Harper Building Systems, Inc. v. Upjohn Co.

564 S.W.2d 123, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 2929
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 16, 1978
Docket8051
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 564 S.W.2d 123 (Harper Building Systems, Inc. v. Upjohn Co.) 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
Harper Building Systems, Inc. v. Upjohn Co., 564 S.W.2d 123, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 2929 (Tex. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinions

CLAYTON, Justice.

This is an action brought by Harper Building Systems, Inc., against the Upjohn Company for damages resulting from breach of warranty. A separate suit was filed against appellee, Upjohn Company, by Porta-Courts, Inc., and the two suits were consolidated. Trial was to a jury on special issues. The parties to this appeal will be referred to as Harper and Upjohn.

The jury answered all liability issues in favor of Harper and awarded damages to Harper in the sum of $1,600 in actual damages and in the sum of $250,000 for lost profits. Damages in favor of Porta-Courts, Inc., were awarded in the judgment in the sum of $27,500 from which no appeal has been taken. Upjohn filed a motion for judgment non obstante veredicto, or, alternatively, to disregard the jury’s answer to all issues.

The trial court granted Upjohn’s motion as to Harper only in so far as it applied to the issue awarding Harper damages in the sum of $250,000 for lost profits and denied it in all other respects, and rendered judg[125]*125ment for Harper for $1,600. Harper filed notice of limited appeal and prosecuted this appeal from that part of the judgment which denied a recovery of lost profits.

With all other questions eliminated as to liability on breach of warranty, etc., the only question before this court is whether or not the trial court properly disregarded and set aside the jury finding of $250,000 in lost profits, and entered judgment denying such award of damages to Harper.

Upjohn argues that there is no evidence of probative force to support the jury’s findings as to damages for lost profits. A contention on appeal that an answer to a special issue should not have been disregarded presents a “no evidence” point. Harbin v. Seale, 461 S.W.2d 591 (Tex.1970); Frost Nat. Bank v. Nicholas and Barrera, 534 S.W.2d 927, 932 (Tex.Civ.App. — Tyler 1976, writ ref’d n. r. e.). In deciding a “no evidence” question, “the appellate court must consider only the evidence and the inferences tending to support the finding and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary.” Garza v. Alviar, 395 S.W.2d 821, 823 (Tex.1965); accord, Lucas v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co., 552 S.W.2d 796, 797 (Tex.1977); Fisher Construction Co. v. Riggs, 160 Tex. 23, 325 S.W.2d 126, 127 (1959).

Upjohn’s entire argument as to damages for lost profits goes to the insufficiency of the evidence. We cannot consider this standard of review. We are compelled to consider the evidence in the light of a “no evidence” question.

Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury finding and in accordance with the standard of review cited above, we find the evidence to show that Lee Harper in 1968 incorporated Harper Building Systems for the purpose of developing and promoting the use of a foam substance between two hard surfaces as providing a better building material than was then available. From that time until 1971, the corporation was “not really in business” and had “no intent of profit.”

In the latter part of 1970, an Upjohn representative, who had been encouraging Harper to get into business, advised Harper that Upjohn was coming out with the best material for panels “that we could possibly get” which would require new machinery. Thereupon, Harper borrowed $125,000 to get in position to manufacture panels, and purchased expensive machinery and equipment and leased a building. Harper was ready for commercial production in May 1972 and purchased a large quantity of materials from Upjohn with which to produce the urethane filled panels. However, productions could not begin until contracts for sale of the panels had been obtained.

The first contract for use of the panels was with Vacca to build a portable office building which showed a profit for Harper of $1,500, and this led to a contract, dated December 1972 with Vacca, operating as Astro Portable Building Company, granting an exclusive agency to sell the panels, with a “guarantee” by Astro of a minimum of $150,000 in volume sales from February 1973 to January 1, 1974.

In December 1972 Harper contracted with Porta-Courts, Inc., for 250 tennis courts requiring use of 225 panels each at $5,400 per court. Panels for three courts were constructed and delivered between January and March 1973. At this time, it was determined that the foam was defective causing the panels to shrink, and, because of this problem, the defect in the materials which gave rise to this breach of warranty litigation, Harper could no longer manufacture and sell the panels. There was evidence showing that the cost of producing one panel was $8.01, making 225 panels cost $1,802.25, leaving a profit of $1,282 per court, or $320,500 for the contracted 250 courts.

Because of the failure of the Upjohn foam, Harper was unable to furnish the panels under the Vacca contract. Vacca, unable to obtain Harper’s panels, started building conventional Astro Portable buildings, with sales in 1973 of $69,900 for some three and a half months, $150,000 in 1974, and $251,000 in 1975. Vacca testified he could have done as well with Harper panel materials — “I know I could have done it.”

[126]*126In addition to the above contracts, Harper had made a proposal to Kelly Reynolds, which was accepted, to furnish materials for construction of twenty-seven townhouses for $281,855.50, including Harper panels at $77,666.52, but at the time Reynolds could not get acceptable interim financing. Subsequently, Reynolds obtained the financing, but Harper could not furnish the panels when Reynolds was ready, because of the defect in Upjohn’s foam.

The evidence referred to above clearly presents some evidence of probative force to support the jury’s finding of lost profits, and the issue awarding damages therefor should not have been disregarded and set aside.

Upjohn argues further that damages cannot be awarded for the reason that Harper’s business was new and unestablished and for such reason could not recover for lost profits. In Atomic Fuel Extraction Corporation v. Slick’s Estate, 386 S.W.2d 180, 188-89 (Tex.Civ.App.—-San Antonio 1964, writ ref’d n. r. e. per curiam, 403 S.W.2d 784 (Tex.1965), the court states:

“In Southwest Battery Corporation v. Owen, supra, because there was an established business, future profits were allowed. In those Texas cases which have permitted recovery, there was some data and history of profits from an established business [citing cases]. ... In sharp contrast with those precedents are those which have consistently denied future profits when the business was new and unestablished [citing cases].”

Our Supreme Court in Southwest Battery Corporation v. Owen, 131 Tex. 423, 115 S.W.2d 1097, 1099 (1938) states the rule as follows:

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Harper Building Systems, Inc. v. Upjohn Co.
564 S.W.2d 123 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
564 S.W.2d 123, 1978 Tex. App. LEXIS 2929, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harper-building-systems-inc-v-upjohn-co-texapp-1978.