in Re Red Dot Building System, Inc.

504 S.W.3d 320, 60 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 102, 2016 Tex. LEXIS 1028, 2016 WL 7030494
CourtTexas Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 2, 2016
DocketNO. 15-1007
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 504 S.W.3d 320 (in Re Red Dot Building System, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Texas Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
in Re Red Dot Building System, Inc., 504 S.W.3d 320, 60 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 102, 2016 Tex. LEXIS 1028, 2016 WL 7030494 (Tex. 2016).

Opinion

PER CURIAM

When two inherently interrelated suits are brought in different counties, the first-filed suit ordinarily acquires dominant jurisdiction and the second-filed suit should be abated. In the pending dispute, Red Dot Building System, Inc. seeks relief by writ of mandamus from trial court orders in the second-filed suit. We conditionally grant relief.

Rigney Construction & Development, LLC was retained by the Brooks County ISD to construct a school in Brooks County. Rigney’s principal place of business is in Hidalgo County. Red Dot contracted with Rigney to provide the pre-engineered portion of the school construction project. Red Dot’s business office and plant are located in Henderson County. The parties agree on the existence of a contract but disagree on whether Red Dot performed its contractual obligations. Red Dot alleges as follows. Red Dot sent an offer to Rigney consisting of a purchase order and attached scope sheet. Red Dot’s offer included the provision of “Red Oxide material” for the fabrication of certain canopies. The parties decided that Red Dot would not provide the Red Oxide material and therefore agreed to reduce the contract price. The parties exchanged contract documents with initialed changes. The final contract consisted. of a purchase order and scope sheet that was signed by both parties, provided a contract price of $355,001, crossed, out the earlier, higher price that included the provision of Red Oxide material, and crossed out the earlier reference to provision of Red Oxide material.

Red Dot fabricated the custom material for the pre-engineered building at its plant in Henderson County. A dispute arose as to the scope of the work Red Dot was to perform under the contract. Red Dot sent Rigney an invoice for $149,000. Rigney did not pay this invoice. On January 5, 2015, Red Dot sued Rigney in Henderson County district court for the unpaid invoice.

On February 6, 2015, Rigney sued Red Dot in Hidalgo County county court at law. The Hidalgo County suit concerned the same contract between these parties, and asserted claims of breach of contract, deceptive trade practices, and accord and satisfaction. All of the claims related to the contract with Red Dot. Rigney claimed that Red Dot “breached the contract by failing to provide the scope of work per plans and specifications” and “failing to provide the metal building component in a timely fashion.” Rigney alleged that Red *322 Dot engaged in deceptive trade practices in failing to supply the pre-engineered building under the contract’s plans- and specifications. Rigney also alleged that it “paid Red Dot the remaining balance due on the contract as a full accord and satisfaction.”

Red Dot filed a motion to transfer venue, answer, and motion to abate in the Hidalgo County suit. Red Dot asked the court to transfer the suit to Henderson County or abate the suit. On July 27, 2015, the Hidalgo County court denied the motions to transfer and abate.

Rigney filed a motion to transfer, plea in abatement, and answer in the Henderson County suit. Rigney asked the court to transfer the suit to Hidalgo County or abate the suit. The Henderson County court advised the parties by letter that venue in Henderson County was proper and that Henderson County had dominant jurisdiction. The Henderson County court later signed an order denying the motion to transfer and again stating that it had dominant jurisdiction.

Rigney filed an application for an anti-suit injunction in the Hidalgo County case. The court granted a temporary restraining order and later, on December 28, 2015, a temporary injunction that enjoined Red Dot from prosecuting the Henderson County suit and ordered Red Dot to dismiss the Henderson County suit.

Both trial courts set their cases for trial in January 2016. Red Dot requested mandamus relief in the court of appeals, which denied relief. 2015 WL 9487554. Red Dot then sought mandamus relief in this Court. We stayed proceedings in both trial courts pending our review of the mandamus petition. Red Dot alternatively asks this Court to. instruct the Hidalgo County court to transfer its case to Henderson County, or to withdraw its July 27, 2015 and December 28, 2015 orders and abate the Hidalgo County suit.

Insofar as Red Dot asks the Court to order the Hidalgo County court to transfer the case to Henderson County, Red Dot is not entitled to mandamus relief. A trial court should transfer a case if venue is not proper in that court. Tex Civ. PRAC. & Rem. Code § 15.063(1). But Red Dot does not argue that venue is improper in Hidalgo County. A trial court may also transfer a case where maintenance of the action in that court would work an injustice based on the economic and personal hardships the movant would incur. Id. § 15.002(b)(1). Red Dot makes no attempt in this mandamus proceeding to demonstrate such hardships.

We agree with Red Dot, however, that the Hidalgo County court should have abated the suit pending in that court, and that mandamus relief is available to secure this result. In instances where inherently interrelated suits are pending in two counties, and venue is proper in either county, the court in which suit was first filed acquires dominant jurisdiction. In re J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., 492 S.W.3d 287, 294 (Tex. 2016) (orig. proceeding); Gonzalez v. Reliant Energy, Inc., 159 S.W.3d 615, 622 (Tex. 2005); Wyatt v. Shaw Plumbing Co., 760 S.W.2d 245, 248 (Tex. 1988). In these circumstances, the general rule is that the court in the second action must abate the suit. J.B. Hunt, 492 S.W.3d at 294; Wyatt, 760 S.W.2d at 247. Further, we recently made clear in J.B. Hunt that if the court in the second action abuses its discretion by not abating the action, no additional showing is required for mandamus relief. “[A] relator need only establish a trial court’s abuse of discretion to demonstrate entitlement to mandamus relief with regard to a plea in abatement in a dominant-jurisdiction case.” 492 S.W.3d at 299-300.

Applying, this law, we begin by noting that suit was filed first in the Henderson *323 County action. The two suits are inherently interrelated in that they involve a dispute between the same two contracting parties over whether Red Dot performed its . contractual obligations and is therefore entitled to recover full payment under the contract. Neither party disputes that the two suits are inherently interrelated under the law governing abatement on grounds of dominant jurisdiction.

We next consider whether venue was proper in both counties. Venue is proper “in the county in which all or a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred.” Tex. Civ. Prac, & Rem. Code § 15.002(a)(1). Texas courts, in . making venue determinations in breach-of-contract cases, have considered where the contract was made, performed, and breached. E.g., Killeen v. Lighthouse Elec. Contractors, L.P., 248 S.W.3d 343, 348 (Tex.

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

Related

In Re the State of Texas v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2025
Texas Truck Centers, Inc. v. Brian Bass
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2024
in Re the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
D. Alan Meeker v. Luminex Corporation
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
in Re David Powell and Double 09 Ranch, L.L.C.
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
in Re Hunter Corp, Relator
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
in Re Clear Diamond, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
504 S.W.3d 320, 60 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 102, 2016 Tex. LEXIS 1028, 2016 WL 7030494, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-red-dot-building-system-inc-tex-2016.