McDonald v. Newlywed's, Inc.

483 S.W.2d 334
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 20, 1972
Docket8112
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 483 S.W.2d 334 (McDonald v. Newlywed's, Inc.) 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
McDonald v. Newlywed's, Inc., 483 S.W.2d 334 (Tex. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinions

RAY, Justice.

This was a summary judgment proceeding in the trial court in which that court entered judgment for the plaintiff pursuant to Rules 185 and 166-A(e) upon an alleged sworn account. Appellee Newlyweds, Inc., (plaintiff) brought suit against Mrs. Mattie McDonald, d/b/a Broadway’s S & S Flower and Gift Shop (appellant-defendant), to recover the sum of $248.00, interest, attorney’s fees of $60.00, and all costs. Appellee alleged that it had delivered to appellant the merchandise requested and had made demand for payment more than thirty days prior to filing suit. Appellee further stated in its petition that by reason of the failure of appellant to pay the account after demand, it became necessary for appellee to employ attorneys to represent it in the prosecution of its suit and had agreed to pay the attorneys “the sum of $60.00, as their attorney’s fees, which amount is customary, necessary, reasonable and just.” Appellee’s petition was accompanied with an affidavit which stated:

“That the foregoing and annexed account, claim, and cause of action in favor of Newlyweds, Inc., P. O. Box 17,221, Memphis, Tennessee, and against Mattie McDonald of Broadway’s S & S Flower and Gift Shop, 605 Broadway Street, Jefferson, Texas, 75657, in the sum of Two Hundred Forty-eight and No/100 Dollars, plus collection and reasonable attorney’s fees is within the knowledge of affiant just and true, and that it is due and that all just and lawful offsets, payments and credits have been allowed.”

Appellant filed her unsworn general denial. Thereafter, appellee filed its motion for summary judgment and appellant filed her answer to the motion for summary judgment, but still did not include a denial of the account in the terms provided by Rule 185, Tex.R.Civ.P.

[336]*336The pertinent parts of the answer to the motion for summary judgment filed by appellant are as follows:

“II.
This defendant would further show the Court that this defendant has paid each and every statement rendered for the books which Plaintiff states it had delivered, but that it did not agree to pay the lump sum as sued on herein until and unless a sufficient number of Wedding Books had been delivered to married couples in this vicinity.
“III.'
This defendant is willing and hereby agreed to pay for each book which the Plaintiff has delivered to newlyweds within this vicinity that she has not paid, upon receipt of a statement showing the names and addresses of the parties to whom Plaintiff has delivered such books.”

We do not believe that the foregoing answer meets the test of Rule 185 which requires the following:

“When any action or defense is founded upon an open account or other claim for goods, wares and merchandise, including any claim for a liquidated money demand based upon written contract or founded on business dealings between the parties, or is for personal service rendered, or labor done or labor or materials furnished, on which a systematic record has been kept, and is supported by the affidavit of the party, his agent or attorney taken before some officer authorized to administer oaths, to the effect that such claim is, within the knowledge of affiant, just and true, that it is due, and that all just and lawful offsets, payments and credits have been allowed, the same shall be taken as prima facie evidence thereof, unless the party resisting such claim shall, before an announcement of ready for trial in said cause, file a written denial, under oath, stating that each and every item is not just or true, or that some specified item or items are not just and true; provided, that when such counter-affidavit shall be filed on the day of the trial the party asserting such verified claim shall have the right to postpone such cause for a reasonable time. When the opposite party fails to file such affidavit, he shall not be permitted to deny the claim, or any item therein, as the case may be.” (1971).

Under Article 1970-306, Vernon’s Anno. Tex.Stats., the jurisdiction of the County Court of Bowie County in civil and criminal matters has been transferred to the district courts of that county. Pursuant to such authority, the District Court of Bowie County entered its summary judgment in favor of appellee for the sum of $248.00, interest from date of the judgment and attorney’s fees in the sum of $60.00, together with all costs.

Appellant’s first point of error states that:

“The cause of action sued upon by Ap-pellee is not an open account, which required a denial under oath, but was a suit for breach of contract.”

We find no merit in appellant’s first point of error since the pleadings of appellee are absolutely clear that it is a suit upon a sworn account. It may be that the indebtedness originally grew out of a contractual relationship between the parties, but in order for appellant to have asserted that the amount sued for under the sworn account allegations was not in fact due because of some breach of contract by appellee, it was necessary for appellant McDonald to file more than an unsworn general denial. It was necessary for appellant to first deny the justness of appel-lee’s claim in the terms specified by Rule 185. It is important to note that appellant’s answer not only failed to set out in specific terms the unjustness of the account, but it also failed to state there was [337]*337a breach of contract. Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

The second point of error urged by appellant is that the sworn answer in response to the motion for summary judgment complied with the requirements of Rule 185, Tex.R.Civ.P.

We have examined the answer filed by appellant and find that it does not meet the test of Rule 185. The contents of the answer as set out above make it clear that the appellant failed to state “that each and every item is not just or true, or that some specified item or items are not just and true.”

As we interpret Rule 185, Tex.R. Civ.P., the defendant must file a written denial, under oath, stating that each and every item is not just or true, or that some specified item or items are not just and true, and that this written denial must be the formal answer to the plaintiff’s allegations based upon a sworn account. The failure to file such an answer is fatal, no matter what course the proceedings thereafter take, that is, whether the case proceeds by way of summary judgment, or trial before the court, or jury trial.

In Akins v. Coffee, 376 S.W.2d 953 (Tex.Civ.App. Dallas 1964 writ dism’d), the court stated that:

“ • it has been held that failure to file a sworn denial of a verified account amounts to an admission that the account is correct. Walker-Neer Machine Co. v. Acmeline Mfg. Co., Tex.Civ.App., 279 S.W.2d 156, wr. ref. n. r. e. Appellee, by countervailing point, contends that since appellants did not substantially comply with Rule 185, T.R. C.P., in making verified answer to its petition, that same fails to deny the correctness of same and amounts to an admission that the account is correct. We agree with this contention.

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McDonald v. Newlywed's, Inc.
483 S.W.2d 334 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1972)

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483 S.W.2d 334, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdonald-v-newlyweds-inc-texapp-1972.