In Re Minter Elec. Co., Inc.

277 S.W.3d 540, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 664, 2009 WL 225403
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 2, 2009
Docket05-08-01475-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 277 S.W.3d 540 (In Re Minter Elec. Co., 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 Minter Elec. Co., Inc., 277 S.W.3d 540, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 664, 2009 WL 225403 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice LANG-MIERS.

Relator contends that the trial court erred by granting real party’s motion to set aside the court’s previous orders after the trial court’s plenary jurisdiction had expired. We conclude that relator has not shown that it is entitled to the relief requested and deny relator’s petition for writ of mandamus.

Plaintiffs below, Cindy Berry, Megan Taylor, and the Estate of Irvin Matthew Taylor, filed their original petition on December 6, 2006 naming Jesus Guevara, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and Minter Electric Company, Inc. as defendants. Plaintiffs claimed that Irvin Matthew Taylor was killed as a result of being struck by a vehicle driven by Jesus Guevara when Guevara was acting within the scope of his employment with Minter. Plaintiffs paid for citation to issue [542]*542and it was issued for all three defendants. Only Minter was actually served with process.2 Approximately one month later, Minter filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, contending that the Estate of Irvin Matthew Taylor was not a legal entity and lacked the capacity to bring the claims and that the proper plaintiff would be the personal representative or administrator of the estate of the decedent. Plaintiffs did not respond to that motion. The court granted the motion and dismissed the Estate of Irvin Matthew Taylor from the case on April 18, 2007. Plaintiffs filed a motion for reconsideration one month later, but the court did not rule on the motion.

On September 6, 2007, Minter filed a no evidence motion for summary judgment regarding all of the remaining plaintiffs’ claims. Plaintiffs did not file a response and did not appear at the hearing. The court granted the motion by an order dated October 24, 2007 entitled “Final Judgment” with the word “Final” struck through. Six days later, plaintiffs filed a response to the no evidence motion for summary judgment. About a month later, plaintiffs also filed a motion for new trial, asserting that they did not file a timely response to the no evidence motion for summary judgment because plaintiffs’ counsel had calendared the wrong dates for the response due date and the hearing. The court did not rule on the motion.

On June 4, 2008, plaintiffs filed a motion to set aside the no evidence summary judgment and the dismissal of the Estate. Plaintiffs stated that their previous counsel had been disbarred, but that he did not disclose that fact to them, and that he failed to respond to the opposing party’s motions or discovery. They also argued that the no evidence motion for summary judgment should have been denied. Minter responded, contending that the judgment granting the no evidence motion for summary judgment had become final and that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to reconsider its previous rulings.

The trial court signed an order setting aside the dismissal of the Estate and the no evidence summary judgment on October 13, 2008. In the order the court stated, “After considering the evidence and argument of counsel, this Court is of the opinion that the Court retains jurisdiction of this cause and that the above mentioned orders should be set aside and this cause set for trial on the merits.” Relator contends that the trial court erroneously determined that it retained plenary power to set aside its previous orders.

Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy and will issue only to correct a clear abuse of discretion or a violation of a duty imposed by law when there is no adequate remedy by appeal. In re Sheppard, 193 S.W.3d 181, 185 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2006, orig. proceeding) (citing In re Ford Motor Co., 165 S.W.3d 315, 317 (Tex.2005)). A trial court abuses its discretion when it acts arbitrarily and unreasonably, without reference to guiding rules or principles. Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 839 (Tex.1992). A relator who seeks mandamus relief must demonstrate a “clear right” to the action it seeks. See Tilton v. Marshall, 925 S.W.2d 672, 682-83 (Tex.1996). Mandamus is proper if a trial court issues an order after its plenary power has expired because such an order is void. In re Sw. Bell Tel. Co., 35 S.W.3d 602, 605 (Tex.2000).

[543]*543In Lehmann v. Har-Con Corp., 39 S.W.3d 191 (Tex.2001), the Texas Supreme Court considered the problem of determining when a judgment rendered without a conventional trial is final. It held that there is no presumption of finality for an order granting summary judgment. Id. at 205-96; Ford v. Exxon Mobil Chem. Co., 235 S.W.3d 615, 617 (Tex.2007). Instead, it concluded that an order granting summary judgment is not final “unless it actually disposes of every pending claim and party or unless it clearly and unequivocally states that it finally disposes of all claims and all parties.” Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 205. If the order is written in clear and unequivocal language, we must give it effect “despite any other indications that one or more parties did not intend for the judgment to be final.” Id. at 206.

In this case, the issue is whether a judgment granting a no evidence motion for summary judgment in favor of one of two defendants is a final judgment if the other defendant has not been served with citation at the time the judgment is signed. The parties agree that our analysis is governed by Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Penn, 363 S.W.2d 230 (Tex.1962), and M.O. Dental Lab v. Rape, 139 S.W.3d 671 (Tex.2004).

In Youngstoum, the trial court signed a judgment granting summary judgment for all but one of the defendants. That defendant, Cannan, had not been served with citation and had not answered. On appeal, the Texas Supreme Court held that the judgment was a final judgment, even though it did not specifically dispose of the claims against Cannan, because there was nothing in the record to indicate that the petitioner ever expected to obtain service on Cannan. The court held that under those circumstances, “the case stands as if there had been a discontinuance as to Can-nan, and the judgment is to be regarded as final for the purposes of appeal.” Youngs-toum, 363 S.W.2d at 232. The court did not state whether the parties disputed the finality of the judgment or whether it raised the issue sua sponte. See id.

In M.O. Dental, the court sua sponte raised the issue of finality of the trial court’s judgment, denoted “Order Granting Summary Judgment.” Relying on Lehmann, the court reaffirmed that “ ‘if the record reveals the existence of parties ... not mentioned in the order, the order is not final,’ unless it is made final by its own language.” M.O. Dental, 139 S.W.3d at 674 (quoting Lehmann, 39 S.W.3d at 206). The court concluded in M.O. Dental

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
277 S.W.3d 540, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 664, 2009 WL 225403, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-minter-elec-co-inc-texapp-2009.