Guerrero-McDonald v. Nassour

516 S.W.3d 198, 2017 WL 1074283
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 16, 2017
DocketNo. 11-14-00085-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 516 S.W.3d 198 (Guerrero-McDonald v. Nassour) 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
Guerrero-McDonald v. Nassour, 516 S.W.3d 198, 2017 WL 1074283 (Tex. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHN M. BAILEY, JUSTICE

This appeal concerns the standing of a limited partner to sue both the general partner and another limited partner after a failed real estate project. It also involves an application of the economic loss doctrine to preclude a recovery for negligent misrepresentation. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

Background Facts

This limited partnership dispute arises out of an unsuccessful effort to revive a failed real estate development project. Mary Guerrero-McDonald initially partnered with the now-deceased Gene Fon-dren to develop a condominium project at 1701 Lavaca in downtown Austin. This initial project was called “1701 Lavaca LP.” The initial project stalled due to monetary issues and Fondren’s declining health.

Guerrero-McDonald subsequently sought additional investors for the project. Guerrero-McDonald, Jimmy Nassour, Jim Mattox, and Pike Family Partnership, LP formed LaVista Partners LP for the purpose of acquiring and developing the project. Guerrero-McDonald converted her prior interests in the project into a thirty-five percent limited partnership interest in the newly formed limited partnership. The limited partners selected LaVista Partners—GP, LLC as the general partner of the limited partnership. H.M. Pike Jr. executed the partnership agreement on behalf of LaVista Partners—GP, LLC in his capacity as its manager.1 Nassour also [203]*203served as one of the initial managers of the general partner.

The limited partnership failed after being unable to procure financing to complete the project. Guerrero-McDonald subsequently sued Appellees, LaVista Partners—GP, LLC (the general partner), and Nassour (another limited partner) for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation.2 The trial court granted Appellees’ motion for summary judgment with respect to Guerrero-McDonald’s claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent misrepresentation.

The case subsequently went to trial on Guerrero-McDonald’s remaining claim for-fraud. The trial court imposed a discovery sanction against Guerrero-McDonald by deeming a request for admission to be “admitted.” The jury returned a verdict in favor of Appellees on the fraud claim. The trial court entered judgment that Guerrero-McDonald take nothing from Appellees. Guerrero-McDonald appeals the trial court’s judgment in five issues.

Analysis

Guerrero-McDonald’s first three issues concern the claims resolved by summary judgment. Additionally, Appellees present a cross-point raising six alternative grounds why the summary judgment should be upheld. Guerrero-McDonald’s final two issues involve claims resolved at trial.

We will address the summary judgment issues first. We review a summary judgment de novo. Travelers Ins. Co. v. Joachim, 315 S.W.3d 860, 862 (Tex. 2010). When the trial court’s summary judgment order specifies the ground or grounds upon which it was granted, we generally limit our consideration to the ground or grounds upon which it was granted. See Cincinnati Life Ins. Co. v. Cates, 927 S.W.2d 623, 625-26 (Tex. 1996).

Standing

The trial court’s summary judgment order specified that it granted Appel-lees’ motion for summary judgment on Guerrero-McDonald’s claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty based upon its determination that she lacked standing to bring the claims. Guerrero-McDonald challenges these determinations by the trial court in her first (standing for breach of fiduciary duty claim) and second (standing for breach of contract claim) issues. Because Guerrero-McDonald’s arguments are the same for her first two issues, we will address them together.

Appellees asserted the issue of standing as a traditional summary judgment ground. A party seeking a traditional summary judgment bears the burden of showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c); Diversicare Gen. Partner, Inc. v. Rubio, 185 S.W.3d 842, 846 (Tex. 2005). Appellees asserted that they were entitled to summary judgment on Guerrero-McDonald’s “breach of contract claims and breach of fiduciary duty claims because she lacks standing; the claims she asserts are for alleged injuries primarily suffered by the Limited Partnership.”

The Texas Supreme Court recently addressed standing in Linegar v. DLA Piper LLP (US), 495 S.W.3d 276 (Tex. 2016). “A party’s standing to sue is implicit in the concept of subject-matter jurisdiction and is not presumed; rather, it [204]*204must be proved.” Id. at 279 (citing Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 445-46 (Tex. 1993)). “Standing is a question of law for the court to determine, although facts necessary to the determination may need to be determined by the factfinder.” Id. Standing is a matter that concerns the jurisdiction of a court to afford the relief requested, rather than the right of a plaintiff to maintain a suit for the relief requested. Sneed v. Webre, 465 S.W.3d 169, 186 (Tex. 2015) (citing Dubai Petroleum Co, v. Kazi, 12 S.W.3d 71, 76-77 (Tex. 2000)). As noted by the court in Linegar:

In Texas, the standing doctrine requires a concrete injury to the plaintiff and a real controversy between the parties that will be resolved by the court .... The plaintiff must be personally injured—he must plead facts demonstrating that he, himself (rather than a third party or the public at large) suffered the injury .... [The injury] must be concrete and particularized, actual or imminent, not hypothetical .... [T]he plaintiffs alleged injury must be fairly traceable to the defendant’s conduct.... [And] the plaintiffs alleged injury [must] be likely to be redressed by the requested relief.

Linegar, 495 S.W.3d at 279 (quoting Heckman v. Williamson Cty., 369 S.W.3d 137, 154-55 (Tex. 2012)). The standing analysis begins with determining the nature of the wrong being alleged and whether there was a causal connection between a defendant’s conduct and the injury caused by the alleged wrong. Id. Standing is assessed on a claim-by-claim basis. Id.

The court in Linegar relied on its earlier decision in Wingate v. Hajdik, 795 S.W.2d 717 (Tex. 1990), and its progeny dealing with stockholder standing. 495 S.W.3d at 279. In Wingate, the court stated the general rule that “[a] corporate stockholder cannot recover damages personally for a wrong done solely to the corporation, even though he may be injured by that wrong.” 795 S.W.2d at 719.

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516 S.W.3d 198, 2017 WL 1074283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/guerrero-mcdonald-v-nassour-texapp-2017.