Fojtik v. First National Bank of Beeville

752 S.W.2d 669, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1215, 1988 WL 53022
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 26, 1988
Docket13-87-250-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 752 S.W.2d 669 (Fojtik v. First National Bank of Beeville) 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
Fojtik v. First National Bank of Beeville, 752 S.W.2d 669, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1215, 1988 WL 53022 (Tex. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION

DORSEY, Justice.

Felix and Cecelia Fojtik brought suit against First National Bank of Beeville and two of its directors, Jack Chesnut and Be-vans Welder, for fraud, conspiracy, breach of contract, conversion, tortious interference and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). 1 After the close of the evidence but before submission of the case to the jury, the trial court directed a verdict against the Fojtiks on their conspiracy cause of action. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the Fojtiks against First National Bank for fraud, breach of contract and violations of the DTPA, but not for conversion or tortious interference. The jury answered all damage issues with findings of zero damages. The trial court entered a take-nothing judgment against the Fojtiks, of which they now complain in thirteen points of error. We reverse and remand.

Felix Fojtik is a farmer and rancher in the auction and equipment business. Jack Chesnut is the president of an International Harvester dealership in Beeville and a competitor of Fojtik. Chesnut and Bevans Welder also sit on the board of directors at First National Bank, and Welder is the bank’s president.

In 1983, Fojtik met with Welder to discuss his lending needs and plans for expansion. On October 31 of that year, the bank established a $500,000.00 line of credit for Fojtik’s auction business. Fojtik was to use the proceeds of his equipment sales to pay off the loan. The bank also agreed to loan Fojtik $250,000.00 for his farming and ranching businesses.

In late 1983, First National Bank began to impose additional terms and conditions on Fojtik’s lines of credit, including 1) a requirement that Fojtik change his equipment sales business into a consignment operation, 2) a reduction of his auction line from $500,000.00 to $250,000.00, and 3) a reduction of his ranch line from $100,000.00 to $60,000.00.

According to the appellees, these conditions were imposed because Fojtik had overdrawn his lines of credit and had not complied with collateral ratio limits. 2 From Fojtik’s standpoint, these terms constituted evidence of fraud, deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, and conspiracy between the bank and Fojtik’s competitor, Jack Chesnut. Hence, Fojtik instituted the present lawsuit.

By his first, second, and third points of error, Fojtik asserts that the jury’s findings of zero damages are against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence and fatally conflict with the findings on liability and causation.

After the jury returned its verdict, Fojtik filed a motion for judgment which stated:

While Plaintiffs disagree with the findings of the jury and feel there is a fatal defect which will support a new trial, in the event the Court is not inclined to grant a new trial prior to the entry of judgment, Plaintiffs pray the Court enter the following judgment. Plaintiffs agree *671 only as to the form of the judgment but disagree and should not be construed as concurring with the content and result.

It is settled law that a motion for judgment on the verdict amounts to an affirmation that the jury findings are supported by the evidence. Whitehead v. Reiger, 6 S.W.2d 745, 747 (Tex.Comm’n App.1928, opinion adopted); Russell v. Dunn Equipment, Inc., 712 S.W.2d 542, 545 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1986, writ ref’d n.r.e.). Thus, Fojtik may not complain that the evidence fails to support the jury’s findings on damages. Litton Industrial Products, Inc. v. Gammage, 668 S.W.2d 319, 322 (Tex.1984). Nor may he take a position inconsistent with the findings or attempt to attack their validity when such findings form the basis of the court’s judgment. See id. at 321-22. Fojtik’s first three points of error consequently may not be considered on appeal.

In regard to the language in the motion to the effect that Fojtik “disagree[s] with the findings of the jury,” and does not concur with the “content and result” of the judgment, we again refer to the Litton opinion wherein our Supreme Court stated:

We disapprove, however, Litton’s argument that it reserved the right to complain about the judgment, because it accompanied its motion for judgment with a brief in which it took back what it urged in its motion. Litton’s trial brief that accompanied its motion reserved the right to “challenge any adverse judgment based upon the verdict.” We disapprove a practice by which a party, by motion, induces the trial court on the one hand to render a judgment, but reserves in a brief the right for the movant to attack the judgment if the court grants the motion. Litton could not have it both ways.

Litton, 668 S.W.2d at 322.

We see no distinction between Fojtik’s reservation of the right to complain in the instant case and the attempted reservation in Litton. See Russell, 712 S.W.2d at 545.

Points one, two and three are overruled.

Point of error five states the trial court erred in excluding the out-of-court statement of First National Bank director Edward Wicker.

During the direct examination of Fojtik’s accountant, Jackie Green, the following exchange took place.

Q: ... have you ever had occasion to be in the presence of the discussion of Felix Fojtik’s dealings with the bank where the discussions were held by any other officer or director of the bank?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: When did those discussions take place?
A: I[t] would have been Labor Day of 1984, at the invitational golf tournament at the country club.
Q. Who with the bank said anything with respect to Felix’s business with the bank?
A: Mr. Wicker.
Q: Who is Mr. Wicker?
A: I believe he’s on the board of directors at the First National Bank.
* * * * * *
Q: What is it that Mr. Wicker said with respect to Felix Fojtik’s business?
MR. CUTHRELL: Your Honor, I’m going to object to it until Mr. Robi-chaux can establish that Mr. Wicker was speaking as a director of the bank. li-
the COURT: Yes.
MR. CUTHRELL: —that capacity it would be hearsay.
THE COURT: Sustain the objection.

Fojtik later made an offer of proof during which Green testified that Wicker’s comment was, “We have him just about broke and now we’re going to put him out of business.” When asked who Wicker was referring to when he said “we,” Green stated he assumed it was First National Bank.

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Bluebook (online)
752 S.W.2d 669, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1215, 1988 WL 53022, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fojtik-v-first-national-bank-of-beeville-texapp-1988.