Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. v. North River Insurance Co.

739 S.W.2d 608
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 18, 1987
Docket05-86-00545-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 739 S.W.2d 608 (Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. v. North River Insurance Co.) 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
Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. v. North River Insurance Co., 739 S.W.2d 608 (Tex. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

HOPKINS, Justice.

Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. (Mary Kay) and J & J Pump Service, Inc. (J & J Pump) appeal the granting of a summary judgment against them and in favor of North River Insurance Company (North River). They also complain that the trial court erred in denying their motions for partial summary judgment. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

In an earlier suit, Mary Kay received a judgment against J & J Pump for damages arising from faulty installation of storage tanks. Mary Kay then brought this suit as a third party beneficiary against North River (J & J Pump’s insurer) on the insurance agreement. By the Third Amended Original Petition, J & J Pump was added as plaintiff asserting independent claims, including fraud and deceptive trade practices acts, against North River regarding the policy.

Mary Kay and J & J Pump first contend that the trial court erred in rendering a final summary judgment purporting to adjudicate all issues, because the judgment did not and could not dispose of the fact issues raised by the record that North River violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas Uniform Commercial Code and was allegedly guilty of fraud, breach of contract and misrepresentation. To the extent that this point of error attacks the trial court’s judgment for entry of judgment on issues not raised in North River’s motion for summary judgment, we agree that the order was erroneous.

The thrust of appellants' contention is that the trial court erred in granting a final summary judgment instead of a partial summary judgment. Appellants maintain that the “part of the trial court's judgment granting [North River’s] motion for summary judgment should be dismissed because it is an interlocutory judgment.” We disagree.

When a plaintiff files suit alleging several causes of action, in order to secure a summary judgment as to the entire case, a moving defendant must conclusively show that fact issues do not exist as to at least one essential element of each of the nonmoving plaintiff’s causes of action. Ashcroft v. W.T. Bradshaw and Company, 601 S.W.2d 809, 811 (Tex.Civ.App.—Eastland 1980, writ ref’d n.r.e.). Further, a motion for summary judgment will not support entry of a judgment on a cause of *610 action not presented in the motion. Chessker v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 658 S.W.2d 563, 564 (Tex.1983); Torres v. Laredo National Bank, 716 S.W. 2d 667, 669 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1986, no writ); Great-Ness Professional Services, Inc. v. First National Bank of Louisville, 704 S.W.2d 916, 918 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1986, no writ); Currey v. Lone Star Steel Company, 676 S.W. 2d 205, 213 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1984, no writ).

Appellants filed suit against North River asserting numerous causes of action. North River subsequently filed separate motions for summary judgment against Mary Kay and J & J Pump. Both motions contain general language asking that “Plaintiff take nothing herein inasmuch as ... there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that defendant is entitled to such summary judgment as a matter of law....” North River failed, however, to establish that fact issues did not exist as to at least one essential element of each of the nonmoving plaintiffs’ causes of action.

In its motion for summary judgment filed against J & J Pump, North River maintained that because J & J Pump’s latest petition deleted any reference to representations or actions made by the agent issuing the insurance policy or to any other presale conduct with reference to that policy, the petition effectively limited the suit to the issue of whether coverage was provided under the policy for the injury sustained by Mary Kay when underground tanks installed by J & J Pump broke free and floated to the surface. North River then proceeded to establish why this injury was not covered by the insurance policy. North River further attacked J & J Pump’s causes of action for unfair claims practices, deceptive trade practices and insurance code violations on the same basis.

In its motion for summary judgment filed against Mary Kay, North River asserted that this was a subrogation suit brought to collect from North River the amount of damages recovered by Mary Kay from J & J Pump. North River further alleged that “the only issue at bar is one of interpretation of the insurance contract by the court as applied to the undisputed facts....” Basically North River argued that Mary Kay had no cause of action against it because North River did not have any liability to J & J Pump based upon the insurance policy.

Mary Kay responded to North River’s motion by asserting that material issues of fact exist as to:

(a) Whether or not Defendant is liable to Plaintiff under Article 21.21 Section 16 of the Texas Insurance Code and/or Section 17.50(a)(4) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code for engaging in practices which violated Official Order No. 27085, 41454, 18663, and 37550 of the State Board of Insurance;
(b) Whether or not Defendant is liable for actual fraud;
(c) Whether or not Defendant is liable for breach of contract;
(d) Whether or not Defendant is liable for misrepresentations; and,
(e) Whether or not Defendant is es-topped from denying coverage and/or liability.

J & J Pump, in its first supplemental reply to North River’s motion for summary judgment, maintained that:

J & J Pump Service, Inc. has filed a partial Motion for Summary Judgment concerning the insurance policy itself, but said Motion for Partial Summary Judgment does not dispose of all of Plaintiff’s allegations. Defendant, The North River Insurance Company, has filed its own Motion for Summary Judgment but, there again, said Motion for Summary Judgment does not go to all of J & J Pump Service, Inc.’s allegations in this cause. All Motions for Summary Judgment are on file with the Court and adopted by reference for all purposes if set out in full.
Plaintiff would respectfully show the Court that contrary to what the Defendant asserts, the Plaintiffs’ Petition has not:
Effectively limited the questions involved in this lawsuit as to whether the *611 insurance policy in question covered alleged damages caused by underground tanks that floated to the surface over two months after J & J Pump Service, Inc. had hurried [sic] the tanks and Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. had begun using the tanks.

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Bluebook (online)
739 S.W.2d 608, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mary-kay-cosmetics-inc-v-north-river-insurance-co-texapp-1987.