Herrin v. Medical Protective Co.

89 S.W.3d 301, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 7680, 2002 WL 31414190
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 29, 2002
Docket06-02-00008-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 89 S.W.3d 301 (Herrin v. Medical Protective 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
Herrin v. Medical Protective Co., 89 S.W.3d 301, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 7680, 2002 WL 31414190 (Tex. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by Justice GRANT.

Bob J. Herrin, M.D., appeals the trial court’s granting of summary judgment for The Medical Protective Company and Bruce C. Crim (Medical), on all claims. Herrin now appeals the common-law fraud, *304 breach of fiduciary duty, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) and Texas Insurance Code, and breach of contract claims.

This case turns on alleged misrepresentations made by Medical to Herrin. Her-rin contends Medical promised that his consent for a $300,000 settlement would not in any way affect his liability coverage. Herrin consented to settle this malpractice case for $300,000 in 1995, and the claim was paid in early 1996. In April 1997, Herrin’s insurance renewal was denied by Medical for the 1997-1998 policy term. Herrin filed suit against Medical on April 9,1999.

Medical filed a no-evidence motion for summary judgment and a traditional motion for summary judgment on June 11, 2001. The trial court granted Medical’s Motion for Summary Judgment for all claims brought by Herrin on September 21, 2002, without specifying on what grounds it relied on in reaching its decision.

Facts

Medical is in the business of providing professional liability coverage for physicians and dentists. Herrin is a general surgeon who was insured by Medical from 1956 to 1997. In December 1995, on the advice of Medical, Herrin agreed to settle for $300,000 a malpractice claim arising from a laproscopic surgery he performed. Herrin, Chuck Curtice (Medical’s general agent), and an attorney provided by Medical attended the mediation concerning the $300,000 settlement. That claim was ultimately settled and paid in early 1996.

Curtice testified at deposition he recommended Herrin consent to a $300,000 settlement in the Guffey case. Curtice further testified he did not inform Herrin of any consequences the settlement might have had on his insurance coverage. Her-rin stated in his affidavit Medical never notified him of any possible effect the $300,000 settlement might have had on his coverage. Herrin testified at deposition he was specifically told by Curtice the $300,000 settlement was “nothing unusual” and would have no effect on his relationship with Medical. Herrin’s affidavit further stated Curtice implied the settlement would not result in Herrin’s policy being cancelled or not renewed in the future because Herrin had a long-standing relationship with Medical, coupled with only a few claims over the span of his career. According to Herrin, Curtice also stated that in Herrin’s field of surgery, he had a “particularly impressive” record, with very few claims filed against him.

On April 11, 1997, Medical notified Her-rin his policy would not be renewed for the 1997-1998 year due to “claim and suit frequency and severity.” The policy at that time expired August 6, 1997. A decision was originally made not to renew Herrin’s policy for the 1996-1997 policy year, but this decision could not be implemented within the ninety-day notice requirement set out in the terms of the policy. There is evidence that field personnel, including Curtice, thought Herrin’s policy should be renewed, although Medical ultimately decided not to renew the policy. Herrin was unable to obtain sufficient professional coverage due to Medical not renewing his policy. Ultimately, Herrin retired prematurely from practicing medicine because he could not receive the necessary coverage to continue his surgery practice.

Standard of Review

A traditional motion for summary judgment is properly granted only when the movant establishes there are no genuine issues of material fact and it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c); Lear Siegler, Inc. v. Perez, 819 *305 S.W.2d 470, 471 (Tex.1991); Holmstrom, v. Lee, 26 S.W.3d 526, 530 (Tex.App.-Austin 2000, no pet.). A defendant seeking summary judgment must negate as a matter of law at least one element of each of the plaintiffs theories of recovery or plead and prove as a matter of law each element of an affirmative defense. Centeq Realty, Inc. v. Siegler, 899 S.W.2d 195, 197 (Tex. 1995). If the defendant establishes its right to summary judgment, the plaintiff must then raise a fact issue. Id.

A party seeking a no-evidence summary judgment, on the other hand, does not bear the burden of establishing its right to judgment by proving each defense or claim, but instead simply asserts there is no evidence of one or more essential elements of claims on which the opposing party will have the burden of proof at trial. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i); Holmstrom, 26 S.W.3d at 530. A no-evidence summary judgment is essentially a pretrial directed verdict, to which we apply the same legal sufficiency standard of review, asking whether the nonmovant failed to produce more than a scintilla of probative evidence to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to an essential element on which the non-movant would have the burden of proof. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i); Holmstrom, 26 S.W.3d at 530.

In reviewing the granting of summary judgment, we take as true evidence favorable to the nonmovant and make every reasonable inference and resolve all doubts in favor of the nonmovant. Nixon v. Mr. Prop. Mgmt. Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex.1985); McMillan v. Parker, 910 S.W.2d 616, 618 (Tex.App.-Austin 1995, writ denied). When a trial court’s order granting summary judgment does not specify the grounds on which it relied, the reviewing court must affirm the summary judgment if any of the summary judgment grounds are meritorious. FM Props. Operating Co. v. City of Austin, 22 S.W.3d 868, 872 (Tex.2000).

Analysis

Fraud & Misrepresentation

Herrin’s first point of appeal is that summary judgment should not have been granted on the common-law fraud and misrepresentation claims. Medical argued that there was no evidence of one or more elements of this claim, that there was not a genuine issue of material fact for each element, and that the claim was not within the limitations period.

Traditional Summary Judgment

Herrin asserts there is a genuine issue of material fact for each of the elements of common-law fraud, precluding Medical’s summary judgment. In reviewing the granting of summary judgment, this court will take all evidence favorable to the nonmovant as true. Guaranty Fed. Sav. Bank v. Horseshoe Operating Co., 793 S.W.2d 652, 657 (Tex.1990). The movant has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
89 S.W.3d 301, 2002 Tex. App. LEXIS 7680, 2002 WL 31414190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/herrin-v-medical-protective-co-texapp-2002.