First Bank v. DTSG, LTD. and Richard Brumitt

Opinion

May 28, 2015

JUDGMENT

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals FIRST BANK, Appellant

NO. 14-13-00694-CV V.

DTSG, LTD. AND RICHARD BRUMITT, Appellees ________________________________

This cause, an appeal from the judgment signed July 9, 2013, was heard on the transcript of the record. We have inspected the record and find error in the judgment. We therefore MODIFY the judgment of the court below to (1) delete all awards of attorney’s fees in favor of appellee DTSG, LTD., including the award of $279,004 and the conditional awards of appellate attorney’s fees; (2) delete the award of negligent-misrepresentation damages in the amount of $300,000 to appellee DTSG, LTD.; (3) delete the award of prejudgment interest on negligent- misrepresentation damages in the amount of $56,250 to appellee DTSG, LTD.; (4) delete the award of exemplary damages in the amount of $250,000 to appellee DTSG, LTD.; (5) delete the award of negligent-misrepresentation damages in the amount of $250,000 to appellee RICHARD BRUMITT; (6) delete the award of prejudgment interest on negligent-misrepresentation damages in the amount of $46,875 to appellee RICHARD BRUMITT; (7) delete the award of exemplary damages in the amount of $250,000 to appellee DTSG, LTD.; and (8) delete the award of postjudgment interest on each of the foregoing deleted items. We order the judgment of the court below AFFIRMED except as modified in this judgment. We further order appellant FIRST BANK and its surety, FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND, jointly and severally, to pay the sums adjudged to appellee DTSG, LTD., plus postjudgment interest at the rate of 5%, compounded annually, from July 9, 2013 until all amounts are paid in full, except that the total liability of FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND as to the sums adjudged to appellee DTSG, LTD. shall in no event exceed the amount of $1,151,053.24.

We further order appellant FIRST BANK and its surety, FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND, jointly and severally, to pay the sums adjudged to appellee RICHARD BRUMITT, plus postjudgment interest at the rate of 5%, compounded annually, from July 9, 2013 until all amounts are paid in full, except that the total liability of FIDELITY AND DEPOSIT COMPANY OF MARYLAND as to the sums adjudged to appellee RICHARD BRUMITT shall in no event exceed the amount of $1,321,286.59.

For good cause, we order appellant FIRST BANK to pay sixty percent of all costs incurred in this appeal; we order appellee DTSG, LTD. to pay twenty-five percent of all costs incurred in this appeal; and we order appellee RICHARD BRUMITT to pay fifteen percent of all costs incurred in this appeal. We further order this decision certified below for observance.