King v. Graham

47 S.W.3d 595, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 962, 2001 WL 128294
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 14, 2001
Docket04-98-00464-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 47 S.W.3d 595 (King v. Graham) 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
King v. Graham, 47 S.W.3d 595, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 962, 2001 WL 128294 (Tex. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinions

OPINION

TOM RICKHOFF, Justice.

We grant the appellees and cross-appellants’ motion for rehearing en banc. Our opinion and judgment of January 12, 2000 on appellants’ motion for rehearing is withdrawn, and the following opinion and judgment are substituted.

NATURE OF THE CASE .

Allan R. King, Donald E. Holley, and F. Edward Barker appeal from a jury verdict rendered in favor of Phillip E. Graham and Thomas Michael Wren. On appeal, King, Holley and Barker argue that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the jury’s findings of malicious prosecution and damages and assert that Graham and Wren did not establish any basis for individual liability. On cross-appeal, Graham and Wren allege the trial court erred in granting directed verdicts in favor of J. Bonner Dorsey and Hugo Berlanga.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Holley, Barker, Dorsey, and Berlanga had served as directors of a corporation known as Sarita Safaris. Sarita Safaris booked hunters to hunt on land leased from the Kenedy Ranch. Sarita Safaris lost its hunting lease after the Kenedy ranch decided to pursue other uses of the land. Because the hunting lease was lost, Sarita Safaris dissolved and King, Holley, Barker, and Dorsey decided to form Safari Specialities, Inc. (“SSI”). SSI, based in Corpus Christi, was established to book hunters for “full-service” hunting trips complete with hunting guides and nice accommodations.

Although the shareholders only had experience booking hunts in South Texas, the shareholders decided to book hunting trips for whitetail deer and exotic animals in the Hill Country. SSI contacted Graham and Wren, who lived in Kerrville, about the possibility of becoming hunting guides for SSI in the Hill Country. According to Graham’s testimony, Holley indicated that 50 whitetail deer and 400 exotic animals would be needed to accommodate hunters booked by SSI. In May 1991, King and Holley met Graham and Wren in Kerrville to discuss the plan and to visit some of the ranches that might be used for the hunting trips. Graham and Wren accompanied King and Holley to the Colbath Ranch. Graham and Wren talked to Mr. Colbath about reserving twenty whitetail deer. Graham testified that a deal was made with Mr. Colbath and that he and Wren were responsible for twenty deer at $850 a piece. Graham also testified that a deposit of $15,000 for guiding services was discussed, but King and Holley testified that there was no discussion concerning a $15,000 deposit for guiding services.

After returning to Corpus Christi, Holley sent a letter agreement on behalf of SSI to Graham and Wren. According to the letter agreement, the guides would be responsible for all fees and expenses associated with guiding and the costs of animals. The letter agreement further stated [602]*602that the guides would receive fifty percent of their payment for guiding services fourteen days before the hunt with the remainder being paid after the hunt. The letter agreement also stated that twenty-eight whitetail deer had been secured and requested Graham and Wren to use their best efforts to secure twenty-two additional whitetail deer. Graham and Wren signed the letter agreement and a pricing sheet which showed the allocation of hunting fees between SSI and Graham and Wren.

After executing the letter agreement, Graham discussed the $15,000 deposit with Holley. Holley told Graham that he needed an invoice to show the purpose of the funds. According to Graham, Holley told him that SSI had only $12,050 in the bank and therefore could not provide a $15,000 deposit. On June 12, 1991, SSI wired $12,050 to Graham’s account at the Bank of Kerrville. The invoice contained Graham’s address and signature and reflected the following:

[[Image here]]
7 Axis Bucks 30" or better @ $900. $ 6300.00
8 Black Buck (18" or up) @ $700 . $ 5600.00 $11900.00
20 White Tail Deer (Colbath) No Deposit -0-8 White Tail Deer (Ponderosa) @ 400. $ 3200.00
TOTAL. $15,100.00
ADVANCE DEPOSIT ON ABOVE = $ 12,050.00
Wire Instructions:
For Credit to: BANK OF KERRVILLE ABA 114-907798
For further Credit to Account # 0-767-089-6

In July, Wren talked to King about an additional $7500 needed immediately to secure 25 whitetail deer on the Scheffield Ranch. Because only Holley had authority to sign checks on behalf of SSI and he was out of town, King sent Wren a check written from Barker and King’s law firm account by overnight mail. SSI later reimbursed the law firm.

The central issue in this case involves the application of these deposits. King, Barker, and Holley testified that it was their understanding that the money was to be paid to the ranchers to reserve the types of animals reflected on the invoice. Graham and Wren testified that the money was paid to them because they had reserved animals and were accountable to the ranchers for the cost of the animals regardless of whether SSI booked hunters. According to Graham and Wren, the deposit was discussed when the men met in Kerrville and it was customary in the hunting business to give the guide a deposit. Graham and Wren testified that if SSI had booked hunts, the amount of the deposits would have been subtracted from their guiding fees. Graham and Wren testified that they paid $2500 to the Scheffield Ranch but that they paid no funds to any of the other ranches.

As the summer progressed, SSI had booked no exotic or whitetail deer hunts. [603]*603According to the testimony, exotic animals can be hunted throughout the year whereas whitetail deer can only be hunted during deer season, which begins sometime in November. Having expected exotic game hunters during the summer months, Graham and Wren made numerous phone calls to SSI to find out if any hunts were being booked. SSI’s part-time secretary, Patty Coplin, testified that she faxed Graham and Wren names of hunters who had booked hunts through Sarita Safaris. Although Graham and Wren testified that SSI was responsible for booking the hunts, Wren nevertheless made numerous phone calls to the people on SSI’s list in an attempt to secure hunters for the animals that had been reserved. Wren testified that the people he called were not interested in hunting in the Hill Country and that the hunts were overpriced.

As deer season neared, Graham and Wren came to the conclusion that SSI was not going to book any hunters. According to King, he contacted Graham the day before deer season to tell him that a hunter had been booked. Graham told King to contact Wren but Wren was not available when King called because he was hunting, so King left a message with Wren’s wife. Wren never returned King’s call. King then contacted some of the ranchers whom King believed had been paid deposits by Graham and Wren. Jack Burch of the Ponderosa Ranch told King that no deer had been reserved in SSI’s name. Burch recalled talking to Wren during the summer and that Wren told him that the company that he was working for had backed out of the deal but that he had plenty of hunters to hunt the eight reserved deer. Holley called one of the other ranches where animals had been reserved and was told that no animals had been reserved for SSI.

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

Related

SOUTH TEXAS FREIGHTLINER, INC. v. Muniz
288 S.W.3d 123 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2009)
Gunnels v. City of Brownfield
153 S.W.3d 452 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004)
King v. Graham
126 S.W.3d 75 (Texas Supreme Court, 2003)
San Antonio Credit Union v. O'CONNOR
115 S.W.3d 82 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
In Re GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS 198.GJ.20
129 S.W.3d 140 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Hite v. Triton Energy Ltd.
35 F. App'x 434 (Ninth Circuit, 2002)
Wellisch v. United Services Automobile Ass'n
75 S.W.3d 53 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
King v. Graham
47 S.W.3d 595 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
47 S.W.3d 595, 2001 Tex. App. LEXIS 962, 2001 WL 128294, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-graham-texapp-2001.