W.2d 173, 33 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 208, 1981 Tex. App. LEXIS 4527 (Tex. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

OPINION

HOLMAN, Justice.

This is an appeal from judgment that the plaintiffs take nothing in their suit for treble damages and attorneys fees under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act Tex.Bus. & Comm.Code Ann. sec. 17.46 and sec. 17.50 (1977); or, in the alternative, actual damages for common law fraud.

We affirm.

Appellees have filed no brief, so we may accept as true the facts stated in appellant’s brief. Tex.R.Civ.P. 419.

*175 On September 16, 1977, appellants paid appellees $3,150.00 for a ruby and a separate gold ring mounting. In response to appellants’ inquiry as to what would be the appraisal value with the stone mounted in the ring, appellees’ salesman replied “around $4,000.00 to $4,300.00.”

Appellants took delivery of the mounted ring in October, 1977, receiving a written guarantee stating that “[t]he ruby in said ring, ... is finely cut and carefully selected for excellent proportions and exquisite brilliance as per the rigid standard of measure of the Gemological Institute of America.”

The document further guaranteed the workmanship of the gold ring and that the jeweler would accept the ring, at full purchase price, on a larger, more valuable one. The price was stated as $4,100.00.

Appellants later found that the ruby was flawed. They asked appellees to replace the ruby ring, and the appellees agreed.

Before accepting the replacement ring on January 10, 1978, appellants asked to be furnished an appraisal of its value. Appel-lees promised to deliver an appraisal “within a week or so.” It was never received.

Later in 1978 appellant filed suit.

As then written, DTPA sec. 17.50(a) (1977) stated that “A consumer may maintain an action if he has been adversely affected by an act or practice declared to be unlawful by Section 17.46.”

Section 17.50(b), as then written, allowed a prevailing consumer to have his actual damages trebled and recover court costs and reasonable attorneys fees.

Section 17.46 is a “laundry list” of deceptive trade practices, but is not all-inclusive.

Appellants alleged that the appellees had committed acts deceptive under sec. 17.46, had breached express and implied warranties, and that those actions were unconscionable.

Alternatively, appellants asked damages for common law fraud, alleging that they had relied to their detriment on material misrepresentations by the appellees.

The jury found that (a) the appellees had represented the replacement ring to have a fair retail cash market value of $4,100.00 in January, 1978; (b) such value was in fact $3,000.00; (c) the appellees had represented that an appraisal would be delivered to the appellants; (d) they believed that representation; (e) such representation was material; (f) the appraisal was not delivered; (g) when they made the representation, the appellees did intend to deliver the appraisal; (h) appellants attorneys were entitled to fees; and (i) the appellees did not take advantage of appellants’ lack of knowledge, ability, experience, or capacity to a grossly unfair degree.

The court rendered judgment that the appellees had not engaged in a deceptive trade practice, that the appellants had not suffered any damages, and that they recover nothing from the appellees.

Following the jury’s verdict, appellants filed a motion for judgment, which was not granted. Appellees’ motion was granted.

Appellants filed no motion for judgment non obstante verdicto or to set aside or disregard the jury’s answers to any of the special issues.

Appellants complain that the trial court erred in not granting judgment for them on the jury’s verdict.

To sustain such contention, appellants’ burden is to demonstrate that, under any possible legal theory, the jury’s verdict, viewed as a whole, compels judgment for the appellants rather than the judgment rendered by the trial court. Bituminous Casualty Corp. v. Black & Decker Mfg. Co., 518 S.W.2d 868 (Tex.Civ.App.—Dallas 1974, writ ref’d n. r. e.).

Appellants first two points of error contend that the jury’s verdict and the uncon-troverted evidence show that the appellees’ conduct violated paragraphs (2), (5) and (12) of DTPA sec. 17.46(b).

Those sections list the following deceptive acts:

“(2) causing confusion or misunderstanding as to the source, sponsorship, *176 approval, or certification of goods or services;
“(5) representing that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or quantities which they do not have or that a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection which he does not;
“(12) representing that an agreement confers or involves rights, remedies, or obligations which it does not have or involve, or which are prohibited by law;

A jury may only be asked to find whether one of the listed acts occurred and may not be asked to decide whether the act was deceptive. If found to have occurred, the act is deceptive as a matter of law. Spradling v. Williams, 566 S.W.2d 561 (Tex.1978).

If an alleged act is not listed in sec. 17.46(b), then the jury must determine (1) whether the act occurred and (2) whether it was deceptive. Spradling, supra.

In the instant case, no special issue found by the jury determined that the appellees committed any act listed in sec. 17.46(b).

Relative to the acts which the jury found were committed by the appellees, there were no special issues inquiring as to whether those acts were deceptive though such findings in favor of appellants would be essential to recovery on a deceptive trade practice theory.

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Bluebook (online)
626 S.W.2d 173, 33 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. (West) 208, 1981 Tex. App. LEXIS 4527, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cravens-v-skinner-texapp-1981.