El Dorado Motors, Inc. v. Koch

168 S.W.3d 360, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 5816, 2005 WL 1763119
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 27, 2005
Docket05-04-00540-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 168 S.W.3d 360 (El Dorado Motors, Inc. v. Koch) 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
El Dorado Motors, Inc. v. Koch, 168 S.W.3d 360, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 5816, 2005 WL 1763119 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice LANG.

El Dorado Motors, Inc. appeals a final summary judgment that it take nothing from appellees Graham R.E. Koch and Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox, L.L.P. Ap-pellees sought summary judgment on traditional and no-evidence grounds on claims *363 asserted by El Dorado. In its final summary judgment the trial court stated specifically the claims on which summary judgment was granted or denied and that summary judgment on “Plaintiffs claim for actual damages in the nature of lost profits is granted.” In another, subsequent paragraph of the order, the trial court stated, “Plaintiff shall take nothing against Defendants.”

El Dorado brings three issues on appeal. In issue one, El Dorado contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on its claim for “actual damages in the nature of lost profits” and then entering a take nothing judgment against it. In issue two, El Dorado contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying El Dorado’s motion for new trial. Then, in issue three, El Dorado contends the trial court abused its discretion in denying its motion for continuance and motion for leave to file supplemental evidence. For the reasons below, we resolve El Dorado’s issues against it and affirm the trial court’s final summary judgment.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

El Dorado’s allegations in this suit are founded upon the actions of Richard Hayden, the accountant for El Dorado. When A1 Graff died, his stock in El Dorado passed to his son, Stan Graff. Hayden was also the executor of A1 Graffs estate. From January to October 2000, Hayden was El Dorado’s president and sole director.

This case began in the 68th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, where El Dorado sued appellees, Hayden, and Harold “Steve” Stevens. El Dorado complained about Hayden’s acts, while director and president, when he terminated Stan Graff as El Dorado’s president and sole director and executed an employment agreement with Stevens as El Dorado’s general manager (the Stevens lawsuit). All claims against appellees, Koch and Vial, Hamilton, were severed from the Stevens lawsuit, assigned a new cause number, and then transferred to the 14th Judicial District Court. The Stevens lawsuit was tried to a jury in the 68th Judicial District Court. El Dorado did not recover any damages for lost profits in that case, but the court awarded El Dorado $350,000 in attorney’s fees.

In its amended original petition filed in this suit, El Dorado asserted claims for breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice and, in the alternative, negligent misrepresentation and civil conspiracy. El Dorado alleged that appellees’ acts “were the proximate cause of substantial damages to El Dorado, including lost profits.” El Dorado also claimed exemplary damages.

At the beginning of the hearing on ap-pellees’ summary judgment motion, the trial court stated that the court had previously determined it would “freeze” the summary judgment record. El Dorado argued several previously-filed motions to supplement the record and argued for a continuance to obtain additional summary judgment evidence. The trial court orally denied the motion to supplement at the conclusion of the hearing. The trial court subsequently signed the final summary judgment.

The trial court heard El Dorado’s motion for new trial and denied it by a written order. This appeal timely followed.

II. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

In its first issue, El Dorado argues the trial court erroneously granted summary judgment as to the claim for actual damages and improperly entered a take noth *364 ing judgment against it because: (1) appel-lees did not expressly move for summary judgment as to “actual damages, in the nature of lost profits”; (2) the motion for summary judgment did not address all damages claimed, and thus El Dorado’s claims for out-of-pocket damages survived summary judgment; (3) there is evidence in the record raising a fact issue on lost profits and actual out-of-pocket damages, including $350,000 in attorney’s fees awarded in the Stevens lawsuit, specifically, an 8½ in. by 11 in. spreadsheet, the deposition testimony of an expert witness, Thomas Turner, an accountant who created the spreadsheet, and the judgment in the Stevens case; and (4) summary judgment cannot be supported on grounds of res judicata and collateral estoppel as a matter of law.

A. Standard of Review

To succeed in a motion for summary judgment under rule of civil procedure 166a(c), a movant must establish that there is no genuine issue of material fact so that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. W. Invs., Inc. v. Urena, 162 S.W.3d 547, 550 (Tex.2005). In reviewing a summary judgment, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and resolve any doubt in the nonmovant’s favor. Id. Under rule of civil procedure 166a(i), a party may move for summary judgment on the ground that there is no evidence of one or more essential elements of a claim or defense on which an adverse party would have the burden of proof at trial. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i). Unless the respondent produces summary judgment evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact, the court must grant the no-evidence motion. Id.; W. Invs., Inc., 162 S.W.3d at 550. When a trial court’s order granting summary judgment does not specify the ground or grounds relied on for its ruling, summary judgment will be affirmed on appeal if any of the theories presented to the trial court and preserved for appellate review are meritorious. W. Invs., Inc., 162 S.W.3d at 550; Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 216 (Tex.2003); Carr v. Brasher, 776 S.W.2d 567, 569 (Tex.1989).

A motion for summary judgment must itself expressly present the grounds upon which it is made and must stand or fall on those grounds alone. Batte v. Hendricks, 137 S.W.3d 790, 791 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2004, pet. denied); see Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c) (“The motion for summary judgment shall state the specific grounds therefor.”). A summary judgment cannot be affirmed on grounds not expressly set out in the motion or response. Stiles v. Resolution Trust Corp., 867 S.W.2d 24, 26 (Tex.1993). A no-evidence summary judgment motion “must state the elements as to which there is no evidence.” Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i).

B. Discussion

In its motion for summary judgment, appellees cited the traditional and no-evidence summary judgment rules and moved the court “to enter summary judgment in their favor on all claims, all issues[,] and all theories of damages asserted” by El Dorado.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jeff Akhtar v. East Texas Truss, LLC
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2025
Karen Lindsey Smith v. Terry P. Province
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2018
Sterling Paul Kelone Sr. v. Patricia Boothe
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Marc R. Core v. Citibank, N.A.
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
168 S.W.3d 360, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 5816, 2005 WL 1763119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/el-dorado-motors-inc-v-koch-texapp-2005.