National Freight, Inc. v. Snyder

191 S.W.3d 416, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 2833, 2006 WL 893614
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 6, 2006
Docket11-04-00199-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by57 cases

This text of 191 S.W.3d 416 (National Freight, Inc. v. Snyder) 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
National Freight, Inc. v. Snyder, 191 S.W.3d 416, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 2833, 2006 WL 893614 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

OPINION

TERRY McCALL, Justice.

This appeal arises from a motor vehicle accident. A vehicle driven by John Snyder collided with a tractor-trailer owned by *420 National Freight, Inc. when the tractor-trailer entered a highway in the path of Snyder’s vehicle. Snyder suffered a fractured left wrist in the accident. Snyder filed suit against National Freight and the driver of the truck. At trial, National Freight admitted its driver’s liability for causing the accident. Accordingly, the only questions submitted to the jury were Snyder’s damages as a result of the accident. The jury awarded Snyder damages in the amount of $250,000. Based upon the jury’s verdict, the trial court entered judgment in favor of Snyder in the amount of $279,142.64 plus court costs and post-judgment interest. National Freight raises eight issues on appeal challenging the trial court’s judgment. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

Improper Jury Argument

In Issue No. 1, National Freight contends that Snyder’s counsel made an improper argument to the jury. On several instances during closing argument, Snyder’s counsel asked the jury to “send a message” to National Freight by awarding Snyder substantial damages to encourage the safe operation of National Freight’s trucks in Taylor County. National Freight asserts that this argument was improper because Snyder did not seek the recovery of exemplary damages.

To obtain reversal of a judgment on the basis of improper jury argument, National Freight must prove: (1) an error; (2) that was not invited or provoked; (3) that was preserved at trial by a proper objection, motion to instruct, or motion for mistrial; and (4) was not curable by an instruction, a prompt withdrawal of the statement, or a reprimand by the trial court. Standard Fire Ins. Co. v. Reese, 584 S.W.2d 835, 839 (Tex.1979). Our review of an improper jury argument claim must cover the whole case, which begins with the voir dire and ends with closing argument. Id. at 840. The complainant must show that the probability the improper argument caused harm is greater than the probability the verdict was grounded on the evidence. Id. at 840.

National Freight objected to the first instance when Snyder’s counsel urged the jury to send a message to National Freight. The trial court responded to the initial objection by instructing the jury that “what the lawyers say is not evidence.” The trial court sustained National Freight’s subsequent objections when Snyder’s counsel repeated the argument. National Freight did not seek an instruction from the trial court for the jury to disregard the argument on these subsequent occasions. Furthermore, the trial court did not voluntarily instruct the jury to disregard the argument when it sustained National Freight’s objections.

As reflected in the preceding paragraph, National Freight did not ask for a curative instruction from the trial court each time the challenged argument occurred. See Fowler v. Garcia, 687 S.W.2d 517, 520 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1985, no writ)(Failure to press for an instruction at the time of an allegedly erroneous jury argument operates as a waiver of any complaint that may be made as to the argument.). However, a party is not required to preserve error if the argument is deemed to be incurable. Otis Elevator Co. v. Wood, 436 S.W.2d 324, 333 (Tex.1968). Furthermore, an improper jury argument will not result in a reversal under the Reese standard unless it was incurable. Id. at 839-40.

An incurable argument is one that is so inflammatory that its harmfulness cannot be eliminated by an instruction to the jury to disregard it. Otis Elevator Co., 436 S.W.2d at 333. There are only rare instances when incurable harm results from improper argument. Reese, 584 *421 S.W.2d at 839. The previously recognized types of incurable argument have included: (1) appeals to racial prejudice; (2) the use of inflammatory epithets such as “liar,” “fraud,” “faker,” “cheat,” and “imposter;” and (3) unsupported charges of perjury. Id. at 840.

We conclude that the argument urging the jury to send National Freight a message did not constitute incurable jury argument. This argument was not so inflammatory that a timely instruction from the trial court would not have alleviated the harm, if any, caused by the argument. Moreover, the record does not reflect a greater probability that the jury’s verdict was based upon the challenged argument rather than the evidence presented at trial. National Freight’s Issue No. 1 is overruled.

Evidentiary Rulings

National Freight challenges four evidentiary rulings made by the trial court. National Freight has presented these complaints in separate sub-issues identified as Issues Nos. 2(a), 2(b), 2(c), and 2(d). We address each of the sub-issues separately and treat them as separate issues on appeal.

The admission and exclusion of evidence is committed to the trial court’s sound discretion. City of Brownsville v. Alvarado, 897 S.W.2d 750, 753 (Tex.1995). An appellate court must uphold the trial court’s evidentiary ruling if there is any legitimate basis for the ruling. State Bar of Tex. v. Evans, 774 S.W.2d 656, 658 n. 5 (Tex.1989). The court should not reverse a trial court for an erroneous evidentiary ruling unless the error probably caused the rendition of an improper judgment. See TEX.R.APP. P. 44.1; see also Gee v. Liberty Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 765 S.W.2d 394, 396 (Tex.1989). In making this determination, we review the entire record. Alvarado, 897 S.W.2d at 754.

Estimates of Future Medical Care

National Freight argues in Issue No. 2(a) that the trial court erred in admitting documents that reflected the costs of future medical care. Snyder presented the videotaped deposition testimony of Dr. Oliver Lee Kesterson III, M.D. at trial. Dr. Kesterson testified that Snyder needed to have neck surgery as a result of the injuries he suffered in the accident. With regard to the cost of the surgery Snyder might need in the future, Dr. Kesterson testified as follows:

Q. Okay. Doctor, the — the surgery that we talked about, I went ahead — and got some estimates on that, and I’d like to see if — if these seem reasonable to you for the procedure. The— your office was kind enough to forward to me an estimate on what your fees would be for this — this particular procedure, and that is approximately $23,127.60. Could you look at this, Doctor, and — and identify that for me?
A. I’m going to admit my ignorance to what I bill. I’m shocked it’s — I mean, I don’t — I just — I don’t know.

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Bluebook (online)
191 S.W.3d 416, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 2833, 2006 WL 893614, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-freight-inc-v-snyder-texapp-2006.