Ledford White and M&M Joint Venture v. Kent Davis and D. Kent Davis, P.C.

Texas Supreme Court

Ledford White and M&M Joint Venture v. Kent Davis and D. Kent Davis, P.C.

475 S.W.3d 783, 57 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 152, 2015 Tex. LEXIS 1082, 2015 WL 7786429

CourtTexas Supreme Court

DecidedDecember 4, 2015

DocketNO. 15-0176

StatusPublished

Cited by1 cases

This text of 475 S.W.3d 783 (Ledford White and M&M Joint Venture v. Kent Davis and D. Kent Davis, P.C.) 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

Ledford White and M&M Joint Venture v. Kent Davis and D. Kent Davis, P.C., 475 S.W.3d 783, 57 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 152, 2015 Tex. LEXIS 1082, 2015 WL 7786429 (Tex. 2015).

Pincite

Opinion

PER CURIAM

The jury awarded $2.8 million in exemplary damages against Ledford White, but the trial court applied the exemplary-damages cap in section 41.008(b) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and reduced the award to $564,169.64. The court of appeals reversed and rendered judgment reinstating the jury award, holding that (1) section 41.008(b) is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded and (2) the trial court abused its discretion by allowing a trial amendment to add the statutory-cap defense. 2014 WL 7387045, at *10, *12 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth Dec. 29, 2014) (mem.op.). The court, however, did not have the benefit of . our recent opinion in Zorrilla v. Aypco Construction II, LLC, in which we held that the exemplary-damages cap in section 41.008(b) is neither an affirmative defense nor an avoidance that must be affirmatively pleaded. 469 S.W.3d 143, 157 (Tex.2015) (referring to Tex. R. Civ. P. 94).

Accordingly, without hearing oral argument, we grant the petition' for review without reference to the merits, Vacate the court of appeals’ judgment, and remand this case to that court to reconsider the. exemplary-damages award -in light of our recent decision. See Tex. R. App. P. 59.1, 60.2(f).

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

PER CURIAM

The jury awarded $2.8 million in exemplary damages against Ledford White, but the trial court applied the exemplary-damages cap in section 41.008(b) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and reduced the award to $564,169.64. The court of appeals reversed and rendered judgment reinstating the jury award, holding that (1) section 41.008(b) is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded and (2) the trial court abused its discretion by allowing a trial amendment to add the statutory-cap defense. 2014 WL 7387045, at *10, *12 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth Dec. 29, 2014) (mem.op.). The court, however, did not have the benefit of . our recent opinion in Zorrilla v. Aypco Construction II, LLC, in which we held that the exemplary-damages cap in section 41.008(b) is neither an affirmative defense nor an avoidance that must be affirmatively pleaded. 469 S.W.3d 143, 157 (Tex.2015) (referring to Tex. R. Civ. P. 94).

Accordingly, without hearing oral argument, we grant the petition' for review without reference to the merits, Vacate the court of appeals’ judgment, and remand this case to that court to reconsider the. exemplary-damages award -in light of our recent decision. See Tex. R. App. P. 59.1, 60.2(f).

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

475 S.W.3d 783, 57 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 152, 2015 Tex. LEXIS 1082, 2015 WL 7786429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ledford-white-and-mm-joint-venture-v-kent-davis-and-d-kent-davis-pc-tex-2015.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack