Hernandez v. Moss

538 S.W.3d 160
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 9, 2017
DocketNo. 08-13-00315-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 538 S.W.3d 160 (Hernandez v. Moss) 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
Hernandez v. Moss, 538 S.W.3d 160 (Tex. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

YVONNE T. RODRIGUEZ, Justice

Appellant Francisco Hernandez appeals an award of damages against him. The damage award was for injuries sustained by Roy Moss and Vaugh Anderson when Appellant struck their vehicle. In eight points of error, Appellant argues that the trial court improperly excluded evidence, improperly allowed certain expert testimony, failed to make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and he challenges the factual sufficiency of the award. He also claims that the Texas Property & Casualty Insurance Act requires we remand the case to assess certain credits and reductions allowed by the act. For the following reasons, we affirm.1

BACKGROUND

The underlying facts of this case are not complicated. Moss and Anderson were riding in the back of a company van, and at a stop light, it was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Appellant. Moss and Anderson filed a suit for damages against Appellant, who stipulated to liability before trial. The parties agreed to waive a jury trial. The trial court awarded damages to Moss and Anderson for past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering, and past and future physical impairment.

At the time of the collision, Moss was fifty-six years' old and Anderson was forty-eight. Moss testified that he was *164healthy before the accident. After the accident, Moss suffered from neck pain, arm pain, lower-back pain, headaches, and had difficulty sleeping. He sought treatment from a chiropractor, Dr. Craig Himmelsehr, and an M.D., Dr. Michael Farrell. Dr. Himmelsehr testified that in his opinion Moss's injuries were caused exclusively by the collision. Moss, at the time of trial, continued to suffer discomfort after treatment and it had affected his lifestyle. Moss's wife, Belinda Brooks, corroborated Moss's testimony regarding his continuing pain.

Anderson testified that he was in good health before the collision. During trial, Anderson testified that he had suffered from neck pain, arm and hand pain, lower-back pain, knee pain, headaches, blurred vision, and had difficulty sleeping. Like Moss, he also sought treatment from Dr. Himmelsehr and Dr. Farrell. Dr. Himmelsehr opined that Anderson's injuries were caused exclusively by the collision. Dr. Himmelsehr also found Anderson's MRI showed disc injuries. Anderson continued to suffer discomfort after treatment and told the trial court his lifestyle has been affected by his continuing pain. Anderson's mother, Lois Anderson, corroborated Anderson's testimony regarding his continued pain.

During cross-examination of Moss, Appellant attempted to ask whether Moss had received any workers' compensation benefits. Moss objected to Appellant's questions regarding collateral sources, and the trial court sustained that objection. Then Appellant attempted to ask Moss if he had health insurance that would have covered his medical expenses; this drew the same objection and was sustained by the trial judge. Next, Appellant asked whether Moss had sought medical treatment before consulting an attorney. Moss objected, yet again, on the basis of relevance which was sustained.

During cross-examination of Anderson, Appellant inquired into two personal injury claims that Anderson had filed nine and ten years before trial. The trial court allowed Anderson to testify that he had filed the claims and as to when he had last sought treatment, but then instructed Appellant to "move along." Appellant also asked Anderson about his potential claim for workers' compensation benefits, which was objected to and sustained. Appellant cross-examined Anderson regarding his criminal history, which drew a relevance objection. The trial court allowed Anderson to confirm he had been arrested for possession of marijuana and cocaine, then sustained the objection.

DISCUSSION

I. Failure to File Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, a party to a bench trial is entitled to request findings of fact and conclusions of law from the district court. TEX.R.CIV.P. 296. The district court has a mandatory duty to respond to a timely request to file findings of fact and conclusions of law, and a failure to do so is error. Cherne Indus., Inc. v. Magallanes , 763 S.W.2d 768, 772 (Tex. 1989) ; Larry F. Smith, Inc. v. The Weber Co., Inc. , 110 S.W.3d 611, 614 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2003, pet. denied). That error is presumed harmful unless the record affirmatively shows that the complaining party suffered no harm from the district court's failure. Willms v. Americas Tire Co., Inc. , 190 S.W.3d 796, 801 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, pet. denied). The test to determine if an appellant has been harmed is whether, under the circumstances of the case, he must guess at the reason the trial court ruled against him. Id. , at 801-02 ; see also *165Graham Cent. Station, Inc. v. Pena , 442 S.W.3d 261, 263 (Tex. 2014) ; Tenery v. Tenery , 932 S.W.2d 29, 30 (Tex. 1996) ("Error is harmful if it prevents an appellant from properly presenting a case to the appellate court"). The policy reason in encouraging trial courts to make findings is to "narrow the bases of judgment to only a portion of [the multiple] claims and defenses, thereby reducing the number of contentions that the appellant must raise on appeal." Larry F. Smith, Inc. , 110 S.W.3d at 614 (citing 6 McDonald & Carlson, Texas Civil Practice 2d § 18:3 (1998)). Thus, if there is only a single ground of recovery or only a single defense, the appellant does not usually have to guess at the basis of the trial court's judgment and the objective of the rule is not thwarted. Willms , 190 S.W.3d at 801-02 ; Larry F. Smith, Inc. , 110 S.W.3d at 614.

Here, Appellant claims he followed proper procedure in requesting findings of fact and conclusions of law but the trial court failed to respond as required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 296.

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538 S.W.3d 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hernandez-v-moss-texapp-2017.