In re CVR Energy, Inc.

500 S.W.3d 67, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 6800, 2016 WL 3544883
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 28, 2016
DocketNO. 01-15-00877-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 500 S.W.3d 67 (In re CVR Energy, Inc.) 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
In re CVR Energy, Inc., 500 S.W.3d 67, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 6800, 2016 WL 3544883 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION ON REHEARING

Harvey Brown, Justice

This original proceeding concerns named defendants’ efforts to designate a former co-defendant as a responsible third party in a wrongful death suit.1 The plaintiffs nonsuited the former co-defendant— Wynnewood Refining Company, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of a named defendant—less than sixty days before trial and after the date beyond which their claims against it would be time-barred. The remaining defendants, Rela-tors CVR Energy, Inc.; CVR ' Partners, LP; CVR Refining, LP; and Gary-Williams Energy. Company, LLC, (collectively CVR) then filed a motion to designate Wynnewood as a responsible third party, but that motion was denied.

CVR seeks a writ of mandamus to compel the trial court to (1) vacate its October 12, 2015 order denying CVR’s motion for leave to designate Wynnewood as a responsible third party and (2) grant CVR’s motion for leave to make the designation. By opinion dated February 9, 2016, we conditionally granted the writ.

Plaintiffs have filed a motion for rehearing. We overrule the motion for rehearing, withdraw our opinion of February 9, 2016, and issue this opinion, conditionally granting the writ.2

[71]*71Background

Russell Mann and Billy Smith were killed in a September 28, 2012 explosion at the Wynnewood refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. According to the Fifth Amended Petition filed by their wives, the explosion occurred when Mann and Smith were assisting in an effort to “re-start” the pilot light in a large “outdated and archaic” boiler. They were both employed by Wynnewood. Wynnewood is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CVR Refining, which was, at the time of the accident, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CVR Energy, Inc.

According to Plaintiffs petition, the boiler “had to be re-started manually because it was not equipped with a Boiler Management System (BMS)” to permit an operator to re-start it “from a safe and remote site.” They were both, therefore, very close to the boiler when it exploded— Smith inches and Mann a few feet away. Furthermore, the boiler was not equipped with “gas-flowing gauges or any device to advise how much gas was entering the chamber.” Wynnewood “received several proposals” for a BMS for the boiler but rejected them all. Wynnewood, and later CVR, “had actual knowledge of prior detonations” of the boiler that injured workers. Finally, Plaintiffs’ petition alleged that Wynnewood was “rife with dangerous practices and working conditions,” resulting in numerous Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations.

The refinery was originally owned by Gary-Williams Energy Co., LLC. In 2011, CVR Refining purchased the refinery from Gary-Williams. Thus, CVR became the premises owner. According to CVR, Wynnewood employed Mann and Smith and, on the day of the explosion, it was Wynnewood employees who tasked Smith and charged Mann with their responsibilities.

In their Fifth Amended Petition, Plaintiffs allege that CVR, as the owner and parent company of Wynnewood, committed the following acts of negligence and gross negligence: (1) failed to install a i boiler management system (BMS) on the boiler; (2) failed to install boiler management controls on all heating equipment as ordered by OSHA; (3) failed to monitor adequately the dangerous condition of the refinery and its boiler; (4) failed to alleviate or repair hazardous conditions capable of causing injury or death, including the boiler; and (5) failed to comply with OSHA directives to install a BMS system on the boiler. Plaintiffs further alleged these acts constituted gross negligence.3

[72]*72Plaintiffs served requests for disclosure under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 194 on CVR while Wynnewood was still a named defendant. Rule 194 states that a party may obtain disclosure of identifying information for any person who may be designated as “a responsible third party.” See Tex.R. Civ. P. 194.1, 194.2(1). When CVR responded to Plaintiffs’ requests for disclosure on potential responsible third parties in December 2013, it did not list co-defendant Wynnewood in its response.

Wynnewood and CVR remained named as defendants through two amended petitions, but, in April 2015, approximately 20 months after suit was filed and 55 days before trial, Plaintiffs filed a notice of non-suit of Wynnewood. The date of nonsuit was beyond the limitations period for a wrongful death claim against Wynnewood (except for claims by Smith’s young son).

Twenty-six days after the notice of non-suit, and 29 days before the then-scheduled trial, CVR filed a motion for leave to designate Wynnewood as a responsible third party.4 Plaintiffs objected to this motion, asserting that limitations had ruri on their claims against Wynnewood and the motion was untimely. The trial court denied CVR’s motion.

Issue Presented

CVR contends the trial court abused its discretion by denying its motion for leave to depignate Wynnewood as a responsible third party because (1) Wynnewood had been an active defendant in the case for more than 19 months; (2) Plaintiffs non-suited Wynnewood 55 days before the trial setting, which was five months before the subsequent trial date;5 (3) CVR movecl to designate Wynnewood as a responsible third party less than 30 days after Plaintiffs’ nonsuit; and (4) the evidence regarding Wynnewood’s responsibility for the accident is inseparable from Plaintiffs’ allegations against CVR. CVR asserts that it does not have an adequate remedy by appeal for this abuse of discretion.

Standard for Granting Mandamus Relief

To be entitled to mandamus relief, a petitioner must show both that the trial court abused its discretion and thát there is no adequate remedy by appeal. In re Prudential Ins. Co., 148 S.W.3d 124, 135 (Tex.2004). Generally, appellate [73]*73courts will hold that a trial court has abused its discretion if its actions were either “without reference to any guiding rules and principles” or “arbitrary or unreasonable.” Downer v. Aquamarine Operators, Inc., 701 S.W.2d 238, 241-42 (Tex.1985). “A trial court has no discretion in determining what the law is or applying the law to the facts, even when the law is unsettled.” In re Brokers Logistics, Ltd., 320 S.W.3d 402, 405 (Tex.App.-El Paso 2010, orig. proceeding) (citing Prudential, 148 S.W.3d at 135). A trial court’s clear failure to analyze or apply the law correctly is an abuse of discretion. Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 840 (Tex.1992).

Abuse of Discretion

A. Overview of Proportionate Responsibility Statute

Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets out the Texas proportionate responsibility law. Tex. Civ. PeaC. & Rem.Code Ann. § 33.001-33.017 (West 2015). These statutes allow a tort defendant to designate as a responsible third party a person who “is alleged to have caused in any way the harm for which the plaintiff seeks damages.” See Jay Miller & Sundown, Inc. v. Camp Dresser & McKee Inc., 381 S.W.3d 635, 638-39 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2012, no pet.) (referring to predecessor to Subsection 33.004).

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Bluebook (online)
500 S.W.3d 67, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 6800, 2016 WL 3544883, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-cvr-energy-inc-texapp-2016.