Mayphous Collins and Akilah Collins v. Lesha Strausz and Plano Collision Center, Inc. D/B/A AutoNation Collision Center Plano

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 9, 2021
Docket02-20-00317-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Mayphous Collins and Akilah Collins v. Lesha Strausz and Plano Collision Center, Inc. D/B/A AutoNation Collision Center Plano (Mayphous Collins and Akilah Collins v. Lesha Strausz and Plano Collision Center, Inc. D/B/A AutoNation Collision Center Plano) 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.

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Mayphous Collins and Akilah Collins v. Lesha Strausz and Plano Collision Center, Inc. D/B/A AutoNation Collision Center Plano, (Tex. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________ No. 02-20-00317-CV ___________________________

MAYPHOUS COLLINS AND AKILAH COLLINS, Appellants

V.

LESHA STRAUSZ AND PLANO COLLISION CENTER, INC. D/B/A AUTONATION COLLISION CENTER PLANO, Appellees

On Appeal from the 352nd District Court Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 352-305020-18

Before Sudderth, C.J.; Kerr and Womack, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellants Mayphous Collins and Akilah Collins sued Appellees Lesha Strausz

and Plano Collision Center, Inc. d/b/a AutoNation Collision Center Plano for alleged

damages to Appellants’ custom 2016 Tesla Model X P90D. Both Strausz and

AutoNation filed for no-evidence and traditional summary judgment on each of

Appellants’ claims, and the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Strausz

and AutoNation. In two issues, Appellants challenge the trial court’s grants of

summary judgment. We will affirm.

II. BACKGROUND

In 2016, Appellants purchased the Tesla for $160,266.97. Two years after that

purchase, Strausz rear-ended the Tesla while it was stopped at a red light.1 Mr. Collins

spent weeks researching Tesla-certified and Tesla-approved repair shops, and he

eventually chose AutoNation, bringing the vehicle in for repairs six weeks after the

wreck. The Tesla remained at AutoNation for over five months, and when Mr.

Collins arrived to pick up the vehicle, he noticed that it had allegedly sustained

damages that had not been present when he had brought it to AutoNation.

According to Mr. Collins, he noticed certain cosmetic damages to the vehicle, and

more importantly, he contended that the vehicle had sustained water damage. Four

1 Mr. Collins was the Tesla’s driver at the time of the wreck.

2 months later, Mr. Collins had the Tesla towed to his home, and he has not driven it

since that time. Around the time that the vehicle was towed to Mr. Collins’s home,

AutoNation presented him with a final bill for the repairs totaling $7,777.88. The

parties do not dispute that Strausz’s insurance carrier paid for that final bill.

Appellants later filed suit against Strausz and AutoNation alleging the following

claims: (1) breach of a bailment agreement; (2) negligent and fraudulent

misrepresentation; (3) violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer

Protection Act (the DTPA); and (4) negligence and negligence per se.2 As to

damages, Appellants alleged that the Tesla was “a total loss.” They stated that they

were entitled to “the cost to replace the Vehicle with a vehicle of like[] kind[] and

quality—which would be best determined by replacement with another 2016 Tesla

Model X P90D, in the same condition as the Vehicle immediately prior to the [car

wreck with Strausz].” They alleged that in total-loss situations, the depreciation of a

vehicle would typically be deducted from the replacement cost, but they argued that a

custom car, like their Tesla, “may actually appreciate in value.” They also stated that

because the Telsa was a unique custom good, its value also included “service

For simplicity, we will refer to Appellants’ negligence and negligence per se 2

claims collectively as Appellants’ “negligence claim.” See Johnson v. Enriquez, 460 S.W.3d 669, 673 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2015, no pet.) (“Negligence per se is not a separate cause of action independent of a common-law negligence cause of action.”); Thomas v. Uzoka, 290 S.W.3d 437, 445 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. denied) (“Negligence per se is not a separate cause of action that exists independently of a common-law negligence cause of action.”).

3 value[,] . . . sentimental value[,] . . . and intrinsic value.” Appellants maintained that

their total-loss damages should be valued “at a minimum” of $160,266.97—the

amount that they paid when they had purchased the vehicle in 2016. Appellants also

sought damages relating to their purported payment for a rental vehicle that was

utilized while their Tesla was being repaired.

Strausz filed a no-evidence and traditional motion for summary judgment on

each of Appellants’ claims. The trial court granted summary judgment in Strausz’s

favor on Appellants’ bailment, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, and DTPA

claims, but the trial court denied summary judgment on Appellants’ negligence claim.

AutoNation also filed a no-evidence and traditional motion for summary judgment on

each of Appellants’ claims. The trial court granted summary judgment in

AutoNation’s favor on each of Appellants’ claims. Appellants moved for the trial

court to reconsider that ruling, arguing that new testimony from their expert, Kevin

Newsom, warranted setting aside the summary-judgment ruling. The trial court

denied Appellants’ motion to reconsider.3

Strausz later filed a no-evidence and traditional motion for summary judgment

on Appellants’ remaining negligence claim. The trial court granted Strausz summary

judgment on that claim, and the trial court signed a final judgment. Appellants asked

3 In its order denying Appellants’ motion to reconsider, the trial court corrected a statement made in its prior order granting AutoNation summary judgment. The prior order had stated that it was final and that it disposed of all parties. In the new order, the trial court made clear that the negligence claim against Strausz remained.

4 the trial court to reconsider that ruling, citing testimony from Newsom that was not

included in their response to Strausz’s motion for summary judgment on the

negligence claim. The trial court denied Appellants’ motion to reconsider, and this

appeal followed.

III. DISCUSSION

In their first issue, Appellants argue that the trial court erred by granting

summary judgment in Strausz’s favor. In their second issue, Appellants argue that the

trial court erred by granting summary judgment in AutoNation’s favor.

A. Standard of Review

When a party moves for both no-evidence and traditional summary judgment,

we first review the trial court’s summary judgment under the no-evidence standard.

Ford Motor Co. v. Ridgway, 135 S.W.3d 598, 600 (Tex. 2004). Under that standard, after

an adequate time for discovery, the party without the burden of proof may, without

presenting evidence, move for summary judgment on the ground that no evidence

supports an essential element of the nonmovant’s claim or defense. Tex. R. Civ. P.

166a(i). The motion must specifically state the elements for which no evidence exists.

Id.; Timpte Indus., Inc. v. Gish, 286 S.W.3d 306, 310 (Tex. 2009). The trial court must

grant the motion unless the nonmovant produces summary-judgment evidence that

raises a genuine, material fact issue. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(i) & 1997 cmt.; Hamilton

v. Wilson, 249 S.W.3d 425, 426 (Tex. 2008).

5 When reviewing a no-evidence summary judgment, we examine the entire

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Mayphous Collins and Akilah Collins v. Lesha Strausz and Plano Collision Center, Inc. D/B/A AutoNation Collision Center Plano, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mayphous-collins-and-akilah-collins-v-lesha-strausz-and-plano-collision-texapp-2021.