Linda Douglas v. Dallas Performance, LLC

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided April 26, 2022·No. 05-20-00630-CV·Published

Opinion

Affirmed in part and Reversed and Remanded in part and Opinion Filed April 26, 2022

In The

Court of Appeals

Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-20-00630-CV

LINDA DOUGLAS, Appellant

V.

DALLAS PERFORMANCE, LLC, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 5 Dallas County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. CC-16-03688-E

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Myers, Molberg, and Garcia Opinion by Justice Myers

Linda Douglas appeals the take nothing judgment based on the jury’s verdict

on her claims for conversion and “wrongful detention”1 of her vehicle by appellee Dallas Performance, LLC, and her claim for attorney’s fees under section 70.008 of the Property Code. Dallas Performance brings a cross-appeal of the trial court’s take-nothing judgment on its claim for attorney’s fees. We reverse the trial court’s judgment on Douglas’s claims for conversion, wrongful detention, and for attorney’s

1 By “wrongful detention,” Douglas appears to mean the tort of trespass to chattels.

fees under section 70.008. We affirm the trial court’s judgment that Dallas Performance take nothing on its claims for attorney’s fees. We remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND2

Linda Douglas owns a 2004 Corvette. She decided she wanted the car to sound bigger. In December 2013, she took the car to Dallas Performance, owned by Taylor Sims, to have a new camshaft put in. The car also had low oil pressure and made a ticking sound. Douglas told Dallas Performance she wanted the camshaft changed. Dallas Performance was concerned about the other motor problems the car was having and wanted to remove the engine, tear it down, and find what was wrong with it. Douglas told Dallas Performance she could not afford that and just to change the cam shaft. Douglas and Dallas Performance eventually agreed Dallas Performance could also do some work on the pistons and rings but not tear down the motor. Dallas Performance agreed to do the work but said it could not warranty the work if it could not tear down the motor to find the problem. Douglas left the car with Dallas Performance. The back of Dallas Performance’s invoices said Dallas Performance would charge $40 per day for storage of vehicles left at Dallas Performance more than three days after notification of job completion. Dallas Performance did the agreed work to change the camshaft and work on the pistons

2 For further information on the case, see the opinion from the earlier appeal of this case, Douglas v.

Sims, No. 05-17-01187-CV, 2019 WL 926133 (Tex. App.—Dallas Feb. 26, 2019, no pet.) (mem. op.).

and rings, but it also, without notifying Douglas, tore down the motor, fixed it, and put it back together.

In February 2014, Dallas Performance notified Douglas that the car was repaired and told her the bill for the work on the camshaft, pistons, and rings, which was the work Douglas had authorized, was $4,791.56. Dallas Performance agreed Douglas could make unspecified monthly payments to pay for the repairs and that storage charges would be $50 per week; Douglas said “No problem.” Douglas made some payments but then got sick. When she asked Dallas Performance how much she owed, Dallas Performance presented her with a bill for the unapproved motor work, which was $7,077.64. On September 11, 2015, Douglas made a payment that brought her total payments to $4,820, which was more than she owed for the repairs she had authorized, but not enough to pay the storage fees to that point or pay for the unauthorized repairs. Douglas demanded Dallas Performance return the car, but Dallas Performance refused.

First Trial

Douglas sued Dallas Performance for various claims including conversion and wrongful detention. Douglas sought the return of the car, damages for the loss of use of the car between September 11, 2015 and the trial, and attorney’s fees. Dallas Performance brought counterclaims, including a quantum meruit claim for the unauthorized motor work, a breach-of-contract claim for Douglas’s failure to pay for the unauthorized motor work and the storage fees, and a claim for attorney’s fees.

As defenses to Douglas’s claims for conversion and wrongful detention, Dallas Performance alleged Douglas’s claims violated the statute of limitations.

The jury found against Douglas on all her claims. On Dallas Performance’s counterclaim for breach of contract for the storage fees, the jury found Douglas agreed to pay storage fees, that she failed to comply with that agreement, and that she failed to pay Dallas Performance $9,000 for the storage fees. The jury also found Douglas did not agree to pay Dallas Performance for the additional motor work, but the jury found the elements of quantum meruit and damages to Dallas Performance of $3,200. The jury found Dallas Performance’s reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees were $8,750. The trial court rendered judgment that Douglas take nothing and that Dallas Performance recover damages of $3,200 for quantum meruit, $9,000 for breach of contract, and $8,750 for attorney’s fees.

First Appeal

Douglas appealed the trial court’s judgment to this Court. On Dallas Performance’s quantum meruit claim, we determined there was no evidence to support the jury’s verdict because there was no evidence of the element that Dallas Performance reasonably notified Douglas that it was performing the motor repair work or expected Douglas to pay for the work. Douglas, 2019 WL 926133, at *6. We rendered judgment that Dallas Performance take nothing on its quantum meruit claim. Id.

On Douglas’s conversion and wrongful-detention claims, we determined Douglas conclusively established she owned the car, that Dallas Performance had possession of the car, and that she had demanded the return of the of the car. Id. We said the jury’s finding that Dallas Performance had not converted the car meant:

the jury necessarily found Dallas Performance’s possession of the car was not ‘unlawful,’ ‘without authorization,’ ‘inconsistent with Douglas’s rights,’ or an ‘impairment or exclusion’ of Douglas’s right to possess and control the car. Based on the pleadings and evidence at trial, this finding could have been based only on Dallas Performance’s contention it had the right to possess the car until Douglas paid for all the work.

Id. at *7. We then said Dallas Performance’s failure to establish it was entitled to recover for the unauthorized motor work “directly impacts Dallas Performance’s assertion it had a valid lien on the car, an issue crucial to the jury’s determination of whether Dallas Performance converted or wrongfully detained the car.” Id. at *8, slip op. at 15. Douglas asked us to render judgment in her favor on her claims for conversion and wrongful detention. We declined to do so because, as the jury charge was structured, the jury’s “No” answer on conversion meant the jury did not answer questions on Dallas Performance’s limitations defense, the value of the car on the date of the conversion, whether the car should be returned to Douglas, and whether Douglas was entitled to exemplary damages. Id. We reversed the take-nothing judgment on conversion and wrongful detention and remanded the case for a new trial in the interest of justice. Id. at *8.

On Dallas Performance’s counterclaim for breach of contract for storage fees, the jury found Douglas agreed to pay storage fees, did not comply with that agreement, and that $9,000 was the amount she failed to pay under the agreement. We held:

Douglas’s agreement to pay storage fees terminated when she made the last payment for the camshaft work on September 11, 2015. . . . There were eighty-one weeks and one day between February 20, 2014 [the date storage fees began] and September 11, 2015. Accordingly, Douglas owed storage fees of $4,057.14.

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

Linda Douglas v. Dallas Performance, LLC, (Tex. Ct. App. 2022).

Linda Douglas v. Dallas Performance, LLC (Linda Douglas v. Dallas Performance, LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Armstrong v. Benavides
180 S.W.3d 359 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Cecil v. Smith
804 S.W.2d 509 (Texas Supreme Court, 1991)
Murray v. Devco, Ltd.
731 S.W.2d 555 (Texas Supreme Court, 1987)
Omnibus International, Inc. v. at & T, Inc.
111 S.W.3d 818 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Wells Fargo Bank Northwest, N.A. v. RPK Capital XVI, L.L.C.
360 S.W.3d 691 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)
R.J. Suarez Enterprises Inc. v. PNYX L.P.
380 S.W.3d 238 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)