Laprade v. Laprade

784 S.W.2d 490, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 469, 1990 WL 20369
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 10, 1990
Docket2-88-153-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 784 S.W.2d 490 (Laprade v. Laprade) 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
Laprade v. Laprade, 784 S.W.2d 490, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 469, 1990 WL 20369 (Tex. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION

JOE SPURLOCK, II, Justice.

Appellant, Dewey Edward Laprade, has appealed from the decree of divorce granted in the divorce suit involving him and his wife, Glenda L. Laprade. In particular, Mr. Laprade is objecting to the property division and the child support award in his four points of error.

We affirm.

In his first point of error, appellant argues that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a tape summary of accounts receivable which was offered by appellee because such tape summary and the manner in which it was offered does not comply with the requirements of TEX.R.CIV. EVID. 1006.

During the trial of this case, an adding machine tape summary of the accounts receivable of appellant’s trucking business was admitted into evidence, over objection by appellant’s attorney. Appellee testified that she had added up what was in the accounts receivable on the adding machine tape. Appellee further testified that she worked in that office for about five years; that her duties included doing the accounts receivable; that such invoices were kept in the normal day-to-day business of the trucking company, and that the summary was an accurate compilation of those invoices.

Appellee testified without objection that the receivables for the business were $59,-462 and $47,752, as shown on the adding machine tape. However, appellant did object when appellee offered the tape into evidence, by stating, “We object to that, Your Honor. I don’t know where she got that list. I don’t know where that adding machine tape—how she got those numbers.” The court admitted the tape into evidence.

Appellant argues that there was no evidence to indicate how voluminous the accounts receivable might have been, since the records were neither in the court nor made available to appellant as required, based on rule 1006 of Civil Evidence. He asserts that no proper predicate was laid to establish that the records would have been admissible if they were offered into evidence.

Appellee responds that appellant’s objection to the admission of the tape summary was insufficient to preserve error. To preserve error, rule 103(a)(1) requires that an objection be specific. A general objection to the admission of evidence is insufficient to preserve error. Stedman v. Stedman, 731 S.W.2d 706, 708 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1987, no writ). A specific objection is one that enables the trial court to understand the precise question and to make an intelligent ruling, affording the other party an opportunity to remedy the defect if possible. Angeles Garay v. Texas Employers’ Ins., 700 S.W.2d 657, 659 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1985, no writ). The reason for requiring the preservation of error “is that one should not be permitted to waive, consent to, or neglect *492 to complain about an error at trial and then surprise his opponent on appeal by stating his complaint for the first time.” Pirtle v. Gregory, 629 S.W.2d 919, 920 (Tex.1982) (per curiam).

Appellant apparently realizes that his objection was not specific enough to give appellee notice of what he was objecting to. In his brief he states:

In essence the objection was to the reliability of the summary and the underlying records and that the underlying records were not available to the Appellant for examination. Although the objection was not made in the exact words, it is apparent from the context of the objection what the intent was. [Emphasis added.]

We hold that appellant’s objection was not specific enough to preserve his error for appeal. An objection that appellant’s counsel did not know where appellee got the list or how the numbers were derived, does not give notice to appellee as to how to correct that error. Since the objection was not specific enough, the error is not preserved for our review.

Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

Appellant’s second point of error is that the trial court erred in permitting appellee to give her lay opinion concerning the value of the Laprade Trucking Company, and that any finding by the court concerning the value of the business in reliance upon said lay opinion was contrary to the admissible evidence in trial.

During appellee’s direct examination, she was asked her opinion as to the value of the business today. Appellee answered, “I think it’s in excess of $200,000.” Appellant objected to this testimony because appellee was “not an expert on this subject.” The court overruled the objection by saying that since appellee was part owner, she could testify as to what she thinks the company is worth.

Rule 701 of the Texas Rules of Civil Evidence states:

If the witness is not testifying as an expert, his testimony in the form of opinions or inferences is limited to those opinions or inferences which are (a) rationally based on the perception of the witness and (b) helpful to a clear understanding of his testimony or the determination of a fact in issue.

TEX.R.CIV.EVID. 701. Appellant, in his brief, admits that the owner of property can testify as to its value. However, he argues that the determining factor of whether or not a witness is qualified to give testimony concerning the value of property is not if they own the property or not, but whether or not they have any basis of knowledge of the value of the property. See Hochheim Prairie Farm Mut. Ins. v. Burnett, 698 S.W.2d 271, 276 (Tex.App-Fort Worth 1985, no writ); Burford Oil Co. v. Wadley, 41 S.W.2d 689, 694 (Tex.Civ.App.—El Paso 1931, writ ref’d). Appellant argues that there is no evidence which would indicate that appellee had any knowledge about the business other than the day-to-day office procedure.

To the contrary, we note that the evidence shows appellee had knowledge of the business accounts receivable; she ran the business for five years; she knew what was paid for each of their trucks; and she knew the value of other smaller, similar businesses for sale. If a witness has personal knowledge of facts from which an opinion is derived, a rational connection exists between the opinion and the facts, and such is helpful, then it is within the court’s discretion to allow the lay person to express an opinion on the value. Soden v. Freightliner Corp., 714 F.2d 498, 511 (5th Cir.1983). Furthermore, it is largely discretionary with the judge as to whether a witness is qualified to testify as to market value, and the admission of such testimony should not be disturbed on appeal unless a clear abuse of discretion is shown. See Hochheim Prairie Farm Mut. Ins. v. Burnett, 698 S.W.2d at 276.

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

Related

Banker v. Banker
517 S.W.3d 863 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017)
Sharifi v. Steen Automotive, LLC
370 S.W.3d 126 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)
Charlie MacK Tyre, Sr. v. Braeden Yawn
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Alice Lucille Nelson v. James Blackburn Nelson
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2008
Charles Mason Bogle v. Dianne Lynn Bogle
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007
Hartis v. Century Furniture Industries, Inc.
230 S.W.3d 723 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Sierad v. Barnett
164 S.W.3d 471 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Taylor Foundry Co. v. Wichita Falls Grain Co.
51 S.W.3d 766 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Ramex Construction Co. v. Tamcon Services Inc.
29 S.W.3d 135 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Manuel Rebelloso v. Rosalva C. Rebelloso
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997
Collins v. Collins
904 S.W.2d 792 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
Baker v. Baker
900 P.2d 764 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1995)
J.C. v. State
892 S.W.2d 87 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
Coker v. Burghardt
833 S.W.2d 306 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1992)
In Re the Marriage of Gaer
476 N.W.2d 324 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
784 S.W.2d 490, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 469, 1990 WL 20369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/laprade-v-laprade-texapp-1990.