Graves v. Tomlinson

329 S.W.3d 128, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 9420, 2010 WL 4825624
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 30, 2010
Docket14-08-00654-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by67 cases

This text of 329 S.W.3d 128 (Graves v. Tomlinson) 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
Graves v. Tomlinson, 329 S.W.3d 128, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 9420, 2010 WL 4825624 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

OPINION

WILLIAM J. BOYCE, Justice.

Sandra Graves and Michael Tomlinson each appeal from the trial court’s divorce decree on numerous grounds. Sandra Graves also appeals from the trial court’s separate judgment awarding fees in favor of court-appointed auditor Bryan Rice and his firms Hartman Leito & Bolt, LLP, and Rice Stewart Faris & Co. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

Background

Graves and Tomlinson were married on September 25, 1997. Graves had three children when she married Tomlinson. Graves’s older son, Ron Graves, was born disabled in 1967; her younger son, Charles Babb, was born in 1979; and her daughter, Rebecca Babb, was born disabled in 1982 and died in 1997. Tomlinson had one daughter from a previous marriage.

When Graves and Tomlinson married, Tomlinson was engaged in farming and ranching; he continued those activities during the marriage. Graves is a licensed home and community-based services program provider for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.

Graves formed a sole proprietorship called Sandra Graves d/b/a All The Little Things Count in 1997. This sole proprietorship provides home and community-based services for mentally handicapped and disabled persons in group homes, foster care, and supported home living. Graves created a limited liability company called All The Little Things Count, LLC in 2000. The LLC has been a home and community-based services program provider since May 2007. Together, the sole proprietorship and the LLC employ about 100 people and serve more than 300 clients.

In December 1999, Graves created a non-profit corporation called All The Little Things Country. The corporation provides services for multiple entities including All The Little Things Count; All The *137 Little Things Count, LLC; Volunteers of America; the Gulf Coast Mental Retardation Authority; and the Harris County Mental Retardation Authority.

Graves filed for divorce in June 2005, and protracted divorce proceedings ensued. The parties had numerous discovery disputes throughout the proceedings; they twice mediated discovery disputes and entered into settlement agreements regarding their discovery disputes. The case was tried to a jury from January 14 through January 31, 2008.

In 17 questions, the jury was asked to determine (1) whether grounds for divorce existed between the parties; (2) the characterization of the parties’ property; (3) the value of numerous properties; (4) whether Graves committed fraud with respect to the purchase of a building and payments she made to her father and her ex-husband; (5) whether Tomlinson committed constructive fraud or waste with respect to certain community property; (6) whether Graves committed constructive fraud or waste with respect to certain community property; and (7) Graves’s and Tomlinson’s reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees, costs, and expert fees.

The trial court held several post-trial hearings. Among other things, the trial court considered the parties’ respective motions to disregard certain of the jury’s answers. The trial court also considered Tomlinson’s pre-trial motion for sanctions, which the court had taken under advisement. Additionally, the trial court considered (1) the parties’ objections regarding the division of property; and (2) a petition in intervention for expert witness fees filed by court-appointed auditor Bryan Rice, and by Rice’s former and current firms.

The trial court signed a Final Decree of Divorce on April 16, 2008. The trial court also signed a judgment for expert witness fees on April 16, 2008; this judgment made Graves and Tomlinson jointly and severally liable for fees incurred by auditor Rice and his firms. Graves filed a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law in connection with the divorce decree and the judgment for expert witness fees on May 5, 2008.

On May 16, 2008, Graves filed a motion for new trial with respect to (1) the final divorce decree; and (2) the judgment for expert witness fees. Graves simultaneously filed a motion to modify, correct, or reform the 'final divorce decree and the judgment for expert witness fees, along with numerous objections. Graves filed a notice of past due findings of fact and conclusions of law on June 2, 2008.

The trial court filed findings of fact and conclusions of law on February 4, 2009. Among other things, the trial court’s findings of fact identified numerous instances of litigation misconduct by Graves warranting sanctions of $250,000 in attorney’s fees. Graves and Tomlinson timely filed their respective notices of appeal.

Analysis

I. Graves’s Appeal

We begin by addressing Graves’s appeal before addressing Tomlinson’s cross-appeal.

A. Judicial Estoppel

As a threshold matter, Tomlinson argues that Graves is judicially estopped to pursue this appeal “due to her unequivocal position and oral testimony in the Trial Court that she would accept whatever findings the jury makes and whatever orders the Court makes.” Tomlinson refers to an exchange during trial in which Graves’s counsel asked her: “Will you accept whatever findings the jury makes and whatever orders ■ the ■ Court makes?” Graves answered, “Yes, I will.” We reject *138 Tomlinson’s invocation of judicial estoppel on this record.

The doctrine of judicial estoppel bars a party who has successfully maintained a position in a prior judicial proceeding from later adopting an inconsistent position unless the party can show that the prior statement was made inadvertently due to mistake, fraud, or duress. Vinson & Elkins v. Moran, 946 S.W.2d 381, 396 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1997, writ dism’d). Judicial estoppel upholds the sanctity of the oath and targets the prejudice that would result to the administration of justice if a litigant were allowed to swear one way one time and a different way another time. Id.

Judicial estoppel applies when (1) a sworn, prior inconsistent statement was made in a judicial proceeding; (2) the party now sought to be estopped successfully maintained the prior position; (3) the prior inconsistent statement was not made inadvertently or because of mistake, fraud, or duress; and (4) the statement was deliberate, clear, and unequivocal. Id.

Judicial estoppel does not apply to a contradictory position taken in the same proceeding; it comes into play only in a subsequent action. Id. at 397 (citing Wells v. Kansas Univ. Endowment Ass’n, 825 S.W.2d 483, 488 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, writ denied)). An appeal in the same case is not a “subsequent action” to which judicial estoppel applies. See id. Because Graves’s appeal is not a subsequent action, judicial estoppel is inapplicable here. In any event, the quoted exchange does not provide a reasonable basis for concluding that Graves intended to waive her appellate rights. Accordingly, we overrule Tomlinson’s issue predicated on judicial estoppel.

B. Sufficiency of the Evidence

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Bluebook (online)
329 S.W.3d 128, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 9420, 2010 WL 4825624, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/graves-v-tomlinson-texapp-2010.