McClure v. Denham

162 S.W.3d 346, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 2476, 2005 WL 737443
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 31, 2005
Docket2-04-170-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 162 S.W.3d 346 (McClure v. Denham) 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
McClure v. Denham, 162 S.W.3d 346, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 2476, 2005 WL 737443 (Tex. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

TERRIE LIVINGSTON, Justice.

I. Introduction

Appellant Fredrick E. McClure appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of appellees James Richard Denham, individually, d/b/a Den-ham Builders and d/b/a DWM Developments, Garrett Denham, individually and d/b/a DWM Developments, Brian Martin, individually and d/b/a DWM Developments, and Eric (Ric) Walters, individually and d/b/a DWM Developments (the Denhams). In two issues, appellant complains that (1) the trial court erred in granting the Denhams’ motion for summary judgment, and (2) the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for reconsideration and his motion for leave to file supplemental summary judgment evidence. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

II. Background

The Denhams owned a tract of land in Lewisville on which they were constructing an office building. Acting as the general contractor, the Denhams hired subcontractors to perform some of the work on the building. The Denhams retained Global Erectors, Inc. (Global) to erect the wall panels and roof for the building. On September 26, 2001, Eddie Clinebell, an employee of Global, was using a crane to lift decking material to the top of the building. Appellant, another employee of Global, was positioned on a joist approximately thirty feet off the ground, where he was assisting Clinebell with landing the decking material.

According to appellant, while he was sitting on the joist and wearing a safety harness, which was attached by a rope to the building, he saw a load coming toward him. He had to disconnect the rope and move to avoid being crushed by the load. The load did not have a tag line, which is used to guide the load. The load knocked appellant off the joist, and he fell to the ground below, suffering extensive injuries.

Appellant sued the Denhams under various negligence theories. Appellant argued, among other things, that the Den-hams were negligent by failing to institute adequate safety measures, including providing safety lines to which he could attach his safety harness. Appellant also argued that the Denhams violated various statutes, rules, and regulations and that therefore their actions constituted negligence per se. Further, appellant contended that the Denhams were negligent in hiring, retaining, and supervising Global.

On August 1, 2003, the Denhams filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing both traditional and no-evidence grounds. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c),(I). The trial court set the motion for hearing on September 25, 2003. On September 25, 2003, the day of the hearing, the trial court took the Denhams’ motion under advisement without hearing oral argument. Later, in December, the parties requested a continuance in order to mediate the case. The mediation was not successful, and on Janu *349 ary 29, 2004, appellant filed a motion for leave to supplement the summary judgment record. Specifically, appellant wanted to introduce an affidavit from Randall Glenn, one of Global’s employees, in which Glenn states that he overheard one of the Denhams telling Clinebell not to use safety lines. On February 2, 2004, the trial court, without ruling on appellant’s motion to supplement, telephoned appellant to advise him that it was granting the Denhams’ motion for summary judgment. Appellant filed a motion for reconsideration, and on April 30, 2004, the trial court overruled both of appellant’s motions and entered a final judgment granting the Denhams’ motion for summary judgment.

III. Motion for Reconsideration and Motion for Leave to File Supplemental Evidence

We will first address appellant’s second issue because it affects our determination of whether the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Den-hams was proper. In the first part of his second issue, appellant questions whether the trial court erred in overruling his motion for reconsideration, but he cites no authority and does not address the issue in the argument portion of his brief. Therefore, appellant has waived this portion of his issue, and we will not address it. See Tex.R.App. P. 38.1(h); Shelton v. Sargent, 144 S.W.3d 113, 119 (Tex.App.Fort Worth 2004, pet. denied) (holding point may be waived because of inadequate briefing).

Appellant also contends that the trial court erred in overruling his motion for leave to supplement the summary judgment record with Glenn’s affidavit. In a summary judgment proceeding, the non-moving party may file and serve opposing affidavits or other written responses no later than seven days prior to the scheduled date of the hearing. 1 Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(e). Only with the trial court’s permission may the nonmoving party file summary judgment evidence past the seven-day deadline. See id. We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion for leave to file a late summary judgment response for an abuse of discretion. Carpenter v. Cimarron Hydrocarbons Corp., 98 S.W.3d 682, 686 (Tex.2002); Mowbray v. Avery, 76 S.W.3d 663, 688 (Tex.App.Corpus Christi 2002, pet. denied); Barrera v. Sanchez, 679 S.W.2d 704, 705 (Tex.App.San Antonio 1984, no wilt).

Here, appellant obtained the Randall Glenn affidavit in November 2003. However, appellant did not request leave to file the affidavit until January 29, 2004, which was well past the September 25, 2003 hearing date. In his motion for leave, appellant stated that he located Randall Glenn in November 2003, after he had filed his response. But appellant offered no further explanation as to why he was unable to obtain the affidavit until then or file it until January 2004. Thus, he did not show that his failure to timely produce the affidavit was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference, but was the result of an accident or mistake. See Carpenter, 98 S.W.3d at 688. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in overruling appellant’s motion for leave to file supplemental evidence. 2 We overrule appellant’s second issue.

*350 IV. Summary Judgment

In appellant’s first issue, he argues that the trial court erred in granting the Den-hams’ motion for summary judgment. When a party moves for summary judgment under both rules 166a(c) and 166a(I), we first review the trial court’s judgment under the no-evidence standard of rule 166a(I). Ford Motor Co. v. Ridgway, 135 S.W.3d 598, 600 (Tex.2004).

A. Rule 166a(I) Standard of Review

Under rule 166a(I), 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 there is no evidence to support an essential element of the non-movant’s claim or defense. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(I). The motion must specifically state the elements for which there is no evidence. Id.; Johnson v.

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Bluebook (online)
162 S.W.3d 346, 2005 Tex. App. LEXIS 2476, 2005 WL 737443, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclure-v-denham-texapp-2005.