Melody v. Texas Society of Professional Engineers

421 S.W.2d 693, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2191
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 17, 1967
Docket16987
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 421 S.W.2d 693 (Melody v. Texas Society of Professional Engineers) 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
Melody v. Texas Society of Professional Engineers, 421 S.W.2d 693, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2191 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

BATEMAN, Justice.

The appellant Thomas A. Melody appeals from an adverse summary judgment. He sued the appellees Texas Society of Professional Engineers and its agent or representative, W. Llewellyn Powell, Jr., for actual and exemplary damages alleged to have been caused by acts of appellees in taking over the business of publishing a magazine styled “Texas Professional Engineer,” which appellant alleged he owned, having built it by his own initiative and efforts.

Summary judgment was rendered for ap-pellees on their showing that Texas Society of Professional Engineers, not appellant, owned the business, appellant having been employed to publish the magazine for the Society under a written contract which was terminated in accordance with its terms.

Appellant’s single point of error on appeal is that the court erred in rendering summary judgment because there were material fact issues as to ownership of the business, contracts and other property at termination of the contract between the parties, and also as to damages to the business. We do not agree with appellant.

It is undisputed that on February 4, 1955 the appellee Texas Society of Professional Engineers entered into a written contract with appellant. The Society will be designated herein as TSPE, as it was in the contract. This contract recites in the preamble that TSPE publishes the magazine entitled “Texas Professional Engineer” and is desirous that Melody “continue the responsibility of editing the Magazine and the production and distribution of the same upon the terms and conditions hereinafter expressed: * * *.” It then provided that Melody would assume full and complete responsibility for the production and monthly distribution of the Magazine and “will conduct the editorial policy of the magazine in accordance with the general principles upon which the same is now conducted and at all times will work for the closest harmony in this respect with the Publications Committee of the TSPE and will use due diligence in producing the magazine at a reasonable cost, and will protect TSPE against any financial loss and will assume all financial responsibility incurred in the publication.” Melody agreed in event of suspension of the magazine to refund all monies from prepaid advertising. He also agreed to produce a magazine “with a minimum of 24 pages.” It was further provided: “Melody will assume responsibility for the solicitation of advertising for the Magazine and hereby reserves right to so solicit wherever such is deemed advisable, except that ‘liquor’ advertising is prohibited.” It was also agreed that no advertising would be sold for any longer period than one year. The contract provided that the “monthly net proceeds up to and including $1,400.00 over and above the cost of production and distribution shall go to Melody as remuneration for management, editorial services, advertising solicitation, stenographic and clerical help, and office rent.” Monthly net proceeds in excess of $1,400 were to be divided between Melody and TSPE according to a certain formula. It further provided that advertising rates would be subject to approval of TSPE. TSPE reserved the right to cancel the contract at any time upon ninety days’ written notice “in the event *695 that Melody, in the opinion of the Publications Committee and the Executive Board of the TSPE, has failed to satisfactorily carry out the editorial policies as have been prescribed by the Publications Committee of the TSPE; * * The term of the contract was extended by a written memorandum of agreement to January 31, 1962.

The magazine published for the months of March and April 1961 contained only 20 pages, and Melody was notified in writing that this was contrary to the editorial policy of TSPE, after which each of the issues for May, July and August 1961 also contained only 20 pages. On August 10, 1961 Melody was notified in writing that the contract was being can-celled as of November 10, 1961 for those reasons.

Appellant filed an answer to the motion for summary judgment, in which he adopted by reference the allegations of his Fourth Amended Original Petition. He also alleged in the answer that there were material fact issues: (1) in determining whether the contract required each issue of the magazine to contain 24 pages, or whether the fact that the average size of all issues was more than 24 pages would constitute compliance, and (2) as to whether the editorial policy of requiring each issue to contain 24 pages was “representative of the membership of the Defendant corporation,” and (3) as to the ownership of the business upon termination of the contract. The allegations in this answer, as well as those in the Fourth Amended Original Petition, were sworn to by appellant, but no other affidavit was attached thereto.'

Although appellant describes the relationship between him and TSPE as being a “joint venture,” the undisputed facts are, in our opinion, that TSPE owned the magazine and that appellant was merely employed to publish it. The preamble to the contract indicates strongly that TSPE is the owner, and the contract itself provides that appellant is to receive a certain portion of net proceeds “as remuneration for management, editorial services, advertising solicitation,” etc. He agreed that all advertising rates would be subject to approval by TSPE and to refund all monies from prepaid advertising “in the event of suspension of the magazine.”

We think the appellees carried the burden, assumed by them in filing their motion for summary judgment, of showing the absence of any genuine issue of material fact and that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Gulbenkian v. Penn, 151 Tex. 412, 252 S.W.2d 929 (1952) ; Great American Reserve Ins. Co. v. San Antonio Plumbing Supply Co., 391 S.W.2d 41, 47 (Tex.1965).

Appellant argues, however, that this showing, if made at all, is by the affidavits of Llewellyn Powell, Chairman of TSPE’s Publications Committee, and Jim Stewart, Executive Secretary of TSPE, both interested witnesses, and that their statements can do no more than raise issues of fact, citing James T. Taylor, etc. v. Arlington Ind. School Dist., 160 Tex. 617, 335 S.W.2d 371, 377 (1960). Of course, this is the general rule, but there is a well defined exception thereto, which is that where the testimony of the interested witness is not contradicted by any other witness or by attendant circumstances and is clear, direct, positive and free from inaccuracies and circumstances tending to cast suspicion thereon, such testimony may be taken as true as a matter of law. Cochran v. Wool Growers Central Storage Co., 140 Tex. 184, 166 S.W.2d 904 (1942); M. H. Thomas & Co. v. Hawthorne, 245 S.W. 966 (Tex.Civ.App., Dallas 1922, writ ref’d). This exception is especially applicable when the testimony of the interested witness is corroborated by other witnesses or documents and the opposite party had the means and opportunity of disproving the testimony, if it were false, and failed to do so. McGuire v. City of Dallas, 141 Tex. 170, 170 S.W.2d 722, 728 (1943); Watson v.

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Bluebook (online)
421 S.W.2d 693, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 2191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/melody-v-texas-society-of-professional-engineers-texapp-1967.